Prep: 60 mins | Cook: 90 mins | Total: 150 mins | Quantity: 8 buns / dogs
Ingredients
Pretzel Buns
½ cup (110ml) almond milk
1 cup (200ml) vegan non-alcoholic beer – I used Fitbeer
2 tblsp vegan butter – I used Vitalite
1 tblsp coconut sugar
1 sachet (7g) fast action dried yeast
500g strong white bread flour
1 tsp salt
3 tblsp bicarbonate of soda
Sea salt
Carrot Dogs
1 tblsp sesame oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tblsp soy sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ cup (125ml) water
8 medium carrots – scrubbed clean or peeled
Instructions
Begin with marinating the carrots. Whisk together all the ingredients in a shallow ovenproof dish then lay in the carrots, rolling them in the marinade till they’re all covered. Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours, turning occasionally
Next make the bread dough – gently warm the almond milk, beer, vegan butter and coconut sugar. You want it to be no hotter than blood temperature – this means that when you put your finger in the liquid it feels neither hot nor cold! If it’s too warm there’s a danger it will kill the yeast – simply let it cool if this happens
Whisk the yeast into the tepid liquid and leave to stand 5-10 minutes till the surface becomes frothy
Add the flour and salt and mix together to form a dough
Turn out onto your work surface and knead the dough for around 10 minutes until it’s smooth and elastic
Put into a clean bowl, coated with just a tiny drizzle of oil, cover with a clean t-towel and leave somewhere warm till doubled in size – this takes around an hour at normal room temperature
Once the dough is proven tip though dough out of the bowl and knock back – this helps remove any large air pockets
Divide the dough into 8 and roll each one into elongated rugby ball shapes around 15cm (6 inches) long
Place on 2 medium baking trays lined with parchment or a silicon mat, spacing quite well apart and leave to prove for a second time for around half an hour
Heat the oven to 180 Fan / 200 C / 400 F / Gas 6 and boil a full kettle
Pour the boiling water into a large saucepan and stir in the bicarbonate of soda then reduce the heat to barely simmering
Cook the pretzel buns 2 at a time – carefully lifting off the tray and gently dropping into the simmering water. Poach for 30 seconds each side then use a palette knife or fish slice to lift out of the water and return to the trays
Once they’re all poached, generously brush or spray with water and sprinkle with sea salt
Bake for 30 minutes until golden
Once they’re out of the oven turn the temperature up to 200 Fan / 220 C / 425 / Gas 7 then roast the carrots for 30-40 minutes until soft but still with some bite. Turn the carrots halfway through cooking and recoat with any remaining marinade
Serve the buns split and stuffed with salad, roasted carrots and drizzle in any remaining marinade
Recipe by The Cook & Him at https://thecookandhim.com/recipes/beer-pretzel-buns-with-carrot-dogs/