If you plan to make the mustard dip, soak the mustard seeds at least 24 hours, preferably 48 hours prior.

A big thanks to Vegan Richa for this great recipe, and to nouveauraw for the mustard one.

Great for use as an appetizer with a couple beers while working on the main course 🙂

I’m planning to make these for Thanksgiving 2016!

Ingredients:

For the pretzels:

• 1c warm water
• 1 TBSP white sugar
• 2 TBSP (= 2 packets) active yeast
• 3 TBSP oil
• 3c white flour (white! Not home-milled whole wheat! That was a fail!)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp coarse sea salt for sprinkling (optional)

For the baking soda wash:

• 1/2c boiling water
• 1 TBSP baking soda

For the cornstarch wash (vegan egg):

• 1/2c cold water
• 1 TBSP cornstarch

For the sweet+spicy mustard dip:

• 3/4c mustard seeds (use a blend of white and brown)
• 1/2c vinegar
• 5 Medjool dates, pitted
• 2 TBSP soy sauce

Instructions:

For the pretzels:

• combine 1c lukewarm water with 1 TBSP white sugar and 2 packets of yeast in a bowl. Set aside until frothy (5 min)
• separately, combine 3c flour and 1/2 tsp salt
• add oil and yeast mixture to flour and knead 4 to 6 minutes until the dough is smooth
• sprinkle water on the ball of dough, cover with a towel, and let rise until doubled in size (it should fill the whole bowl!)
• flatten the dough into 1/2 in thick rectangle and cut 1/2 in wide strips
• cut the strips into little pillows, roll in your hands to shape and place, nicely spaced on a parchment-lined baking sheet
• pre-heat oven to 450F
• make the baking soda wash by adding 1 TBSP baking soda to boiling water in a small bowl
• brush libreally the pretzels with soda wash, let sit for a few minutes while cutting lines off the top with a sharp knife
• make the vegan egg wash by adding 1 TBSP cornstarch to 1/2c water, warm over medium heat to thicken and brush that sludge onto the pretzels
• optionally, sprinkle with coarse salt
• bake for 13-14 min, or until a nice golden color

For the mustard:

• the mustard seeds should have absorbed all the water; OK to add water at 24 hours if it looks a bit dry
• put the wet seeds, dates (soaked if they’re a bit too dry), vinegar, soy sauce in a food processor; add a bit of tapioca starch or cornstarch if it looks too watery
• blend until smooth; it will keep in the fridge for a couple of months