Hot dog snakes

Ingredients for 10 servings:

• 500 g flour
• 21 g yeast, fresh
• 1 pinch(s) of sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 300 ml water, lukewarm
• 10 sausages, hot dogs, (15 cm long)
• 1 egg(s), beaten
• Pepper(s), red, marinated, from the jar
• Cheese, Parmesan, grated
• 20 currants

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 2 hours

Sausages wrapped in pizza dough

Put the flour in a bowl and make a well in the middle. Put the yeast in a small bowl, mix with a pinch of sugar and a little of the water. Put this in the well and stir it into the flour a little with your finger. Add the salt, olive oil and remaining water and knead into a yeast dough. You may need a little more water; the dough should be soft and non-sticky. Place it on a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. It should have increased in volume considerably. In the meantime, line a baking tray with baking paper. Once the dough is ready, knead it again briefly and divide it into 10 equal parts. Keep one part, return the others to the bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Shape this part into a 31cm long rope, leaving the work surface unfloured. The strand is also easier to shape if you moisten your hands slightly. Then make one end of the strand slightly thicker than the head (about 4cm) and taper the other end slightly thinner. Continue in this way until all the pieces are formed. If necessary, pat the sausages dry, wrap each one in a strand of dough and place on the baking tray. The snakes look best when baked with the thicker end (the head) on top. Then use scissors to cut across the middle of the head at the front. This creates a mouth, and you stick a small strip of bell pepper into this. To do this, take the bell pepper out of the jar, pat it dry with a paper towel and cut it into a 1cm wide strip. Then cut this into short pieces, as deep as the scissor cut in the head. Taper one end slightly and stick it into the dough to make a tongue. Leave the snakes in a damp cloth to rise again in a warm place for about 25-30 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C and beat the egg. Once the dough is ready, brush the snakes with the egg. Stick two currants into the front of each head for eyes and sprinkle each one with a little Parmesan cheese. Place in the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve immediately. They taste best freshly baked, but are still delicious when cool. A tip: after a short baking time, check the oven to see if the dough has started to rise. That’s a great time to pop any eyes that have fallen off back into the dough. Or stick a tongue back in where it belongs. This way you’ll get some beautiful baked specimens.