Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites

I know it’s only Monday and all. But what’s wrong with a little inspiration?

These soft pretzel bites are the bomb. Chewy inside, smooth on the outside.

Seriously, these are the best.

What the Baking Soda Bath Actually Does

Ever wonder why street vendors’ soft pretzels and Auntie Anne’s soft pretzels taste the way they do?

It’s due to a quick dunk in a bath of boiling water and a whole 1/2 cup of baking soda. Yes, you read that right, you’re boiling a 1/2 cup of baking soda to dunk your pretzels in before baking.

It may seem crazy, but baking soda increases the alkalinity on the surface of the pretzel, which leads to that classic pretzel color, flavor, and crunch. So don’t leave out the baking soda – trust me, otherwise, you’ll be eating gloriously tasty salted rolls that will NOT taste anything like a bona fide soft pretzel.

Temperature Is the One Thing You Can’t Wing

There is leeway with this recipe in terms of measurements and timings. The only exception is temperature.

Make sure to heat your milk to between 110°F and 120°F when activating yeast. If your yeast is too cool, your pretzel bites won’t rise.

If it’s too hot, your yeast could die.

Tips for success:

• Save yourself some work and cut out parchment paper circles ahead of time for easy removal from the baking pan
• Make sure to divide the pretzel dough evenly so they’re the same size. If you’re having trouble dividing evenly, a kitchen scale comes in handy.
• You could always make these into mini pretzel buns and serve with a bowl of mustard or beer cheese

I made these when I had teenagers running around the house and found that they disappeared faster than I could scoop them out of the oven. If you’ve been paying 8 dollars a pop for soft pretzels at the airport, maybe it’s time to consider a change of venue.

Soft Pretzel Bite Ingredients

These are the ingredients that you’ll need to make about 80 soft pretzel bites.

Active Dry Yeast

Active dry yeast, 2 1/4 teaspoons, which is actually just a tad less than a packet of yeast

Warm Milk

Warm milk, 1 1/4 cups at 110°F to 120°F. If you’re wondering whether to use 2% milk, whole milk, etc, the most important part of using milk here is that it is the right temperature.

You could warm it up in the microwave for a minute, but I recommend giving it a quick read with an inexpensive digital cooking/pan fry thermometer like this one. It’ll save you some aggravation.

Foaming yeast mixture. Add the yeast to the warm milk.

Give it a light stir. Wait about 5-10 minutes for the yeast to bloom, pictured above.

If it doesn’t foam lightly on top after 10 minutes, your yeast is most likely dead. Or your milk was too hot.

Either way, I recommend starting over with another packet of yeast. Trust me on that.

It will only take two minutes, but it’ll save you from making a batch of pretzel bites with dead yeast.

Two tablespoons of honey to feed the yeast and give the pretzel bites just the tiniest bit of sweetness, which will be balanced by the salt.

Unbleached all-purpose flour, 3 1/4 cups. Spoon flour into measuring cup and add 1-2 more tablespoons if you live in a more humid climate.

1 teaspoon of salt – I use sea salt. Note, you’ll be adding the salt into the dough, not sprinkling it on top.

1/2 cup of baking soda. Add the baking soda to the water in spoonfuls, stirring after each addition so it doesn’t bubble over.

Make the Egg Wash

Beat the egg with about 1 tablespoon of water to make an egg wash. Use the egg wash to brush the tops of the soft pretzel bites right before they go into the oven.

The egg wash will give them that classic, shiny pretzel crust. The wash also acts as a glue to hold toppings like coarse salt in place.

Skipping this step results in pretzel bites that will look and taste more like dinner rolls.

Coarse Salt for Topping

Use pretzel salt if you have it, but coarse sea salt also works well. You want some coarse grains that are big enough to sit on top of the pretzel bites.

Table salt will melt into the top of the pretzels because the grains are so small.

How to Make Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites

Step 1: Bloom the Yeast

Add the milk to the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow it to warm, then sprinkle the yeast on top without stirring.

Add the honey, stirring slightly, and allow to stand for 5-10 minutes, until it begins to foam and smells yeasty. If after 10 minutes nothing happens, dump out the mixture and start over with fresh yeast.

Step 2: Mix the Dough

Add the flour and salt to the yeast and milk, and mix on low speed with a dough hook until a ball of dough forms, about 3 minutes. The dough should come away from the sides of the bowl and form a cohesive ball.

If sheets of the dough are sticking to the sides, add more flour one tablespoon at a time until the dough is pulled together, but be careful to add as little flour as possible or you’ll have a stiff dough that makes dense pretzel bites. If mixing by hand, stir with a wooden spoon until it is too thick to stir, then turn out onto a clean counter and knead by hand for 4-5 minutes until smooth.

Step 3: Roll and Cut

Wipe down your countertop or work area with a wet cloth and allow to dry. Do not flour the surface.

You want the surface to be completely clean and dry but not floured because a slight tackiness will allow you to roll the ropes of dough without them shrinking back up or slipping.

Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Remove one piece at a time onto the counter, keeping remaining dough covered with a dish towel.

Roll one piece into a 20 to 24 inch rope, pinching ends to seal. If dough is very elastic and fights back, let it rest for about 30 seconds and try again.

Divide rope into 1″ pieces using a bench scraper or butter knife. Repeat with remaining dough.

