Vegan Caramelized Shallots and Feta Stuffed Pretzels

Ingredients

Prepare the Pretzel Dough

1. Step 1

   To a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, instant yeast and sea salt. Stir to combine.

2. Step 2

   Add the warm water and olive oil. Use a spatula to incorporate until the dough comes together.

3. Step 3

   Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface (see notes for stand mixer option). Knead the dough to form a smooth homogenous ball. If you notice that your dough is too sticky, add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. If you notice that the dough is too dry and has a shredded appearance, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, kneading thoroughly between each addition.

4. Step 4

   Place the dough back into the bowl, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes in a warm environment (I like to preheat my oven to 100ºF, turn it off and place my dough to rise in there).

Prepare the Filling

1. Step 1

   In a medium sized saucepan, heat the olive oil on medium heat.

2. Step 2

   Add the shallots and cook until translucent, stirring regularly. Be careful not to crisp the shallots up!

3. Step 3

   Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the saucepan and caramelize the shallots for about 30 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent the shallots from sticking to the pan. If you notice that the shallots are burning up or crisping up instead of caramelizing and softening, reduce the heat to low.

4. Step 4

   Once the shallots have turned an amber-brown color, are soft, and sweet in flavor, remove the lid. Add the minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, thyme, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook for 1 minute.

5. Step 5

   At this stage, if I notice find that my shallots are too wet in texture, I like to turn up the heat to help the extra moisture evaporate. I stay very close and stir constantly to prevent the shallots from burning.

6. Step 6

   Remove from the heat, transfer to a bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool for 15 minutes.

7. Step 7

   Add the crumbled feta to the bowl with the shallots and stir to combine.

Assemble the pretzels

1. Step 1

   Dust a clean surface with flour and roll out your dough into a 40cm by 30cm rectangle.

2. Step 2

   Cut 8 strips of about 5cm in width and 30cm in length. I like to use a pizza cutter for this.

3. Step 3

   Pick up a strip and roll it out a little more in width to make extra space for the filling.

4. Step 4

   Divide your caramelized onion filling by 8. This does not have to be very precise, but if you would like it to be, you can weight the amount of filling you got and divide that number by 8 then scoop out the exact number of grams onto your pretzel strip. Make sure to leave some space (free of filling) on each side of the strip and at the end of it.

5. Step 5

   Pinch the sides for your pretzel together to form a rope, encasing the filling.

6. Step 6

   Form a U shape then twist both ends together twice. Bring the twisted ends back down towards the bottom of the U and pinch them down to form a pretzel shape. Repeat with the remaining dough.

Boil & Bake

1. Step 1

   Preheat oven to 400ºF and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Step 2

   Bring the water and baking soda to a boil. Using a slotted spatula, drop one or two pretzels at a time in the water for 20 seconds until they have slightly puffed up (don't go past the 30 second mark or else your pretzels will have a metallic taste).

3. Step 3

   Remove from the water and set on a prepared baking sheet. Immediately sprinkle on some coarse salt and sesame seeds. Repeat with the remainder of the pretzels.

4. Step 4

   Drizzle with some olive oil and bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until dark brown in color. Enjoy warm!

5. Step 5

   Reheat these in the airfryer at 350ºF for 3 minutes or in a preheated conventional oven at 300ºF for 6 minutes.

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