Sourdough pretzel bites make a great after school snack. They are good sprinkled with salt or cinnamon sugar. Add some melted butter or cheese sauce to dip them in and you’ll have to add another hole to your belt. Auntie Anne’s ain’t got nothin’ on my sourdough starter!
The site may contain links to affiliate websites, and we receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As a Revive EO Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I Graduated from the Mall
At the end of my sophomore year of highschool, an EF5 tornado hit and demolished half the city, including my school. So for my junior and senior year, I went to school in the mall. We were completely cut off from the actual mall with a long line of locked doors and forbidden to go during the day. But after school meant time to go to the food court for snacks. Auntie Anne’s was right outside of that long line of locked doors and quickly became the most popular place for an after school snack. We couldn’t get enough of the pretzel bites. It was always easy to tell who snuck out during the day because they usually came back with a cup of pretzel bites.
Pin it for Later!
Why Sourdough?
Sourdough was used by people to leaven bread before they were able to go to the store and by those little yeast packets. Sourdough is the old-fashioned yeast packet.
Grains contain phytic acid, but our bodies don’t really process it well. Phytic acid prevents our bodies from absorbing the nutrients from our food. Fermentation gets rid of most, if not all of the phytic acid, in the grains before we eat them. The fermentation process also helps break down some gluten, so although the bread isn’t gluten free it does have a lower gluten content. This allows people like me, who are sensitive to gluten, to eat sourdough. It also acts like a probiotic, which makes it great for gut health. Sourdough has prebiotic characteristics as well, which simply means that the good bacteria in your gut enjoy eating the fiber.
Sourdough Soft Pretzels Recipe
Ingredients
¼ cup softened butter
1 tablespoon honey
½ cup sourdough starter
1 ¼ cup water
1 ½ teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
Coarse salt
6-8 cups water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- First mix together ¼ of softened butter, 1 tablespoon of honey, ½ cup of sourdough starter, and 1 ¼ cups of water. Then add in 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and 4 cups of flour. Knead the dough in your KitchenAid Mixer for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic.
- Next, cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 10-12 hours. I like to use a disposable shower cap to cover the bowl.
- Then divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Using your hands roll them out into ropes about an inch wide. Use kitchen shears to cut them into 1 inch segments. I like to place them on a parchment lined baking sheet at this point.
- Cover the pretzel bites with a wet towel or some plastic wrap. Allow them to rise until doubled which will take 1-2 hours depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
- After they have doubled, it is time to boil them. This gives them a chewy texture. In a large pot, boil 6-8 cups of water with 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. When the pot boils, put the pretzel bites in the water, but do not overcrowd the pot. Let them boil for 30 seconds on each side. Then use a spider to remove them and place them back on the pan. Repeat this step with all of the pretzel bites.
- Before baking, create an egg wash using one egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush it over the pretzel bites using a pastry brush. This is also the time to sprinkle on some coarse salt.
- Bake the sourdough pretzel bites at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes until they are golden brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack as soon as they come out of the oven.
Serving Sourdough Pretzel Bites
These sourdough pretzel bites make for a great afternoon snack. Try serving them with dipping cheese, melted garlic butter, or basil pesto.
If you prefer a sweet treat, then skip the coarse salt. Instead wait until they come out of the oven to brush them with melted butter and sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar. I used to get a cinnamon sugar pretzel everytime I went to Sam’s Club.
If you are trying to fill the freezer, then you can absolutely put some pretzel bites in the freezer. Flash freeze them before putting them in a bag to prevent them from sticking together. Flash freeze means to lay them out on a parchment lined sheet and put them in the freezer for a couple of hours. They reheat well in the oven or air fryer.
Sourdough Pretzel Bites
1 tablespoon honey
½ cup sourdough starter
1 ¼ cup water
1 ½ teaspoon salt
4 cups flour
Coarse salt
6-8 cups water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Ingredients
- ¼ cup softened butter
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ cup sourdough starter
- 1 ¼ cup water
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups flour
- Coarse salt
- 6-8 cups water
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- First mix together ¼ of softened butter, 1 tablespoon of honey, ½ cup of sourdough starter, and 1 ¼ cups of water. Then add in 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and 4 cups of flour. Knead the dough in your KitchenAid Mixer for about 10 minutes or until it is smooth and elastic.
- Next, cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 10-12 hours. I like to use a disposable shower cap to cover the bowl.
- Then divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Using your hands roll them out into ropes about an inch wide. Use kitchen shears to cut them into 1 inch segments. I like to place them on a parchment lined baking sheet at this point.
- Cover the pretzel bites with a wet towel or some plastic wrap. Allow them to rise until doubled which will take 1-2 hours depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
- After they have doubled, it is time to boil them. This gives them a chewy texture. In a large pot, boil 6-8 cups of water with 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. When the pot boils, put the pretzel bites in the water, but do not overcrowd the pot. Let them boil for 30 seconds on each side. Then use a spider to remove them and place them back on the pan. Repeat this step with all of the pretzel bites.
- Before baking, create an egg wash using one egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Brush it over the pretzel bites using a pastry brush. This is also the time to sprinkle on some coarse salt.
- Bake the sourdough pretzel bites at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes until they are golden brown. Transfer them to a cooling rack as soon as they come out of the oven.
The site may contain links to affiliate websites, and we receive an affiliate commission for any purchases made by you on the affiliate website using such links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As a Revive EO Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Leave a Reply