February 2, 2021

Pretzel Bites

As the big game approaches, the biggest question on all of our minds is what appetizers are we making? Even if you’re celebrating the grand football day solo, you can still snack on some pretzel bites. Best served with mustard or beer cheese, you will certainly enjoy these as you either root for your team or just watch the commercials.

Frozen appetizers have their place, but homemade is always top notch. And what’s more tasty than salty hot dough? And dipped in melted cheese? Yum. Plus, good news, these pretzel bites are made with ingredients you probably have on hand already.

The Pretzel Process

You’ll want to make sure your milk is 110 degrees in order to activate your yeast. I used whole milk, but you could get away with any milk…let’s be honest though, whole milk just makes everything taste even better.

If you heat it in the microwave, like I did, then you’ll need to be sure to give it a good stir before checking the temperature. Wait for your milk, yeast and honey mixture to get nice and frothy before proceeding about 5-10 minutes. It gets quite bubbly because the yeast is feeding off the sugar in both the honey and the milk.

I found that I needed to use 420 grams of flour, but I would start with less to ensure these aren’t dry. After the dough is kneaded for 3 minutes check to see if it is tacky but not sticky. When removing from the dough hook, it should not be sticking to your hand. If you need to add more flour, do so and then continue mixing until incorporated, probably another minute or so.

At this point you can boil and bake your bites right away or you can let them sit in the fridge for up to 8 hours/overnight. This can be helpful if you’re preparing a lot of food and need to get some of the work out of the way in advance. It also helps develop the flavor a bit, but if you need to skip this step they will still be delicious!

You’ll want to keep an eye on these once they are in the oven as the bottoms can burn quickly. Keep them in the upper portion of your oven for this reason.

These are served best hot out of the oven. Burning your fingers is worth it! These pretzel bites will be on our menu for Super Bowl Sunday…and maybe every Sunday after that. Go team!

Print Recipe

Soft Pretzel Bites

Course: Appetizer, Snack

Servings: 48 pretzel bites

Author: Grace

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup warm milk (110 degree F)
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp honey
400-420 grams flour
1 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 cup baking soda
1 egg
coarse salt

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. Stir in the honey. Let sit for 5-10 minutes until frothy.
Add 400-420 grams of flour (start with less and add more if needed) and the salt. Use the dough hook to knead the dough for about 3 minutes. It should come together, be tacky but not sticky and look smooth and elastic. If it is sticky add additional flour and mix for another minute.
Use immediately or let rest in the fridge (covered with plastic wrap) for up to 8 hours/overnight.
Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F with your oven racks in the middle to highest position and place a small pan of water on the stove to boil. Use a fork to whisk one egg and 1 tbsp of water together in a small bowl.
Place dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into four pieces. Roll out each piece into a 12 inch long log that is about 1 inch thick. Cut each log into 12 pieces so you create 1×1 inch pretzel bites.
Once your water is boiling add 1/4-1/2 cup of baking soda to the water. Add slowly, it will foam up a lot!
Boil each pretzel bite, working in batches, for about 30 seconds. Use a slotted spot to remove them to parchment lined baking sheets.
Use a pastry brush to coat the pretzel bites with the egg wash (you won’t use it all) and sprinkle with the coarse salt.
Bake for 8-10 minutes on upper racks until golden brown. Watch closely at the end as the bottoms can burn. Remove from parchment immediately and serve hot!