Soft pretzels are like the soul of comfort snack food. I don’t even know anyone who doesn’t like a good soft pretzel. Cold day, warm day, they’re a joy to eat any time of year! These soft pretzel bites might not be great for your diet, but they’re the treat you need to make at home today! Trust me on this one! Making homemade soft pretzel bites is so worth the effort. You will be instantly in love with these soft doughy bites of heaven!
How easy is it to make Pretzels?
The first time I ever made pretzels, I assumed the worst; thinking the process must be complex. Luckily, I was wrong. I assumed it was as tricky and time consuming as making a loaf of bread. I was very wrong. It’s so simple to make these pretzels and they are so much better than store bought pretzels. You might want to just make them yourself from here on out. I personally have no desire to spend $5 for a container of mediocre pretzel bites from now on. After you make the dough and cut the dough into bite sized pieces they are boiled and then baked. Soft pretzel bites are really that simple. So, it’s a little more effort than store bought, but trust me, well worth the effort!
What cheese sauce is best for soft pretzels?
Honestly, whatever cheese sauce you like the most is what’s best. Soft pretzels originated in Germany, but not sure where or when people started dipping them into cheese sauce. You pretty much can’t go to a sporting event without finding soft pretzels served with a cheese dip.
Where we live in Northern Kentucky, beer cheese dip is very popular to serve with soft pretzels. This stems from the huge German population that settled here many years ago. We’ve now grown accustomed to beer cheese for soft pretzels, but our kids still like the standard nacho cheese dip you get at a stadium…I’m sure some day they’ll appreciate the real stuff. Your favorite jarred queso cheese is also great with these soft pretzel bites!
Can I use this dough to make regular pretzels?
Absolutely! You can turn this pretzel dough into standard twisted pretzel shapes instead of bites. I just like the ease of soft pretzel bites to serve for a party or as an appetizer. To turn these into a pretzel shape instead of pretzel bites: After you roll out your rope, make a U shape. Then hold the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press the ends onto bottom of the U curve. Boil your pretzels for 30 seconds just as you would for the pretzel bites. Then bake them after adding your egg wash and salt. Baking might just take a little longer since the pretzels are larger than the bites.
Important Soft Pretzel Bite Ingredients
- Yeast- Active dry yeast in packets or if using bulk yeast make sure it’s been refrigerated to keep it’s freshness. Yeast will lose it’s effectiveness if expired or not refrigerated.
- Warm water- Make sure your water is not over 115 degrees; between 109 and 114 degrees is ideal. I learned that hard way one of the first times I made bread and killed my “not rising” dough. It was a flop. Pun intended.
- Salt- Coarse Kosher salt is best here. For the pretzel salt we use the same kosher salt as well. It needs to be course pre-baking to give you that true pretzel taste and feel in your mouth. The nice thing about this salt too is that if you need less sodium to enjoy these soft pretzel bites, you can scrape it off easily post-bake if you need to.
- Flour- I use All purpose Unbleached Flour. Any flour will work well, I just find quality ingredients like even flour will make for a better outcome.
Give these pretzel bites a try and let us know what you think in the comments below!
Easy Soft Pretzel Bites
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water 110-115 degrees
- 1 Tbsp cane sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt plus more for topping on pretzels (I prefer course Kosher salt)
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 1- 1/4 oz. package
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 10 cups water for boiling pretzels
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 1 large egg yolk with 1 Tbsp water beaten
Instructions
- In bowl for mixer, combine warm water, sugar and kosher salt. Sprinkle with the yeast and give it just 1 quick stir to combine and let sit about 5 mins, mixture will begin to bubble.
- Add flour gradually, about a cup at a time, then melted butter to the bowl. Using dough hook, mix on low until well combined.
- Switch mixer to medium low speed and knead the dough until it is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 2 to 3 minutes. (It should not stick to your hands when you pull it out of the mixer)
- Remove dough from bowl and place it in a clean well greased bowl, big enough for the dough to double in size. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and/or clean towel and place in a warm draft free area for at least an hour. (It's ok to leave longer if you need to, it will just grow a bit more, I sometimes go 2 hours before the next step)
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Line 2 half sheet pans or large full sheet pan with parchment paper, lightly spray a fine mist of cooking oil onto the parchment paper.
- Bring 10 cups of water, along with baking soda to a boil in a large stock pot.
- While you're waiting for the water to boil, roll dough out onto a clean work surface and divide dough into 8 equal pieces. ***Do NOT Flour the surface or the dough will just shrink on you as you roll it out and cut the bites***
- Roll each piece out into a rope about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter. I find it's easiest to roll the dough from the middle out to create an even rope od dough.
- Then cut rope into 3/4 to 1 inch pieces using a pizza cutter or knife.Â
- In small batches, add pretzel bites to boiling water with baking soda for 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to carefully transfer them to your parchment paper lined baking sheets.Â
- Brush pretzel bites with egg wash and then sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Bake pretzel bites 10-12 minutes, turning baking pan/s halfway through for more even coloring.
- Transfer bites to serving platter or bowl, let cool/rest about 5 minutes, then enjoy with your favorite dipping sauce.Â
Notes
Nutrition Disclaimer:
Nutrition
These were SOOOOOOO good! My whole family loved them. I will definitely be making these again. 🙂
Thank you so much for the comment, Larissa! So glad your family enjoyed them! I hope your family can enjoy other recipes on here as well.