Baked Soft Pretzel Bites
These Baked Soft Pretzel Bites are soft and chewy inside, with a crunchy, crackly exterior, and are absolutely fabulous dipped in beer cheese or mustard!
Prep Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
Cook Time13 minutes mins
Total Time1 hour hr 43 minutes mins
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: homemade soft pretzels
Servings: 20 servings
Calories: 146kcal
Pretzel dough
- 1 1/2 cups warm water warm to the touch, like a baby's bath water
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 (1/4 oz) package active dry yeast
- 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 8 - 10 cups water
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 2 large egg yolks beaten with 2 Tbsp cold water
- coarse kosher or sea salt for sprinkling on pretzels
Garlic butter
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- pinch of minced fresh parsley
- pinch of kosher salt
Proof the yeast
To the bowl of a stand mixer, add warm water, sugar, and yeast. Stir and let sit for 5-10 minutes. After that time has elapsed, it should look foamy and smell “yeasty”.
Combine and knead dough
Add flour, salt, and melted butter. Using the dough hook attachment, mix on LOW speed until combined.
Increase speed to MED and knead for about 4 minutes, until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl.
Let dough rise
Spray a separate large bowl with cooking spray, and transfer dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm spot for 1 hour.
Towards the end of the hour, bring a large stockpot with 10 cups of water to a boil.
Shape dough
Lightly spray a work surface with cooking spray and turn out the dough. Shape it into a ball, and divide in half. Divide each half into fourths, so you have 8 sections of dough.
Roll a section into a long rope, approximately 20” long. Slice the rope into roughly 1 1/2 inch pieces to make bites. Set aside and repeat with remaining sections of dough.
Baking soda bath
Once the water is boiling, carefully add the baking soda. It will bubble up like crazy, so add it slowly.
Boil about 15 bites at a time in the baking soda water, for just 15 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon or frying spider and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pretzel bites, boiling in batches.
Bake
Whisk together egg yolks and water, and brush over pretzel bites. Sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, until deeply golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes.
Top and serve
If desired, combine garlic butter ingredients and brush onto baked pretzels.
Serve with beer cheese, grainy mustard, honey mustard, etc.
- We love to serve these with a Creamy Beer Cheese Sauce.
- Recipe serves approximately 20 people, assuming each person has around 5 pretzel bites.
- Recipe makes approximately 100-106 bites.
- Instant yeast can be used, and you can skip the "proof the yeast" step (but you'll still use all the ingredients, you just combine them and move forward, rather than waiting 5-10 minutes).
Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 1282mg | Potassium: 35mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 147IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg