Homemade Soft Pretzel Bites Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What's the difference between a pretzel and a soft pretzel? ›

Soft pretzels can usually be baked in 15 minutes; hard pretzels, meanwhile, must be baked for up to an hour. The longer baking time further dries out the pretzel. And, as we have discussed, the lack of moisture is what gives the hard pretzel its brittle texture.

Quick, easy, and fresh weeknight recipes. It turns out that most pretzels are boiled, often in a lye solution, before baking to ensure that the exterior comes out just right.

Pretzel doughs are typically made with 40 to 45% dough absorption, while pizza doughs are typically made with around 55% dough absorption. Dough absorption is the amount of water added to the dough expressed as a percentage of the flour weight. Check out the RECIPE BANK for some dough formulas and procedures.

The answer lies in a brief dip in an alkaline water bath before baking. This bath essentially gelatinizes the outside of the pretzel, preventing it from fully “springing” during baking (as bread does) and giving pretzels their signature chewy crust. It also gives them their unique and indelible “pretzel” flavor.

As you can see in the table above, one soft pretzel could contain 2.5 times more calories and carbs than one serving of hard pretzels. A soft pretzel also has twice as much salt per serving. Still, one soft pretzel contains more vitamins and minerals than a serving of hard pretzels.

As noted above, baking soda is a staple ingredient for making homemade pretzels. Dunking your pretzels in a baking soda bath prior to baking is what enables them to develop their distinctive color and crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside texture.

Egg Wash – The egg wash on the pretzels gives them a little shine, and I find it softens the exterior a bit. For a more traditional taste, omit the egg wash and just use salt when the pretzels come out of the water bath.

Lye has a pH of around 13 whereas baking soda has a pH of around 8. This extra alkalinity accelerates the Maillard reaction, allowing that caramelization to develop on the exterior of the pretzels. That ultra-deep color and slightly crispy, crunchy exterior crust is only made possible with lye.

These pizza dough pretzels are perfect for when you suddenly get a craving for soft pretzels and you're not at the mall — you won't need to wait for the dough to rise if you use store-bought pizza dough! Serve, of course, with mustard.

Furthermore, we've introduced the baking soda bath. While it sounds strange, this step is what gives pretzels that iconic flavor, chewy texture, helps deepen their golden color in the oven, and locks in the super soft interior.

What kind of salt to use for pretzels? ›

Ideally, you would use pretzel salt when making pretzels. But this type of salt is not always easy to find in the store. That's why many people turn to kosher salt instead. And indeed, these two types of salt have a lot in common.

According to King Arthur Baking, lye and caustic sodas are used in the process of baking pretzels because lye's reaction to the pretzels, much like baking soda, gives them that chewy texture, light interior, and brown crust.

The popular toppings of authentic bavarian pretzels are:

Sesame, poppy, sunflower, pumpkin or caraway seeds, cheese sauce and bacon bits. Bavarians especially enjoy their pretzels in the late morning with Weißwürst, sweet mustard, and a Beer.

Bread flour is best used for, you guessed it, breads. This is fine for pretzels, but if you don't plan to make that much bread, buying bread flour for just one thing can seem like a waste. All-purpose flour can be used for a wide variety of baked goods, including cookies, muffins, pie crusts, and breads.

Pretzels are made of four all-natural ingredients – wheat flour, salt, yeast and baking soda – and are preservative free. The two most common varieties of pretzels are soft pretzels that need to be eaten immediately and hard pretzels, like our gourmet pretzel nuggets, which have a longer shelf life.

Original Pretzel

The original twist that started it all; a simple, buttery and salty soft pretzel that is better than the best.

Definitions of soft pretzel. a pretzel made of soft bread. type of: pretzel. glazed and salted cracker typically in the shape of a loose knot.

The carbs in soft pretzels are almost all fiber and starch. The carbs in hard pretzels are mostly starch, and both are low in sugar. You shouldn't avoid pretzels because of carbs, though, unless you're trying to decrease the number of carbs in your diet. The carbs in pretzels aren't bad for you unless eaten in excess.