Cheese and Jalapeno Stuffed Pretzel Rolls

Ingredients:

Pretzel Roll Dough:
10 ounces (1 1/4 cups) water
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
15 7/8 ounces (3 3/4 cups, spoon and level) bread flour, divided
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
Cheese and Jalapeño Filling 4 ounces
(1 1/4 cups) shredded cheese (such as aged cheddar)
1 large and 1 medium jalapeño pepper*, minced
Poaching:
64 ounces (8 cups) water
2 1/4 ounces (1/4 cup) baking soda

Glaze and Topping:
1 egg white
1 tablespoon water
coarse sea salt or pretzel salt, for sprinkling

Instructions:

Makes 9 rolls.

Preparing the dough:
In a microwave safe measuring glass or bowl with at least a 2-cup capacity, microwave the water for 30-40 seconds, until it reads 110-115ºF on an instant-read thermometer. Stir in sugar to dissolve. Sprinkle yeast on top, stir in, and let sit for 5-10 minutes, until foamy.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in the microwave, and let it cool to 110-115ºF. Your goal is to have it at this temperature when your yeast mixture is ready. Transfer the yeast mixture to a large bowl and add the butter. Sprinkle 12 3/4 ounces (3 cups, spoon and level) bread flour on top. Add the salt. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. It should be pretty wet/sticky. Gradually add a bit of the remaining flour** to the dough as needed and mix in until you can work the dough with your hands without it getting stuck everywhere. Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead, incorporating more of the remaining flour as necessary, for about 10 minutes.*** When the dough is ready, it should be elastic and tacky, but no so sticky that it gets stuck to the counter or your hands. Shape dough into a smooth ball and place in a greased bowl that is twice its size. Turn once to coat the top of the dough with the cooking spray, and then cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm spot until doubled in size (about 1 hour).

Preparing the filling:
Toss the shredded cheese with the minced jalapeño to evenly combine.

Shaping the rolls:
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Punch down the risen dough and divide into 9 equal portions (if you have a kitchen scale, use it to make each portion equal in weight). Working with one portion at a time and leaving the rest of the dough covered with plastic wrap, flatten the piece into a round (make sure the center is smooth) and place a scoop of the cheese mixture in the center. Again, if you have a scale, use it to weigh the cheese and jalapeño filling so that you can place an equal amount in each roll. Wrap the filling up inside the dough by lifting the edges of the dough and bringing them together in the center, pinching closed. (Picture tying up a knapsack.) Make sure all of the filling gets sealed in. Turn the roll over and round out the edges with your palms, gently pulling dough towards the bottom of the roll if needed to help smooth out the top.****

Place roll pinch-side down on one of the prepared baking sheets. Cover and repeat with remaining rolls, leaving ample space between each roll on the baking sheet. Once all are shaped, cover and leave to rise for 30-40 minutes, until very puffy, like this. Before starting the poaching step, preheat oven to 400ºF with oven racks set in the bottom and top-third positions.

Poaching:
Combine water and baking soda in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. One by one, gently dunk each roll into the simmering liquid, top-side up. Poach for about 20 seconds, and then carefully flip with a small strainer and poach for another 20 seconds. Lift up the roll with the strainer, let the excess water drain, and flip roll top-side up onto one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with remaining rolls, dividing between the two baking sheets, leaving a couple inches of space between each roll. The rolls will look wrinkled once they come out of the poaching liquid, but they’ll smooth out once they bake.

Glazing and Topping:
Whisk the egg white with the water for the glaze. Brush glaze all over the exposed areas of the rolls. Sprinkle the top of each roll with some sea salt or pretzel salt.

Baking:
Bake rolls for 18-20 minutes, flipping and rotating baking sheets halfway through the baking time. Tops should be golden when done, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bottom center of one of the rolls should read about 210ºF. These are best served warm from the oven, but you can also allow them to cool completely on a wire rack and reheat before serving. Rolls can be wrapped in a light kitchen linen and reheated in the microwave, or you can stick the whole batch in a warm oven for a couple minutes to reheat. Any leftover rolls should be kept in a ziploc-type bag.*****

Notes:
*The amount of jalapeño called for in the recipe will make the pretzel rolls pretty spicy. Feel free to use less if you don’t want as much heat.

**During the entire process of step 4, you can use up to the remaining 3 1/8 ounces (3/4 cup, spoon and level) bread flour as needed for your dough.

***You should notice as you knead that the kneading will be easiest when the dough has the perfect amount of flour.

*****After a while, the salt will soak into the rolls from moisture so they won’t look as pretty, which is part of the reason why these are best served fresh.

From brighteyedbaker.com