Step 4: Baking Soda Bath

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450°F. In a large, wide pot over high heat, bring the water and baking soda to a boil.

Add baking soda by the spoonful, waiting for each spoonful to dissolve and settle before adding another. Once at a simmer, add pretzel bites by batches of about 10 to 15 bites.

Cook for 30 seconds, or until puffy and floating. Transfer bites with a slotted spoon to parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing bites so they just barely touch.

Repeat with remaining bites, maintaining boil by adding additional cups of water as needed. Do not crowd the pot, as this will lower the temperature of the water, resulting in unevenly cooked pretzels.

Step 5: Egg Wash and Bake

Brush or spray bites with egg wash and sprinkle generously with coarse salt. Immediately transfer to oven and bake for 7 to 9 minutes, or until deeply golden brown.

If your oven runs hot, pull pretzel bites closer to 7 minutes. Properly cooked pretzel bites should be golden brown and should still yield to gentle pressure a few minutes after coming out of the oven.

What to Dip Pretzel Bites In

You can’t have pretzels without cheese, right? If you’re in a bind or in a pinch, you can absolutely pick up some soft pretzel cheese in a jar in the ethnic or Mexican foods aisle of the grocery store.

Just open and serve. But if you’ve got 10 minutes to kill and really want to impress, make this

**beer cheese**: In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk together, cooking briefly.

Add beer and cheddar and continue to cook until cheese is melted and the mixture is smooth. Keep warm on the lowest setting in a crockpot, perfect for parties.

Honey Mustard

Equal parts Dijon mustard and honey. Takes 30 seconds and is much lighter than cheese dip.

Plain Yellow Mustard

I know. But there’s something about the sharp, vinegary bite of mustard with the chewy salted texture of a good pretzel that’s just plain perfect.

My husband swears by it.

Day-After Pretzels: How to Store and Reheat

The best part of pretzel bites is eating them straight out of the oven. This recipe makes about 80 pretzel bites, so there’s plenty to go around.

However, they’re best within a few hours of baking. Serve them up nice and warm.

If there are leftovers, allow to cool completely, because storing them before they’ve cooled causes condensation which leads to sad, soggy salt-less pretzel bites. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

If you’re planning to serve these to a large group and want to get a head start on them, you can mix the dough and cut into bite size pieces up to 1 day ahead of time. Set on parchment paper loosely covered with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator until ready to continue with recipe at the Baking Soda Bath step.

To reheat leftover pretzel bites, pop them in the microwave until they’re nice and toasty. Texture will be more roll-like, less pretzel-y.

For a truer texture, reheat bites in a toaster oven or 350 degree oven for a few minutes until heated through.

Four Ways to Change These Up

• Cinnamon Sugar Bites, Teens LOVE these. Omit coarse salt and egg wash. Once bites come out of the oven, roll in melted butter, then in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.
• Garlic Pretzel Bites, Replace coarse salt with an equal amount of Everything Bagel seasoning, which has garlic, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds. Serve with cheese dip and watch them disappear.
• Parmesan Pretzel Bites, After egg-washing bites, sprinkle with a combination of dried rosemary and/or garlic powder, then add plenty of freshly grated parmesan. Bake as directed.

Pretzel Bite Questions, Answered

Can I make these into bigger, soft pretzel nuggets?

Yes. Cut the ropes into 3 inch lengths instead of bite-size.

They will be bigger, soft pretzel nuggets, and will be made and boiled in the same fashion. They will probably need an additional minute in the oven, using color as your guide, not just time.

Why dip them in baking soda?

The alkaline wash creates a thin, alkaline layer on the outside of the pretzel which results in their distinctive coloration and flavor. Skipping this step would result in something closer to a soft bread roll than a pretzel.

Baking soda in water is the easiest way to create the necessary conditions.

Can I use instant yeast?

Yes. Instant yeast can be substituted for active dry yeast measure for measure.

Unlike active dry yeast, instant yeast doesn’t need to be dissolved, or proofed, before use, as it can be added along with your dry ingredients. Instant yeast tends to rise faster than active dry, but the crumb and flavor is the same.

My pretzel bites didn’t rise, which means something went wrong. Most likely the yeast is not active.

It’s possible that when you warmed the milk, it was hot enough to kill the yeast. It’s also possible that your yeast is past its prime.

In either case, it’s important to make sure the yeast is foamy before adding your flour. If it’s not foamy, your yeast is not alive and you’ll want to start again.

Why won’t the salt stick?

Most likely your egg wash is either too runny from adding too much water or was allowed to dry from waiting too long between brushing on egg wash and adding coarse salt. Make sure your egg wash isn’t runny, brush on, and while egg wash is still wet, gently press the salt on top.

Can I make these ahead and freeze?

Yes. Freeze on a pan, in a single layer until totally cooled and frozen.

Then remove from pan and store in a zip-top bag in the freezer. When ready to enjoy, remove from freezer and heat in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven until warmed through, about 8-10 minutes.

They won’t be as good as fresh-made pretzel bites, but will make a tasty snack.

More crowd-pleasers you’ll love: Try this easy-to-transport Seven Layer Dip, Spicy Pretzel Snack Mix for when you want pretzel flavor without making the dough, or this Quick Breakfast Casserole which feeds a crowd and is perfect for brunch or even a casual dinner.