Amish Pretzel Log Recipe Stuffed With Cheese Steak

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All the amazing flavors of a classic Philly Cheesesteak all stuffed in a soft 'n chewy pretzel bun!  This will quickly become your favorite game day/party/because it's Tuesday recipe!

This post is being sponsored by Red Star Yeast featuring their Platinum Yeast. All opinions of their ABSOLUTELY AMAZING products are mine.

So can I tell you just how giddy I am about this recipe and post? First, I get to work again with Red Star Yeast. I mean you all know how much I love and trust their products. They simply are the best ! It's the only yeast that I will trust with my dough albeit sandwich bread, my infamous babka to my pizza dough. It's a must-have in my world… kind of like air…and bacon. But the other reason I'm so giddy is that this recipe is one of my top 5 all-time favorite things to make during football and hockey season…or because it's Tuesday. There seriously is no wrong time of the year to make these.

Plus it's an homage to a Philly Cheesesteak!  I've been to Philly numerous times and have had umpteen different variations of it ranging from the canned cheese spray to good ol' American cheese and everything in between. To me, there really is no wrong way to make it. As long as the steak is flavorful, tender, there are onions and bell peppers (okay I hate green peppers so I omit those) and copious amounts of melty cheese. I'm not going to get into the debate of 'a true Philly cheesesteak has X type of cheese' as honestly every time I go to Philly each place uses a different type. But the common denominator in them all – DELICIOUS!

What I wanted to do was make Philly Cheesesteaks that could be eaten while watching the game (a 1-handed type of deal) or when you're playing cards with friends or even watching a movie with you sweetie. Something that was great straight out of the oven, room temperature or even cold (*yes I have eaten the leftover ones straight out of the fridge and they are DELISH!).

So when my dear friends at Red Star Yeast asked me to come up with something that would be great for the summer, perhaps a picnic, grad party or concert in the park I knew I wanted to go with some type of 'Bomb'.

A 'Bomb' is about the same size (or slightly smaller than) a hamburger bun of soft and chewy dough that is stuffed with…um, stuff. At the pizza shop I used to make these using pizza dough and either bake or deep fry them depending on time. My last recipe for Red Star was for a Buttery Skillet Pan Crust Pizza that you guys went NUTS over (and rightly so as it's crazy delicious!). So I didn't want to go with another pizza dough recipe though for real, I could easily create a whole new website just about pizza. It literally is my all time favorite food!

That being the case I wanted to go with a more 'trending' type of dough and go with the pretzel bun. Now true German style pretzels are made with food-grade lye to get that deep, golden brown color and the alkaline lye bath affects the way the Maillard reaction plays out when the pretzel bake. The dip in the caustic bath shapes the way the crust forms and tastes. So in the case of the pretzel, the Maillard reaction is what causes the deep brown crust, crunchy crust and distinctive taste. Buuuuuuuuuuuut…I don't have that, you don't have it and truthfully I don't want that! You have to purchase special gloves and gear and I'm having none of that! Instead we go with the egg wash effect.

What, to me, sets a pretzel crust apart, besides the crust and pretzel salt is the addition of brown sugar. Pretzels, at least pretzel buns, have a very mild sweet undertone flavor that brown sugar imparts.

Just a few minutes in the mixer and Voila! a gorgeous soft and smooth dough ball.

When it comes to making these I have a few tips to share about the meat.

1. Freeze the meat for at least 30 minutes to an hour. You don't want the meat soft but you also don't want it rock hard. What you want to is have it be firm enough that you can slice it thinly with a knife. Philly Steak sandwiches do not have huge chunks of meat but almost shaved-like slices. Oh sure you can ask your butcher if they will shave it for you but some may not be able to.
2. Once you slice it thin, turn the pieces a quarter turn and do a chop on it. You really want to chop up the meat before you cook it as it'll make it easier to cook. Most sandwich shops that serve this already buy their meat that is so thinly shaved that as soon as it cooks it starts to fall apart with the slightest touch.

To form these I opted to form each dough ball into a rectangle, pat it out and then roll it up from the bottom, tuck in the sides and then pinch the ends shut. Think of almost like a burrito if you will. The biggest thing about these is to not pat the dough really thin as the last thing you want is the ball to explode when you boil it before baking it. Why lose all that deliciousness inside?

Yes, you must boil these in the baking soda bath before baking. Do you know why though?

Remember my talking about the lye bath and the whole crust thing? Well baking soda has a high level of alkalinity so by boiling them for a few in a baking soda bath you're mimicking the same reaction as the lye stuff (without all of the possible dangers of using lye). The quick dip in the alkaline bath helps give the pretzel bun that shiny crust and distinct pretzel flavor. The egg wash helps give it that crust and crunch.

