Stadium Pretzel & Cheese

Bank holiday weekend and....shock horror....it's raining. Perfect day to bake. In light of upcoming summer and memories of past summers spent at baseball games, I thought I tried my hand at pretzels. Big, crunchy, salty jumbo pretzels which are best eaten dipped in nacho cheese. These take a while to make but are worth it.

Jumbo Pretzels
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 pkg fast-active dried yeast
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
4 cups strong white flour

Water should be hand-warm, about 85F. Put in a bowl with yeast and sugar. Let stand for an hour.

Gradually add flour, creating a soft dough. You may need more or less flour. Knead for 10 minutes. Put in a greased bowl and let rise until doubled in size, about an hour.

Twist dough into figure 8 shape, logs or twists. Put on greased baking sheet and brush with egg wash (1 yolk and 1 tbsp milk). Sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Leave to rise until doubled.

Bake at 240C/gas 9 for about 10 min. To finish with a nice golden brown colour, put under the grill for a few minutes. Serve with nacho cheese for dipping.

Nacho cheese
1oz sharp cheddar cheese
1 slice laughing cow light cheese spread
1 tsp minced jalapeno pepper
1 tsp jalapeno juice
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp chili powder
pinch garlic granules

Mix all together. Heat until cheese is melted.