Soft Pretzel Bites
These homemade soft pretzel bites are a perfect snack or party food. They’re your favorite soft pretzel in mini form.
Yesterday I wanted something salty. As much as something chocolatey sounded good it just wasn’t going to hit the spot. Salty was a must. I’m not one for the sweet and salty bit so I wasn’t about to combine saltiness with chocolate. Big no-no for me. Someday maaaybe I’ll give it a try but I just can’t bring myself to do it. Just like I can’t bring myself to get on board with bacon and sweets.
It was a toss up between attempting homemade chips or pretzel bites. I had all of the ingredients for pretzel bites, including coarse sea salt so I was sold! Soft delicious bite size pieces of homemade pretzels sprinkled with coarse salt and dipped in mustard. Yum!! Okay you don’t have to dip yours in mustard, that’s just my preference. I know some like a cheese sauce instead and I’m sure that would go equally well but I didn’t have any and wasn’t up to making some so yellow mustard for dipping would have to do the trick. Of course it did, it always does.
These are super easy to make. Trust me. They’re really easy especially if you have a stand mixer. The machine does all of the work for you. I didn’t follow the instructions completely but it’s all basically the same, just making life easier especially when there are little kids running amock through the house. Safety is key. The fewer times I have to open the oven, the better.
This will take you around 2 hours start to finish, probably a bit more if making a full batch. I halved mine and still have a ton leftover. They’re awesome to snack on. And since they make so much they’re perfect for a party! Hint hint… nudge nudge… the Superbowl is soon! This would be a great addition to your party menu.
Soft Pretzel Bites
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 C warm water
- 2 Tbsp light brown sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 1/2 - 5 C all purpose flour
- 2 quarts water
- 1/4 C baking soda
- 1 large egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water
- coarse sea salt for topping
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine brown sugar, yeast, melted butter and water. Give a quick mix, then let sit for 5 minutes or until slightly puffy.
- Switch out your paddle attachment for a dough hook. Add salt and flour to wet mixture. Mix on low speed, gradually increasing the speed to medium. Continue mixing until all flour is incorporated and the dough is pulling away from the sides and bottom of the bowl. If needed, add additional flour until the dough pulls away from the bowl and is no longer super sticky. Transfer dough to a clean work area, knead by hand for 3-5 minutes, shaping into a ball.
- Grease a medium bowl with olive oil. Add dough ball to the prepared bowl, flip dough to coat all sides lightly with oil. Cover and allow to sit in a warm location for an hour or until dough is doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. In a large stockpot, bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Carefully and quickly, add baking soda - this may splatter.
- Divide dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a long snake. Using kitchen sheers, cut 1" pieces. Transfer pieces to a clean plate. Repeat process with all pieces of dough. Slightly more than a quarter of the full recipe should fit on one standard size baking tray. If making the full batch, work a quarter of the dough at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered with plastic wrap until ready to roll and cut.
- Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Whisk one egg together with 1 tbsp water, set aside. Boil 10-15 pieces of cut dough at a time for 30-45 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon, transfering to your prepared baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining dough pieces.
- Brush egg wash over dough pieces. Immediately sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. Continue process with any remaining dough.
- Serve warm with dipping sauces, such as mustard or cheese. Store any remaining pretzel bites in an airtight container.
I want to make these for the Superbowl. We don’t have any plans….but will make them anyway! LOL
Yours look fantastic!
and DO try the salty chocolate…it’s yummy.
I love this idea! Your pretzel bites look fantastic. I’m going to have to make these for my salt loving, football loving husband! Thanks for posting Rachel.
Soft pretzels were my absolute favorite when I was younger. Warm and doughy with a little bit of spicy mustard- perfection.
What a great snack.
These look like the ultimate munchie snack food. I think if I made these, there wouldn’t be enough left by the time company came over…maybe I’ll just have to try & see.
Lol We totally had the same thought! I was going to put up this exact same post as a Suerbowl snack too! Hope mine come out looking half as good!
Aww you’re sweet lol Can’t wait to see yours! :)
This sounds like a wonderful snack. Looks delicious.
this looks so cute:) they look fabulous.. thanks for sharing this and have a great day.
These look delis and I am definitely a mustard dipper!
These would so be awesome for Super Bowl!
Great idea! My kids would love these!
I love soft pretzels! I tried to make them once and seriously frustrated myself over shaping them into big pretzels. Bites are the perfect solution!
I made these too! I made them for New Year’s Eve and I’m planning to post about them before the superbowl. We are thinking alike :)
Wow, these look awesome! They look so cute before they are baked too. I love pretzels that you get in the mall, I’m sure these are much better.
I love how buttery mall pretzels seem to be but these are a perfect option to make at home. And they’re so easy!
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Looks delicious!!
were these okay at room temperature? i’m wanting to make them in a few weeks for a shower but i’d have to make that morning…
They won’t have that fresh from the oven warmth and freshness but should still be tasty. We plenty for days so they just got quickly microwaved when we wanted to heat them back up. If served the same day you probably won’t even need to do that.
I made these the other day and they we can’t stop eating them!! Great heated the next day in the microwave for 10-15 seconds!! This is a keeper :) Thank you!
So glad to hear it :)
I tried making these and i don’t know what i did wrong but after i boiled them they were brown mush i tried baking them and they were still brown mush. Anyone have any tips?
There are many possibilities that could have been the issue for you. While I’ve never experienced this myself, my only guesses are that you boiled them too long, the water wasn’t hot enough or they sat too long between boiling and baking. The dough will definitely be wet after boiling but baking will give you perfect results as you can see from the photos and how others have experienced.
I’d like to make these without a mixer. Think they’ll turn out ok? Any suggestions?
Thanks!
If you’ve made bread by hand before then you should be okay. Just don’t add all of the flour in at once, add only enough as needed. Be patient with the mixing as it will require more effort and time by hand. Good luck!!