Recently we ended up with some beer that we didn’t like, and I still have some spent grain. I found this recipe that we hadn’t tried before.
It was fun for hubby and I to do together.
The note about drying the spent grain is important or be like me and just keep adding flour!
The baking soda was definitely a bit confusing but fun.
It bubbled so much we could barely see the pretzels.
Spent Grain Beer Pretzel Balls
April 1, 2025
Category
Appetizers
Bread
Spent Grain
Persons
25
Serving Size
1 ball
Prep Time
35 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
Wait Time
5 minutes
Total Time
1 hour, 20 minutes
Notes
Stick with flakey salt for the top, it’s the best!
Ingredients
Dough
- 12 ounces room temp beer
- 2 1/2 teaspoons dry ale yeast
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups spent grain (dry as possible)
Water Bath
- 7-8 cups water
- 1/3 cup baking soda
Toppings
- 3-4 tablespoons butter, melted
- coarse sea salt, kosher salt, or pretzel salt for topping
- mustard or melted cheese for dipping
Instructions
- Pour beer (room temp) into a large bowl or stand mixer bowl.
- Add sugar and stir well to combine.
- Add the yeast and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Add olive oil, salt, flour, and spent grains (it’s really important the grains are on the dryer side or they will make the dough too sticky).
- Mix (using a dough hook attachment)
- It’s OK if the dough is a little sticky but you don’t want it gooey or sticking to your hands like crazy.
- Add more flour if the dough is too wet.
- Add water if too dry and won’t stay formed.
- Use your hands to shape the dough into a large ball and place it in the center of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean dish towel.
- Let rest at room temp for about 1 hour or until the dough roughly doubles in size.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F.
- Bring water to a boil in a large pot and add baking soda. Stir to mix. Line a large plate with paper towels and set it aside.
- If the dough is still too sticky, knead in more flour until it can be easily handled. To make pretzel balls, cut off a small chunk of dough that’s a little larger than a golf ball. Roll into uniform 1 3/4″-2″ balls and set aside.
- Add dough balls to the boiling water a few at a time. Boil for 30-45 seconds and remove with a slotted spoon and place on the paper towel-lined plate to dry.
- Arrange dough balls on greased baking sheets and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Bake for about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
- Baste each pretzel bite with butter and sprinkle with a little pretzel salt or coarse salt.
- Serve warm with melted cheese sauce or your favorite mustard.
Verdict:
Fun and delicious. Definitely a lot of pans, plates, sheets, utensils, and cook surfaces!
