Homemade Soft Pretzels Recipe as an Appetizer (or Dinner!)
Homemade Soft Pretzels Recipe as an Appetizer
(Or Dinner!)
We love soft baked pretzels, love, love, love them. At times we’ll even actually make a separate stop into Sam’s Club to grab one of their soft baked pretzels and cheese dip – I tell ya… it’s a serious obsession…
So, recently when we were heading to a football party, I knew the kids would love to take some pretzels and cheese dip as our fun thing to contribute to the party. Only I had no idea how to make homemade pretzels. So, as nervous as I was, I set out to make soft pretzel bites. They were SO good!
I will say, to make about 80 pretzel bites it took me about 1 hour including cleanup – so not too bad at all.
Items I used for this recipe:
Here’s how I got these delicious morsels done – and you’ll find a printable recipe below as well. Or, pin this recipe so you’ve got it for when you’re ready to make these delicious soft pretzel pieces.
Pour warm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer (I put notes below in case you don’t have a stand mixer) and sprinkle yeast over top of milk. Add honey and stir the mixture. Allow the yeast to bloom for 5-10 minutes and once it is nice and foamy, it is ready. To make my milk the right temperature, I microwaved the milk in a Pyrex measuring cup for 1 minute.
Next add your flour and salt to the mixer and knead on low for about 3 minutes. If you need to, add flour one tablespoon at time as needed. Your dough will be tacky, but not sticky.
Wash and dry a part of your countertop to roll out dough – do not flour the countertop, though.
Cut your dough into fourparts and roll each pretzel dough ball into 20-24 inch long line of dough.
Cut the line of dough into bite size pieces with a butter knife or dough cutterand place pieces onto a plate.
Fill a large potwith water and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Add 1/2 cup of baking soda to your water slowly. It will bubble up as you add it so be prepared for that.
Add your pretzel pieces to the boiling water 10-15 at a time for 30 seconds or so.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, brush each pretzel piece with egg wash with an egg wash brush like this and sprinkle with coarse salt. I love sea salt!
Bake in preheated450°F oven for 8-10 minutes.
YUM!
Tips:
If you won’t be serving these right away, you will not want to close them in a sealed container. The salt will fall off and they will become mushy. Let them dry and cool completely and then seal them in a bowl or container.
I bought my cheese dip from the store. My grocery had the “soft pretzel cheese dip” with the ethnic foods in the Mexican food area. It is so good and I use it on nachos, too.
The homemade soft pretzels are soft and fantastic - warm and chewy and delicious.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 80 pretzel bites
Author Kate
Ingredients
- 2¼teaspoonsactive dry yeastless then one packet
- 1¼cupswarm milk110°-120°F if you have a thermometer, otherwise 1 minute or so in the microwave
- 2tablespoonshoney
- 3¼cupsall purpose flourI use unbleached
- 1teaspoonsea salt
- ½cupbaking soda
- 1large egg
- coarse saltpretzel salt or I like sea salt if you have it
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450°F
Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
Pour milk into the bowl of a stand mixer
Sprinkle yeast over top of milk
Add honey and stir
Allow yeast to bloom for 5-10 minutes until it is foamy
Add flour and salt to mixer
Knead for about 3 minutes until the dough comes together in one ball
Wash countertop (do not flour)
Place dough on countertop and form dough into a ball, cut into four pieces
Roll each quarter into an 20-24" strand and cut into pieces using a butter knife or dough cutter
Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over medium high heat
Make egg wash with one egg and 2 T of water
Carefully, add baking soda to boiling water
Place dough bites into boiling water about 10-15 at a time
Remove with a slotted spoon after 30 seconds
Boil all pieces and place on parchment paper
Brush egg wash onto each one and sprinkle with coarse salt
Bake for 7-9 minutes until the tops are browned
If you do not have a stand mixer, mix the dough by hand with a spoon. Turn dough out onto floured counter top and knead for 3-5 minutes until dough is no longer sticky and proceed with directions.
If you like this Pretzel Bites recipe, you may also be interested in these posts below. Simply click on the picture to go to each post.
Recipe adapted from The Slow Roasted Italian.
FAQs
On the one hand, lye gives pretzels their distinctive flavor, kind of a sharp flatness, if that makes sense. It's what keeps a pretzel from tasting like pretzel-shaped bread.
How do you keep soft pretzel bites warm for a party? ›
Simply wrap all the pretzel bites tightly in foil, sealing the edges together, then place in your oven on “keep warm,” or 170F.