Now if you look at the picture above you can see that I dip mine in ketchup. Yes, even in Philly I put ketchup on mine. I'm a Pittsburgh girl and ketchup goes on most things. You can be a Philly cheesesteak purist and skip the ketchup but it's all your choice. Mr. Fantabulous ate his plain as he said ketchup ruins the taste of anything – what does he know anyway, right? lol

After baking I had to let them cool slightly as the middle was like molten hot lava but man oh man.. that first crack open and you see all of that cheesy goodness and that smell of the Philly steak…good lord it was almost erotic. LOL The meat was so flavorful and practically melted in my mouth and ALL OF THAT CHEESE! Seriously this was a true flavor bomb!

I've made these a bunch of times and have tried umpteen different cheese variations. He prefers more of the pepper jack with mozzarella where I'm like "just give me all the cheese!". If you want more of a 'saucier' type cheese go with the blocks of processed cheese. It's serious cheeseness!

Final thoughts…

Make these bombs. Seriously, you will become the hero at the next party when you bring these!  These are so addictive and delicious. Even though hockey season isn't starting for a few more months I've already planned on having these on my food menu for every single game!  Plus make sure you check out Red Star Yeast's website for more amazing recipes, yeast baking tips and coupons! It's truly one of my favorite go-to sites!

And if you truly want to be inspired (and okay maybe drool a little) you MUST follow them on social media!
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Ingredients

Pretzel Dough

• 1 cup warmed whole milk, (105–115 degrees F/40–46 degrees C)
• 2 tablespoon butter, unsalted and softened
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 packet Red Star Platinum Superior Baking Yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 large egg + 2 teaspoon water, beaten
• Pretzel salt *see note
• 6 quarts of water
• 1/4 cup baking soda

Cheesesteak Filling

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups red bell pepper, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup red onion, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/4 cup shaved rib eye steak, chopped up *see note
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 cup cubed cheddar pieces
• 1 cup cubed mozzarella pieces

Instructions

Make the Dough

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add in milk, butter, brown sugar and yeast. Gently mix and allow to proof for ~5 minutes.
2. Add in the flour and salt and mix on low just until loosely combined gently scraping down the sides. Mix until a soft, smooth elastic ball forms; ~8-10 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides (though it may not be fully pull away) of the bowl but still be wet/tacky to the touch. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a very lightly floured surface, give it a few kneads by hand. Place in a lightly oiled bowl (at least 2-3 times bigger than the ball) and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in size; about 60-90 minutes.

Make the Cheesesteak filling

1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat add in 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil begins to shimmer add in the onions and peppers. After a minute add half of the salt, pepper and garlic powder. Stir to combine. Cook until softened 6-8 minutes. Remove to bowl.
2. In the same skillet add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Season the steak with the rest of the salt, pepper and garlic powder. Gently mix. Add the meat to the skillet and cook just until no longer pink ~ 2-3 minutes. Add back in the onions and peppers. Stir to combine and remove the pan from the heat and set aside.

Assembly

1. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board. Cut into 12 even pieces. Gently form into a ball and then pat each ball out into 5×3"rectangle. To the center of it add some of the meat mixture and then top with a chunk of each piece of cheese. Fold up the bottom, then each side and then roll to close. Pinch the seams closed. *Make sure that the dough is not patted too thin as the mixture will leak out.
2. Place on a lightly sprayed parchment paper. Repeat for each bomb.

Bake

1. Preheat the oven to 425F, rack in the middle. In a large pot add the 6 quarts of water. Bring to a rolling boil and add in the baking soda.
2. One at a time, using a slotted spoon gently drop in the pretzel cheesesteak bomb and boil for 20 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon, letting the water drip off and then place back on the sprayed parchment. Repeat until all 12 are done.
3. Brush the bombs with the egg mixture and sprinkle with pretzel salt.
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until there is a deep caramel pretzel color. Gently remove from the tray and cool slightly before serving. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

Notes

Pretzel Salt

1. Do not use iodized or even kosher salt for pretzel salt. The granules are smaller and they often melt or tend to get too salty. I purchase mine online – Pretzel salt

Steak

1. Freeze the meat for at least 30 minutes to an hour. You don't want the meat soft but you also don't want it rock hard. What you want to is have it be firm enough that you can slice it thinly with a knife. Philly Steak sandwiches do not have huge chunks of meat but almost shaved-like slices. Oh sure you can ask your butcher if they will shave it for you but some may not be able to.
2. Once you slice it thin, turn the pieces a quarter turn and do a chop on it. You really want to chop up the meat before you cook it as it'll make it easier to cook. Most sandwich shops that serve this already buy their meat that is so thinly shaved that as soon as it cooks it starts to fall apart with the slightest touch.

Keywords: snacks, football, superbowl, games, party foods, finger foods, cheese steak, pretzel bun, philly cheese steaks, baking, dough

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Amish Pretzel Log Recipe Stuffed With Cheese Steak

Source: https://www.thekitchenwhisperer.net/2018/07/04/pretzel-bun-philly-cheesesteak-bombs/

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