I know Oktoberfest was last month but I’m still feeling those beer and warm pretzel vibes, especially on cool nights parked on the sofa watching sports or, like me, binging on Netflix. Last year I was all about the garlic pretzel bites–easily poppable by the handful. This year, I’ve step up my pretzel game, adding gooey, unctuous cheese to the mix–beer cheese to be precise.

The inspiration came to me as I was scrolling through a feature article about soft pretzels in the September/October issue of Bake from Scratch. What caught my eye was a photo of their beer cheese pretzel tart. I wasn’t particularly interested in making the tart itself, which looked like something you’d serve at party, Given our current quarantine restrictions limiting social gatherings, it’s hardly practical fare. On the other hand, creamy beer cheese filling injected into individual soft pretzel rolls? Well, I’m on board for that!

There was a recipe for mini pretzel batards or chubby sticks that I thought would work perfectly for my “channel of liquid cheese” idea. All I had to do was fiddle with the beer cheese filling to get it to the right consistency–pipeable yet still soft enough to ooze deliciously out of the pretzel once warmed. Finding the right combination of cheeses would be key to achieving not only the desired texture but crave-worthy flavor.

For my test batch, I followed Bake’s recipe for the pretzel dough and beer cheese filling, making adjustments for a looser consistency. I didn’t have pale ale on hand so I used some Guinness extra stout instead, which imparted lovely rich caramel notes. Unfortunately it also turned the filling a rather unappetizing shade of muddy beige. The pretzel itself was just okay, a tad too soft and fluffy, not chewy enough for a true pretzel–flavor wise a bit bland. However, the concept of a warm gooey river of cheese hidden inside a pretzel roll was a hit with my taste testers Karen and Maria. Back to the drawing board.

To achieve the chewy texture and greater depth of flavor I envisioned I switched out all-purpose flour for bread flour and brown sugar for malted barley syrup. The higher protein content of bread flour translated to better gluten production which produced a chewier texture. This also meant greater water absorption, so I had to slightly reduce the amount of flour. Similarly, the malted barely syrup was a game changer. The same distinctive complex toasty flavor it gave bagels did wonders for the pretzel. With a more elastic dough, I extended the resting time in between scaling and shaping to allow the dough to relax a bit more and facilitate rolling.

Unlike other types of bread doughs, pretzel dough doesn’t really require much additional proving once it’s shaped–about 20-25 mins. depending on ambient temperature. When I made a double batch of dough for the last bake sale, I set my water to boil and preheated the oven when I finished forming the first set of rolls, so by the time I was done forming the second batch, the first was ready for their quick boil and bake. It takes a mere 30 seconds of boiling on each side before the puffy pretzel dough is ready to be brushed with egg wash, scored, sprinkled with flaky salt, and baked to a deep golden brown.

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Turning to the beer cheese filling, I decided to completely rework the recipe by making a very thick roux base to give the melted cheese a stable base to bind everything together, sort of like what one would do with classic macaroni and cheese. Instead of milk, I used pale ale as the liquid in the roux. Once I stirred in the cheeses to melt, I seasoned the filling with dijon mustard, smoked paprika, cayenne, garlic and onion powders, salt, and Worcestershire, thinning out the filling with a little more pale ale.

To fill the pretzel roll, I plunged an extra large, long wooden chopstick through it from end to end to create a channel, then used a pastry bag fitted with an injector tip and coupler to pipe in the beer cheese filling from both ends.

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What’s great about these pretzel rolls is that you can make them ahead of time, wrap them in foil and keep them either in the fridge or in the freezer.

To reheat, pop them in a 350F degree oven for 10-15 mins. until warmed through and cheese is oozing. Word of warning, don’t wear anything you don’t want cheese stains on!

If for some reason a warm channel of beer cheese is not your thing (though hard to imagine), try turning my new and improved pretzel dough into knots, topped with a generous sprinkling of “everything” seasoning for full on bagel vibes.

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Pretzel Dough

Yield: 9 chubby sticks or 12 knots

• 4 c. bread flour, divided
• 2 3/4 t. sea salt
• 2 1/4 t. instant yeast
• 1 c. whole milk
• 1/2 c. water
• 2 T. malted barley syrup
• 2 T. unsalted butter
• 1/4 c. baking soda
• 2 quarts water
• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 T. water
• flaky sea salt

1. Whisk together 2 c. flour, salt, and yeast in a mixer bowl just to combine.
2. Place milk, 1/2 c. water, malted barley syrup, and butter in saucepan and gently heat to melt butter (about 120F degrees).
3. Pour the warmed liquid into the mixer bowl fitted with dough hook and mix on medium speed to combine ingredients, Gradually add in the remaining 2 c. bread flour to form dough.
4. Continue mixing on medium speed, sprinkling in additional flour as needed a tablespoon at a time if the dough seems too sticky. Dough should more smooth and elastic after about 5-6 mins.
5. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Place the dough ball into a greased bowl, flipping it over once to coat all sides, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap or damp dishtowel. Let the dough rise in a warm space until doubled in size.
6. Deflate the dough and divide into 9 equal portions about 105 grams each. Keep the rest of the dough covered as you shape each piece. *Scale into 12 portions (about 82 grams) for knots.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece out to about 4″ x 3″ then roll and tuck into log, firmly pinching close the seam. Place the log seam side down on sheet pan lined with well-greased parchment. Lightly cover the formed dough with plastic (spritzed with non-stick spray) and let it rest in a draft-free space for 20-25 mins.
8. Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and stir in baking soda. Set aside another sheet pan lined with well-greased parchment.
9. Drop 2-3 logs, seam side up, into the boiling water. Boil for 30 seconds, then flip and boil for another 30 secs. Remove the logs with spider/strainer and transfer seam side down onto the parchment-lined sheet pan.
10. Brush the logs with egg wash then score 3-4 diagonal slashes along the top with the tip of a very sharp knife and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
11. Bake the pretzels for 16-18 mins. until deep golden brown.

Beer Cheese Filling

Yield: enough for 9 chubby pretzel rolls

• 1 1/4 c. pale ale, divided
• 3 T. all-purpose flour
• 8 oz. cream cheese softened
• 1 c. shredded Dutch gouda cheese
• 1 c. shredded aged white cheddar
• 2 T. grated parmesan
• 1 T. dijon mustard
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 1 t. onion powder
• 1/2 t. smoked paprika
• 1/4 t. cayenne pepper
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1/2 c. ale and flour until smooth. Continue whisking on medium heat until mixture comes to a boil and thickens into a paste. Cook for about 1 min. before gradually whisking in remaining ale, followed by cream cheese.
2. Once the cream cheese is completely melted, whisk in the other cheeses and seasonings until smooth and creamy.
3. Let the cheese filling cool for about 5 mins. before piping into pretzel rolls.