Pretzel Bites

4.41 from 5 votes

Ths Soft Pretzel Bites Recipe makes chewy and perfectly soft pretzel bites. To get the best homemade pretzel bites, just follow these easy step by step instructions. You can get your favorite soft pretzel bites without ever leaving your kitchen!

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

rising time1

Total Time1

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings: people

Calories: 161kcal

Ingredients

Pretzel Dough

1 ½ cups Warm Water slightly warm to the wrist (95-110 degrees F)
1 Tablespoon Sugar
1 teaspoon Yeast active dry yeast or instant is fine
3-3 ½ cups Flour bread flour or all-purose flour
1 ½ teaspoon Salt

Pretzel Poaching Liquid

6 cups Water
6 teaspoon Baking Soda

For Egg Wash

1 large Egg
2 Tablespoons Water

For Salted Pretzels

2 Tablespoons Pretzel Salt or Course Salt

For Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels

¼ cup Sugar
2 teaspoon Cinnamon can reduce to 1 ½ if it seems too strong

Instructions

How To Make Pretzel Bites Dough

Proof your yeast by adding the warm water, sugar, and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir well, and let sit for about 10 minutes until frothy.
When the mixture looks nice and bubbly, add 2 cups of the flour and your salt, and mix on low speed using the dough hook. Add in the rest of your flour, ½ cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl (you may not need to use the full amount).
Once all of your flour has been added, mix on low to knead the dough for another few minutes, then turn off the mixer and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled in size, or about 1 hour.
After your dough has doubled, turn it out onto a floured surface and divide into 9 equal balls. Cover the dough balls loosely with a kitchen towel and let them relax for about 2 minutes.

How to Shape Pretzel Bites

Cut the dough ball into 4 pieces.
Take each piece of dough and begin rolling them into long logs on the counter. (Hint: if you “bang” the dough on the counter as you roll, they will naturally get longer and longer.)
Keep going until you reach about 18 inches.
Use a sharp knife some kind of sharp edge to cut the pretzels into 1" pieces. (You can make these bigger or smaller depending on the size you want your pretzel bites to be)

Cooking Pretzel Bites

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. At the same time, make your baking soda bath by combining the water and baking soda in a large pot and set it on high heat to bring it to a boil.
While the water starts to heat, you can shape your pretzels as directed above.
When your poaching water is boiling, add 6-7 pretzel bites at a time and poach for 20 seconds. Flip them over and poach for another 20 seconds. Do not over boil them! Remove them from the water using tongs or a slotted spatula and place on a baking tray.
As soon as all of your pretzel bites are poached, whisk together the egg and water in a small bowl. (I found it easiest to just dip the pretzel bites into the egg mixture and take out with a slotted spoon) Place on a baking sheet and then sprinkle the pretzel salt, or coarse sea salt, over the tops.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until the pretzel bites are golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve warm. Enjoy!

How To Make Buttery Soft Pretzels

If your thing is buttery, Auntie Anne style soft pretzels, we hear ya! The secret is to brush the top of each pretzel with melted butter once they are fresh out of the oven. Let them cool for just a minute or two so that more of the butter has a chance to stick.

Nutrition