RIP Baking Aisle
I remember when the baking aisle used to be a safe place. Now, it’s an absolute desert. Let’s reminisce back to my Raspberry White Chocolate Chip Scones post where I talked about how stocked the baking aisle was. Those were simpler times. For a while, I couldn’t find flour anywhere. But this past week, I was lucky enough to snag one of the two remaining bags of flour on the shelf. Yeast is a whole other story. Don’t even get me started on yeast. I’ve been looking for yeast at the grocery store for about a month now and we still have nothing. Zero. Zip. Zilch Nada. The only upside to this travesty is that I discovered an incredible “No-Yeast Soft Pretzels” recipe for my Miso Queso & Furikake Pretzels recipe!
Two-Ingredient Pretzels
Typically, a recipe for soft pretzels requires yeast. But as I’ve mentioned, I haven’t been able to find any. I had already planned to make this Miso Queso & Furikake Pretzels recipe, so I was determined to find a way to make it work without yeast. I began searching for yeast-free pretzel recipes, and I came across this two-ingredient recipe for soft pretzels.
This pretzel recipe is from Kirbie’s Cravings, and it is mind blowing. MIND. BLOWING. All you need it self-rising flour and greek yogurt. I didn’t have self-rising flour on hand, so I used all-purpose flour and baking powder to replace it. In the recipe below, I listed the ingredients I used, but if you have self-rising flour, you can use that in place of all-purpose flour and negate the amount for the baking powder.
Not gonna lie, I was skeptical. I didn’t understand how self-rising flour and greek yogurt would create a pretzel. Neverththeless, I witnessed the most amazing chemical reaction of my life. And by chemical reaction, I don’t mean that your ingredients will fizz and explode. The process of seeing seeing flour and yogurt turn into a pretzel is a chemical reaction in itself. You would never guess that these pretzels were made with only two ingredients.
I can’t even begin to explain the chemistry of it all because I still don’t understand how these pretzels turned out so amazing and pretzel-like. All I know is that you must try this recipe to understand why it’s so mind-blowingly impressive.
A Japanese Twist
This Miso Queso & Furikake Pretzels recipe is a Japanese twist on the classic queso. Rather than sprinkling coarse salt onto the tops of the pretzels, I seasoned the pretzels with furikake, which is a Japanese seasoning. Then for the queso, I added in red miso paste. The saltiness of the red miso paste blends perfectly with the creamy cheeses. Together, the furikake pretzels and the miso queso create a salty umami heaven.
The recipe below makes eight pretzels, and there are three of us quarantining together. Let’s just say we all intended to only eat one pretzel but there ended up being none left. That’s how gosh darn delicious this recipe is. Not to toot my own horn, but my little guinea pigs told me that this Miso Queso & Furikake Pretzels recipe was one of the best recipes I made while here in California.
The Perfect Yeast-Free Recipe
I know I can’t be the only person who’s struggling to find yeast at this time, so if you’re in the same boat, definitely give this recipe a try. Heck, you don’t even have to try my recipe — just try the two-ingredient pretzel recipe! Whatever you choose to do, I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Shoutout to Kirbie’s Craving’s for the awesome pretzel recipe and for saving my Miso Queso & Furikake Pretzels recipe! If you’re looking for something a little different or unique, this is the recipe for you! I wish you luck on finding all of your baking necessities, and I’ll talk to you in my next post!
Miso Queso & Furikake Pretzels
Ingredients
For the Miso Queso
- 1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
- ½ Small Onion (finely chopped)
- 2 Garlic Cloves (minced)
- 1 (4 oz.) Can Chopped Green Chilies
- ½ Tbsp Dijon Mustard
- ½ Tbsp Cornstarch
- ¼ cup Red Miso Paste
- 8 oz. Evaporated Milk
- 1 cup Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- ¼ cup Grated Parmesean Cheese
- 2 oz. Cream Cheese (at room temperature)
- As Needed Sliced Scallions (for garnish)
For the Furikake Pretzels
- 2 cups Flour (divided in half)
- 3 tsp Baking Powder (divided in half)
- 1 tsp Salt (divided in half)
- 2 cups Thick Greek Yogurt (divided in half)
- 1/4 cup Baking Soda
- 2 tbsp Furikake Seasoning
- 1 Large Egg (beaten)
Instructions
For the Miso Queso
- Heat a pot over medium high heat and add in the butter. Once the butter has melted, add in the onion and garlic. Cook until the onions turn translucent. Stir in the green chilies and dijon mustard and cook for about 1 minute. Add in the cornstarch and mix until it is evenly distributed. Then stir in the miso paste.
- Pour in the evaporated milk and whisk it in until there are no more clumps. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil, making sure to stir frequently. Once the mixture has boiled, reduce the heat to low and add in the sharp cheddar, parmesean, and cream cheese. Mix the cheeses into the mixture until they have completely melted. Transfer the queso to a serving bowl and garnish it with the sliced scallions and a sprinkle of furikake. Serve it alongside the furikake pretzels!
For the Furikake Pretzels
- Combine one half of the flour, one half of the baking powder, and one half of the salt in a large bowl. Whisk the ingredients together until they are evenly distributed. Add in one half of the greek yogurt and begin mixing it in with a rubber spatula. When a dough begins to form, turn it over onto a clean work surface and knead it until it comes together into a ball. Continue to knead the dough for about 5 minutes, sprinkling flour onto it whenever it gets too sticky. After kneading, the dough should be tacky but not sticky. Set it aside and cover it with a piece of plastic wrap. Repeat this process with the remaining halves of the ingredients.
- Once both balls of dough have been formed, take the first ball of dough and evenly divide it into 4 pieces. Roll each ball into a 14 inch rope. Take the rope of dough and form a "U" shape. Hold the ends of the rope and cross them over each other and press them into the bottom of the "U." Transfer the shaped pretzels onto a parchment paper lined sheet tray. Repeat this process with the second ball of dough
- Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
- Fill a medium sized pot about halfway with water. Bring the water to a boil. Turn off the heat and add in the baking soda. Gently place 1 shaped pretzel into the water and let it sit for about 30 seconds or until it rises to the surface. Remove it with a slotted spatula or spoon and set it back onto the lined sheet tray. Repeat this process with the remaining pretzels.
- With a pastry brush, coat the surfaces of the pretzels with the beaten egg. Then sprinkle some of the furikake seasoning on top. Bake the pretzels for about 25-30 minutes. They should become a deep golden brown. Remove the pretzels from the oven and serve them alongside the miso queso Enjoy!
