Asiago Cheese Soft Pretzels
Pillow soft inside, crispy, buttery and cheesy on the outside, these asiago cheese soft pretzels come together in 30 minutes.
Goodness gracious. I’ve spent this whole week a day behind. I thought yesterday was Wednesday, but I was so rudely roused from that delusion at bedtime, discovering that it was really Thursday. And here I was feeling so proud because I’d felt like I’d gotten so much accomplished. Do you ever have weeks like those?
Throughout the summer, I try to minimize the amount of time that I use my oven. It must be a throwback to the time in my childhood when turning on the oven ensured that the rest of the house would get hot as a sauna, making us sweaty and miserable for the rest of the evening. But I miss it, sometimes, baking as much as I’d like.
The smell of yeast dough rising is some of the best stress relieving aromatherapy there is. Soft pretzels are a good summer bake. You get that “gotta knead and punch some dough around” feeling worked out and they can be cranked in and out of the oven in less than 15 minutes. So, if you’re like me, and hate having your oven on for long periods in summer, these fit the bill. Or you know, if you just like quick and easy things, like me, these fit the bill. Or, if you’re craving crisp edged, pillow soft centered, buttery and salty, cheesy baked carbs, these fit the bill.
These asiago soft pretzels are fun to make. Because of the quick, yet hands on prep, they are a great recipe to get little people involved in. My youngest son had a blast rolling out the dough out into “snakes,” twisting the dough into the pretzel shapes, dunking them into the baking soda bath, heaping on the asiago cheese, and “painting” the pretzels with butter. He also requested them for his birthday dinner, so I think that he thought they were pretty yummy. We took a platter of these asiago soft pretzels to a party this week and they disappeared super fast. I know I had my share. But with their crispy, buttery, garlic and cheesy tops they are hard to resist.
Asiago Cheese Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast ((1 packet))
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3/4 cup shredded asiago cheese (, divided)
- Approximately 4 cups of all purpose flour
- 4 cups of very hot water
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- coarse kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats or with parchment paper.
- In a medium sized bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Mix it together with a whisk, stirring until most of the clumps are gone. Add in the sugar, salt, and ¼ cup shredded asiago cheese, mixing well. Slowly add 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon. Add about ¾ cup more flour or until the dough no longer feels sticky. Poke the dough and see if it bounces back. If so, it is ready to knead.
- Turn your dough out onto a floured surface. Knead with a push turn method for around 3-5 minutes adding flour when necessary to prevent it from sticking. The dough won’t be entirely smooth because of the cheese, but will be fairly smooth and pliable when done. Shape into a ball. Using a sharp knife or kitchen shears, cut the dough in half. Then into quarters. Take each quarter and cut into 3 even pieces to have a total of a dozen mostly equal pieces of dough.
- Shape each piece of dough into a long ropes, even in diameter. Shorter ropes of dough will make thicker smaller pretzels. Longer ropes of dough will make skinny bigger pretzels.
- Take the two ends of dough and bring them together in a U shape. Twist them together 2-3 times. Flip the twisted ends back to make the pretzel shape. Pictures are featured above to help with this process.
- After the pretzels are shaped. Mix 4 cups of very hot water with ¼ cup baking soda. Dip each pretzel into the baking soda wash. While still wet, sprinkle the pretzels with the remaining ½ cup shredded asiago cheese.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees. Remove from the oven. Turn the oven to broil. Place each pan under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until the pretzels are browned and the cheese is melted. Watch closely to prevent burning.
- Melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Mix in ¼ teaspoon garlic powder. Brush over the tops of warm pretzels and sprinkle with coarse kosher salt.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
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This was the first time I had ever tried to make bread, or use yeast, and it was so easy. The pretzels are delicious! I did do something a bit differently the second time I tried this, I kneaded in the extra cheese after cutting the dough into 12 pieces. Found that gave each one a more cheesy taste. Overall, fantastic recipe!
Amy, your bread recipes look wonderful and I wondered if you have one for yeast biscuits. I see many for rolls but none that match the yeast biscuits (high and light) that my Grandmother made. It was a two rise process and how I wish I had learned the process as I stood and watched as a child. Thank you!
Hi Linda,
I’m sorry, but I don’t have any recipes for yeast biscuits. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever eaten a yeast biscuit! Now I’m going to have to try some and find out what I’m missing out on. Sorry that I couldn’t be of more help.
Amy
I’m not a big time bread baker, but these look so appealing, I might have to try them. As a jumping off point, they’re amazing. I can imagine embellishing them with all sorts of goodies.
Just be careful! They are addicting. I’m not a huge bread baker either, most of the time I lack the patience. But that’s what is great about these, not exactly instant gratification, but you aren’t left waiting for hours to enjoy the fruits of your labor.
Oh, do these look wonderful! Soft pretzels bring out the German in me… YUM! Please come share your blog posts over at the Home Matters Linky Party! We’d love to have you for a visit. The Door is OPEN. http://lifewithlorelai.com/2015/07/16/home-matters-linky-party-46/ 🙂
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
I’ve made pretzels before and it didn’t quite turn out the way I liked it to. BUT, I love pretzels and this looks yummy. I might add some pepperoni for some extra yum!
Linda, please let me know if you try these how they turn out for you! Pepperoni sounds like an awesome combination with these flavors.
This recipe looks like such yummy comfort food. I’m pinning it etc, so that I can come back to it on a rainy day to make with my son!
Great plan Rachel! I think this makes an excellent recipe to do with kids. I love working with my kiddos in the kitchen, hopefully that will be something that they will look back on later with happy memories of.
these look like bliss… delicious
These look dangerous! I’d struggle not eating all of them!
LOL Sarah, the struggle is real! I’ve put on several pounds since I started food blogging. But it would be a crying shame to let such deliciousness get stale or go to waste. I’d much rather it go to waist. Haha. But really, I’ve started cycling with my kids to help combat my blogger butt.
Lol – blogger butt! Oh my gosh, so true! I’ve found myself running up and down many hills since I’ve started food blogging trying to minimize just that
These pretzels look divine! Wow, the soft texture and cheese is a perfect combo. Pinning!
Thanks for the pin, Maggie! I appreciate it. Hope you enjoy these as much as we do.
I love a good soft pretzel and these look great!
Thank you Sam! I love them too. But who am I kidding? I am a carbaholic! (Right now I am stuffed to the gills after finishing off a loaf of my mother in laws homemade Hawaiian bread.) If it’s homemade bread, I’m there!
I wish I saw this earlier today – I just made some pretzels this morning! I’ll have to keep these in mind for next time!
Great minds must think alike, Sabrina! What kind of pretzels did you have? Savory or sweet? I’ve never tried making sweet pretzels, but it’s on my list.
I truly can’t wait to try this. My daughter (11) and I love to make them from mixes, but we’ve never done it from scratch!
I think we’ll make a date to do this soon.
Making them from scratch is easy, Sasha. I know that you guys will have a blast. I love working in the kitchen with my kids. It is so rewarding to see the pride on their faces when they’ve mastered making a recipe on their own.
We made them last night finally! They were wonderful!!!! I think they go on our “make it again” list!
I’m so glad that you guys enjoyed them! I’ve been thinking I need to make up a batch to put in the freezer before school starts so that they can be pulled out for quick snacks once the crazy starts back up.
You had me at cheese! These pretzels are pure perfection!
Pretzels and cheese just go together like peanut butter and jelly, they’re FBF’s Food Best Friends! Hope you enjoy them, Anna.