Post a Comment On: Home Cooking In Montana

[Image]
[Image]
[Image]
[Image]
Mini Pretzel Bites, Pizza Swirls, Mini Bagel Dogs, and Parmesan Cheese Swirls...All made out of one Dough!
Here we go, again...working with bread dough:). This was actually really fun. Seriously. It was fun to come up with different ideas for all the bagel dough I made. I love using ingredients that I have around the house...its always more challenging. It saves you money, as well as a trip to the store. For the filling ingredients, I used sausages instead of hot dogs, leftover homemade spaghetti meat sauce, and cheddar cheese instead of mozzarella, etc...
My inspiration for this post was a memory of eating bagel dogs with my oldest brother. He was the one who actually introduced me to the BAGEL DOG. Have you ever had a bagel dog? Well, it took a visit to the to the mall one day, to make me appreciate what he liked about them. I figured bread and a hot dog together...no big deal. I've had that before. But a bagel dog...now, I've never had that before. The hot dog(more like a polish sausage), encased in chewy bagel bread, with a bit of mustard on the side, was just mmm,mmmm, good! It was only after I had eaten my bagel dog, that I understood why my brother liked them so much. That bagel dog was something else...! Sweet, sweet memories... Ok, so you have to like hot dogs/sausages to appreciate where I am coming from. I know many girls wouldn't dream of enjoying a bagel dog as much as I do. But, you know, I am thankful I grew up with plenty of brothers who broadened my outlook on things:)....
But, I haven't had a bagel dog in a VERY LONG time. I don't know if they have them at the malls anymore. I just know they don't have them where I live... and I wanted a bagel dog. I thought, why not...I could make my own. I searched through my freezer and found NO hot dogs. But I did have some sausages...that would work , wouldn't it? I decided to make do with what I had. I realized after making 2 regular-size sausage dogs, that they were going to be too much. I mean, I could have eaten a whole one ...but knew I shouldn't. So I changed my plan, and made them into smaller bites. I think that was much better:). Since I had a lot of dough left, I decided to do other things with it....pizza swirls, pretzel bites, and some Parmesan/ham swirls. By the way, I used my Best-Ever Bagels dough for all of these recipes. Please click on the link to see my original post and then proceed to make one or all of the 4 recipes. Actually, if you have a different idea you would like to try, feel free. These are just ideas... I used what I had on hand. I like the fact that the bagel recipe makes quite a lot of dough. This gives you enough dough to make quite a few recipes. You can freeze these goodies ...just re-heat them in the oven. It crisps them up nicely....they are just wonderful! What was my absolute favorite?...why, the bagel dog, of course! The pizza swirl came in at a close second:)...Kids will love the pizza swirls. Put them on a stick and they will be really happy...well, most kids will:) Hope you enjoy...

For the Mini Pretzel Bites:

Take an orange size chunk (or smaller) of dough and roll it in a thin round log/strip.[Image]Using the kitchen shears, cut about 1 inch chunks.[Image]Let rise for about 20 minutes. Boil the pretzel pieces for about 1 minute in simmering water(with baking soda/sugar...check out the post on the bagels.)just like you would boil the bagels.[Image]Brush with beaten egg.[Image]Bake at 400 deg for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.[Image][Image]Eat them plain...or dip in a honey mustard sauce, plain mustard, marinara sauce, balsamic/olive oil/parmesan dip, cheese sauce, etc. FOR THE PIZZA SWIRLS:
Take a chunk of dough and roll into a rectangular shape. Spread a layer of pasta sauce onto the dough.
I had some meat sauce, so that is what I used. But feel free to use regular pizza/pasta sauce. If your sauce is on the thinner side, you can cook it down some to thicken a bit. [Image]
[Image]Sprinkle some chopped Canadian bacon/ham along with some cheese. I ran out of mozzarella and had to use some Colby/Cheddar cheese.Roll the dough jelly roll style and pinch the end. [Image]Cut in 1-1/2 inch slices(or thereabouts) and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. You can brush the sides of the dough with some beaten egg if you like. I didn't...but it will give it some nice golden color. [Image]Bake in a preheated 400 deg oven for 10-12 minutes.Some cheese/sauce will ooze out. Just let it cool down a bit.[Image]

FOR THE PARMESAN HAM AND JALAPENO SWIRLS:

Basically the same idea as above(pizza swirls), except you don't use any sauce. I substituted some Parmesan cheese and added some diced pickled jalapenos.This was more "plain" flavored. You can definitely be creative...try adding some Alfredo sauce with a bit of roasted garlic, etc...
[Image][Image]FOR THE BAGEL DOG/SAUSAGE ROLLS:You will need some hot dogs... or in my case, some sausage. I didn't have any hot dogs, so I used what I had. The casing from the sausage will make you pull at it a bit, unlike a regular hot dog... but, the flavor was incredible! [Image]Cut sausage into 1 inch(or so) slices. Set aside.Take a chunk of bread dough and roll into a rectangle. Using a 2-2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter, cut out circles. [Image]Wrap the dough around the sausage slice and pinch the dough to encase the sausage. Make sure it is completely closed/pinched(Otherwise it will open as you boil them). Then gently form the dough around the sausage piece....basically to get the dough evenly distributed around the sausage.[Image]Let it rise for 20-25 minutes. Boil as you would bagels. See my bagel recipe post.[Image]Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or leave plain. [Image]Bake in a pre-heated 375 oven for 10-12 minutes or until nicely golden brown.[Image]