Pretzel Bites

5 from 1 vote

An easy recipe for soft and chewy pretzel bites with three toppings. They're perfect as a snack or appetizer with salted butter or your favorite dip.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Resting Time2

Total Time2 30

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American, German

Servings: bites

Calories: 76kcal

Author: Caro Jensen

Ingredients

Pretzel Dough

1 1/2 cups milk lukewarm
7 g instant yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
2 tsp salt

Baking Soda Bath

4 cups water
3 tbsp baking soda

Toppings

2 tsp coarse salt
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine the instant yeast with the milk. Slowly add the flour, softened butter, and salt while kneading. Combine everything to a rough dough.
1 1/2 cups milk, 4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup butter, 2 tsp salt, 7 g instant yeast
Place the dough onto the kitchen bench and knead it for 3 minutes until it's smooth and all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Add it back to the bowl, cover it with a damp tea towel or cling wrap, and let it rest for 2 hours in a warm place.
The dough will have doubled in size. Remove it from the bowl and divide it into 4 equal parts. Shape each dough portion into a long log with your hands - about 1 inch / 2.5 cm in diameter. Add a little flour if the dough is too sticky to shape it. Cut the roll into 9 pieces with a knife or dough cutter. The pieces should be about 1.5 inches / 4 cm wide.
Preheat the oven to 350 F (180C) and line 2 large baking trays with parchment paper. Place the dough pieces onto the lined baking trays.
In a large pot, bring the water and baking soda to a boil and reduce it immediately down to a gentle simmer.
4 cups water, 3 tbsp baking soda
Add the dough pieces to the water, about 4 at a time. They will initially sink to the bottom but will slowly float up. Make sure they don't get stuck at the bottom of the pot when they first go into it. After about 10 seconds the pieces will start to float up and you can take them out with a slotted ladle after about 15 seconds. Place them back onto the baking trays. Repeat the process until all pieces had a baking soda water bath.
Add your preferred toppings to the pretzel bites and bake them in the oven for 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove them from the oven and enjoy while warm with your favorite dip!
2 tsp coarse salt, 1 tbsp sesame seeds, 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Notes

Don't skip the baking soda bath. This step is vital to achieving the pretzel bites' unique color and soft and chewy texture.

Don't throw out any stale pretzel bites. They make delicious savory bread and butter pudding or pretzel and bacon dumplings.

Storage: You can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days. Simply reheat them briefly in the oven. Pretzel dough makes a great meal prep staple and you can easily freeze it in a freezer-proof container for up to 3 months.

Nutrition