Gluten, Dairy, and Egg Free Soft Pretzel Nuggets

Gluten, Dairy, and Egg Free Soft Pretzel Nuggets

I saw this picture/recipe on Pinterest a looong time ago, and now that I've decided to try to have my son go gluten-free again for a while, AND my gluten, egg, and dairy free nephew is here for Thanksgiving, I decided it was time to try this recipe. I had to adjust what the recipe is on Gluten Free On a Shoestring to avoid the dairy and the egg, so I was a little hesitant about how these would turn out. I even nixed the idea of making regular pretzel rolls so as not to torture my poor kid who does NOT like being gluten-free. Well, they ALL seem to love these pretzel nuggets. They taste GREAT, with no funky aftertaste or odor. The texture is actually bread-like, and they taste like soft pretzels! Woo hoo! I'm doing a dance! I will be making these again for sure. And the Better Batter flour, although pricey, is worth every penny. Thanks, Gluten Free On a Shoestring!

Gluten, Dairy, and Egg Free Soft Pretzel Nuggets
     ---adapted from Gluten Free On a Shoestring

Ingredients:

• 3 1/4 cups Better Batter All Purpose Gluten Free Flour, plus a few tablespoons more 
• 3 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Stick, melted & cooled
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G Gluten Free Egg Replacer mixed with 2 tablespoons warm water
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• baking soda bath for boiling (6 cups water with 1 tablespoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt)
• cornstarch wash (1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1/2 cup water, mixed well)
• coarse salt for sprinkling

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line two or three cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, whisk together the flour, yeast, cream of tartar, baking soda, sugar, and kosher salt with a regular hand whisk. Add the cider vinegar, Earth Balance, and egg replacer & water mixture. Mix on low speed until mixed. With the mixer on low, slowly pour in the water.
Once all the water has been added, turn the mixer up to high and let it mix for about 3 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl in spots. The dough will still be pretty wet, but that's okay.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured piece of parchment or wax paper. dust the top lightly with flour and divide dough into four pieces. Then, cut each of those in half and form each into a rope that is about 1 inch in diameter. Cut each rope into 1 to 1 1/2 inch sections and set on parchment lined cookie sheets to rise, covered, for 40 minutes. Nuggets should be about 1 to 1 1/2 inches apart of the cookies sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
While nuggets rise, bring the baking soda bath to a boil in a deep pan or large pot over medium heat. 
Once nuggets have risen and soda bath is boiling, boil 6-8 nuggets at a time for just under a minute, turning a time or two to make sure all sides get boiled. 
Remove nuggets with a slotted spoon and touch back of spoon to a paper towel to drain a little. Place nuggets back onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining nuggets on that pan. When all nuggets from one pan are boiled and back on the sheet, brush with cornstarch wash, sprinkle with coarse/Kosher salt, and cut a small slash into each nugget with a sharp serrated knife.
Bake at 375 degrees F for about 20 minutes, or until well-browned. Remove from oven, allow to cool a few minutes and enjoy.

Makes about 6 dozen nuggets

Cute dough nuggets

My GF,DF,EF nephew loved 'em.