We hope you enjoy listening to episode 3 of the Foodbod Pod and enjoy Elaine’s interviews with Bertie Matthews, Managing Director of Matthews Cotswold Flour, and Sophie Carey, the Bakery Development Manager. Listen out for their top tips, as well as Sophie’s great recipe as we made it – you’ll find the written version below, you can hear us making it on the podcast and watch us in action on our YouTube channel. Listen to the epsiode here:

Or on Podbean, Spotify, Amazon, Google and other platforms.

Sophie’s Jalapeno and Cheddar Pretzel Bites 

Makes: About 30 bites, or 2 full baking trays 

Prep time: 40 minutes

Bake time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

300g Matthews Strong White Flour

130g water

30g milk

5g salt

20g melted butter

7g sugar

60g diced cheddar cheese

60g diced pickled jalapenos (drained and dried well) 5g dried yeast

3 tbsp bicarbonate of soda (for boiling)

Flaky salt (to top)

Sour cream (to dip)

Method:

1) Warm the milk and water with the butter to melt, and allow to cool to lukewarm. Add in the sugar and yeast and mix.

2) Combine the salt and the flour, and pour it into the milk mixture.

3) Mix for 3 minutes on a slow speed then increase the speed to high for 6 minutes.

4) Add in the jalapenos and cheese cubes and mix again on slow for 2 minutes.

5) Shape into a smooth ball and place it in a bowl. Cover and prove in a warm place for 1 hour. 

6) Tip the dough out and flatten it very gently to about 1 inch thickness. Use a bench scraper or floured knife to cut 1 inch x 1 inch bites.

 7) Boil a big pan of water and add the bicarbonate of soda. Drop in the pretzel bites a few at a time and boil for 30 seconds – they should start to float.

8) Remove from the water and place onto a lined baking tray. Top with a little flaky salt.

9) Bake for 12-16 minutes at 200C.

10) Allow to cool slightly before tucking in, enjoy with a sour cream dip!

This is the strong white bread flour Sophie used: https://cotswoldflour.com/products/matthews-strong-white-flour?ref=FOODBODPOD

Watch it all on YouTube