Hearty ham, cheese and pretzel sticks

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 330 g wheat flour type 550
• 10 g rye flour
• 6 g salt
• 20 g yeast
• 10 g butter
• 185 g water
• 200 g double cream cheese, or crème fraîche
• 50 g smoked ham, diced
• 100 g grated cheese, e.g. Gouda
• 1 bunch of chives
• 1 liter of water
• 50 g baking soda

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Rest time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 25 minutes

You’ll need pretzel brine (caustic soda). Bring 1 liter of water to a boil and add 50 g of baking soda. Caution: It will bubble vigorously! Using a dough hook, mix the flour, salt, yeast, butter, water, and rye flour until you have a fairly firm dough (8-10 minutes of mixing time). Divide the dough into portions of approximately 60 g, shape them into long sticks, flatten them slightly, and let them rise for 30 minutes at room temperature. Then make a depression in the center of the dough pieces for the cheese and ham. Dip each stick of dough into the pretzel brine and then place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Now add the cream cheese, then the diced bacon, and finally the grated cheese to the depressions. I’ve also used crème fraîche instead of cream cheese; it tastes very good too. Bake in a preheated oven at 250°C (480°F) for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with chives after baking.