When the weather turns cooler and celebrations move inside there may be no better appetizer than warm homemade soft pretzel bites. Golden brown and slightly crisp on the outside while chewy and soft on the inside these soft pretzel bites are a crowd pleaser. Sure you could hit up the freezer section but making pretzel bites from scratch is fairly easy and so, so good.
Soft pretzel bites are one of my favorite appetizers to make for a party or family get together because everyone loves them. From toddlers running around with fist fulls of pretzel bites to your die hard football fan uncle these are the perfect game day appetizer (If you or someone in your family is gluten sensitive give this gluten free pretzel bites recipe a try).
How to Make Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
These pretzel bites start with a pretty basic yeast dough (with a little bit of butter and brown sugar for some extra goodness). This dough comes together in minutes but does need to rise for an hour but this is hands off time.
This recipe makes a pretty big batch (you’ll end up with 80-100 bites) but rolling the dough and cutting just takes a few minutes. Before baking it’s time for a quick boil in a baking soda bath (This step is integral to getting the chewy texture signature to soft pretzels ). Brush the pretzel bits with the egg wash, sprinkle with some coarse sea salt and bake. 20 minutes later you’ll have warm soft pretzel bites straight from the oven and folks, it doesn’t get much better than that.
What to Serve with Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
Spicy Mustard
Hummus
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Spinach Artichoke Dip
If you like these Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites be sure to take a look at some of my other recipes!
Roasted Tomato and Green Onion Salsa
Baked Brie with Hot Honey and Pecans
Greek Lamb Burgers with Feta Mint Sauce
Cherry and Blueberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you make these Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Also, if you do make this recipe please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making.
Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites
Equipment
- Stand mixer
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup warm water (100-110 deg F)
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast 1 packet
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 4 1/2 cups All Purpose flour
- 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 3 quarts water
- 1/3 cup baking soda
- 1 large egg
- 1 tbsp water
- coarse sea salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer stir together water, yeast, brown sugar and butter until combined. Let rest for 5 minutes or until small bubbles have formed.
- Add flour and salt to the yeast mixture, and using the dough hook attachment mix on low speed until the ingredients are combined. Increase to medium speed and mix for 2-3 minutes, dough should be smooth and separated from the bowl.
- Remove dough from bowl and knead into a ball. Add vegetable oil to a large bowl and add the dough, tossing to ensure dough is coated. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large pot bring water to a boil and add baking soda.
- Divide the dough into 8 sections, roll each section into a rope about 20 inches long. Cut each rope into 1 inch bites.
- Working in batches, boil the pretzel bites for 30 seconds, remove with a mesh strainer or slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet. Create an egg wash by mixing the egg and 1 tbsp of water and brush the top of each pretzel bite, sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
- Bake for 16 – 20 minutes until golden brown brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
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Gourmet Vegetarians says
These sound so good! Have been thinking about making pretzels for a while now so will have to give these a go. Such an ideal snack 🙂
Jeff Albom says
I love soft pretzels so, needless to say, I can’t keep my hands off of these. I like mustard on them.
sophie says
Oh wow! I absolutely need to try tis recipe 🙂
Jessica says
I have had homemade soft pretzels on my to-make list for years and after seeing this recipe I’m moving it up. These sounds so good! Can’t wait to try this recipe.