Do you have to boil pretzels before baking? ›
Like bagels, pretzels are made in boiling water prior to baking to give them their snappy outsides and chewy insides (messy!). Soft pretzels must be boiled, or dipped in a baking soda bath (or lye if you're gusty and strict with your pretzel traditions). THEN, they can be baked.
What is the secret solution for Auntie Anne's pretzels? ›
While dough is rising, prepare a baking soda water bath with 2 cups warm water and 2 tbsp baking soda. Be certain to stir often. After dough has risen, pinch off bits of dough and roll into a long rope (about 1/2 inch or less thick) and shape. Dip pretzel in soda solution and place on greased baking sheet.
What is the secret ingredient in pretzels? ›
According to King Arthur Baking, lye and caustic sodas are used in the process of baking pretzels because lye's reaction to the pretzels, much like baking soda, gives them that chewy texture, light interior, and brown crust.
What gives soft pretzels their flavor? ›
What Gives Pretzels Their Pretzel Flavor? You have baking soda to thank for that distinct pretzel flavor. Baking soda is highly alkaline and imparts that subtly metallic taste onto the dough before your pretzels go into the oven. Some recipes call for a lye bath, which does the same thing.
How do you keep soft pretzels soft for a party? ›
Refrigerating soft pretzels can turn them soggy and affect their flavor. Freezing pretzels, however, will help retain their texture and softness. You can freeze most food that's properly stored indefinitely, and the food will still be safe to eat.
How to serve soft pretzels at a party? ›
Create an Appealing Display: Use decorative serving platters, tiered stands, or rustic wooden crates to display your pretzels and toppings. Add small chalkboard signs or labels to identify the different pretzel varieties and dips.
How to keep soft pretzels warm at a wedding reception? ›
Purchase a ceramic bread warmer at a kitchen supply store or online. Heat the warmer in the microwave for about a minute and place it in a basket using an oven mitt. Cover the bread warmer with a clean dish cloth and place your warm pretzels on top of it to serve.
Do you use baking soda or powder for soft pretzels? ›
As noted above, baking soda is a staple ingredient for making homemade pretzels. Dunking your pretzels in a baking soda bath prior to baking is what enables them to develop their distinctive color and crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside texture.
Bread flour is best used for, you guessed it, breads. This is fine for pretzels, but if you don't plan to make that much bread, buying bread flour for just one thing can seem like a waste. All-purpose flour can be used for a wide variety of baked goods, including cookies, muffins, pie crusts, and breads.
What is the purpose of putting an egg wash on the pretzel? ›
Egg Wash – The egg wash on the pretzels gives them a little shine, and I find it softens the exterior a bit. For a more traditional taste, omit the egg wash and just use salt when the pretzels come out of the water bath.
Does Auntie Anne's use lye or baking soda? ›
Well, the cheery ladies were very clear with me: they do NOT use lye. No sodium hydroxide/poison/caustic soda—none whatsoever—in their pretzels. (They do, however, dip their pretzels in a baking soda solution.)
How do you get a free pretzel at Auntie Anne's? ›
Enjoy a free pretzel after your first $1 spent, a free pretzel on your birthday when you spend $10+ annually, and other exclusive member offers.
Why do you boil pretzel dough in baking soda water? ›
Furthermore, we've introduced the baking soda bath. While it sounds strange, this step is what gives pretzels that iconic flavor, chewy texture, helps deepen their golden color in the oven, and locks in the super soft interior.
What is the flavouring on pretzels? ›
Salt is the most common seasoning, or topping, for pretzels, complementing the washing soda or lye treatment that gives pretzels their traditional skin and flavor acquired through the Maillard reaction. Other toppings are mustard, cheeses, sugar, chocolate, cinnamon, sweet glazing, seeds, and nuts.
What makes pretzel dough taste different? ›
They're Boiled, Not Baked.
The dough is first shaped into a long rope and then boiled in water before being baked at a higher temperature than bread. This process creates a distinctive pretzel shape and gives them their unique taste.
What makes pretzels smell like pretzels? ›
After removing other scent molecules individually, the researchers found two molecules that are essential to the unique pretzel scent: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which has a roasted smell, and 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-3(2H)-furanone, which has a caramel smell.
What's the difference between a pretzel and a soft pretzel? ›
Soft pretzels can usually be baked in 15 minutes; hard pretzels, meanwhile, must be baked for up to an hour. The longer baking time further dries out the pretzel. And, as we have discussed, the lack of moisture is what gives the hard pretzel its brittle texture.
