Spelt Pretzel “Sausage” Rolls
I’ve been finalising the Christmas day menu at my house! For a massive foodie, it’s quite a struggle! Deciding to ignore the meat eaters buying in the smoked salmon and huge slabs of meat, I’ve been focusing on the much better option for the veggies and vegans. Getting creative with turning the traditional Christmas roast into a vegan feast takes a little imagination, but also involves a lot of fun! There aren’t many occasions a year that you can go crazy with the food shop and with cooking up enough food to feed the whole street – that’s what we do in our household anyway!
Where to start? Canapés of course! The nibbles through the day are essential in getting in as much tasty variation in your tummy as possible on the big day. Why not try Spelt Pretzel Sausage Rolls over the Xmas period? The combo of salty pretzel and cocktail sausages combines beautifully into a festive snack. This Christmas holiday is about going all out, so why pick the regular recipes you could do any day of the week? What’s so special about a piece of puff pastry wrapped around a store bought sausage? Sounds dismal in comparison to a homemade soft, salty pretzel dough wrapped around a flavoursome lentil and mushroom mock “sausage” mixture.
The pretzel dough was inspired by my popular Pretzel Bun recipe, made with spelt instead and stretched out to wrap around the mixture. Like typical pretzels, i love to combine both the buns and the sausage rolls with mustard, the perfect final punch to the insane taste.
Instead of the regular sausage, I decided it would be nicer to create a flavoursome filling with wholesome lentils and form a meaty texture with mushrooms. I fancied something a bit different, yano? They went down so well with my taste buds – and the rest of the families – I stuffed regular puff pastry sausage rolls with the mixture too, for a not-so-special occasion. Magic.
Want to take it a step further? Add a cranberry sauce layer before spreading out your mushroom mixture!
I think it’s time you tried out this drool worth recipe. It’s worth the proof.
- 2 cups spelt flour, plus extra for dusting
- ¾ cups strong white bread flour
- 7g (1 packet) fast action yeast
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp. vegan margarine
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 7 cups water
- ⅓ cup baking soda/bicarbonate of soda
- 9oz (250g) chestnut mushrooms
- ½ cup dried brown lentils
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp. dijon mustard
- salt & pepper
- 3 Tbsp Vegan margarine
- Coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
- Non-dairy milk, for brushing
- Whisk the warm water and yeast together in a large bowl and set aside for about 5 minutes.
- In the meanwhile, melt the tbsp. of butter and whisk in the sugar and the salt. Pour into the yeast mixture.
- Slowly mix the plain flour, 1 cup at a time with a wooden spoon. Add the full ¾ cup of strong white bread flour, stir again. If the dough is still sticky add another ¼ cup to ⅓ cup of spelt flour. The dough should bounce back if poke with a finger.
- Knead your dough on a lightly floured surface for 3-5 minutes and form into a ball. place in a lightly oiled bowl cover with a kitchen cloth or cling film and place in a warm place for 1 hour*.
- While the dough is proofing, place your lentils in a pot of water and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 mins - or until soft.
- Meanwhile, place your mushrooms in a food processor and pulse a few times until they are well chopped but not a puree. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil over med-high in a pan and fry the onions until translucent, then add the garlic and fry for another 30 secs.
- Add the mushrooms and stir together, let cook for about 15 minutes, letting the mushrooms release their liquid and for the liquid to reduce until all the water has absorbed. Stir frequently.
- Drain the cooked lentils and add them to the pan along with the mustard, salt and pepper. Heat through then remove from the heat to cool.
- Once the dough has proofed, punch down in the bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Use a sharp knife to cut into quarters.Take one quarter and cover the rest of the dough with cling film or a tea towel over the top.
- Divide the quarter into three pieces and stretch each piece of dough out with your hands into a long rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Spread the lentil and mushroom mixture lengthways in a strip in the middle of the dough - leaving at least an inch either side.
- Brush non-dairy milk along one edge of the dough and fold over one side of the dough to meet the other edge and use a fork to seal. Now slice the large roll into small bite-size sausage rolls - they should be 2 inches each. epeat with the rest of the dough.
- In a large pot, bring the 7 cups of water and ⅓ cup baking soda to a boil. Drop a few sausage rolls in the boiling water for 20-30 seconds, then with a slotted spoon let the excess water drip off and place on the baking sheets with a few inches apart. Repeat.
- With a sharp knife, score the top of each roll. Melt the 3 tbsp margarine and brush each bun with it. Sprinkle over the salt.each bun.
- Place in the oven for 20-23 minutes until a deep golden brown.
- Serve warm or keep in an airtight container. Use within 2 days. They can also be frozen.
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