I looked everywhere for a sourdough pretzel recipe that wasn’t with sourdough discard and active dry yeast, AND with the timeline I wanted. When I struggled to find one, I knew it was time to make my own! I’ve made pretzel bites with traditional yeast before, so I already knew the process and was excited to see how the sourdough ones would go.. needless to say.. they turned out stinking amazing. Sooo soft and fluffy on the inside with that popular chewy outside texture. If you’re looking for a sourdough pretzel recipe that does not also involve yeast, you’ve came to the right place!
Just look at that texture! Soft, fluffy perfection with that amazing chewy pretzel texture.
How to make amazing sourdough soft pretzel bites
Ingredients
- Active Bubbly Sourdough Starter
- Water
- Milk (any kind you want. I use whole milk)
- Honey **Or sugar, maple syrup, etc.
- Melted Butter
- Bread Flour
- Salt
Mix your dough
- Combine all wet ingredients and give it a good mix. Then add remaining ingredients.
- You can make this dough with a dough whisk, a mixing bowl and your hands, or you can use a stand mixer. Whichever you prefer.
- I like to make this dough in the late evening before bed and allow to rise overnight, but you can make this at anytime. These are ready to bake about 11-12 hours after you mix the dough, so you can start these in the morning too and bake in evening if preferred!
Knead the dough
- Knead the dough with your hands on the counter for 8-10 minutes or in the stand mixture with dough hook for 5-8 minutes.
- Kneading builds gluten, creating strength and elasticity in your dough. Without kneading, the dough will stay dense instead of fluffy and chewy.
- you shouldn’t need flour, but if you do, only sprinkle a little at a time. it will have some stick but not overly sticky.
Rise
- Place in a lightly oiled bowl and allow to rise for 8-10 hours. I love to do this overnight. I make the dough around 10pm and it’s ready for shaping around 7am! if you prefer, you can make these in the morning.
Schedule Examples
Overnight method example: 10pm mix dough, 6-7am shape, 8-10am bake.
Day time method example: 8am mix dough, 4-5pm shape, 5-7pm bake.
- The dough will be ready to bake 10-12 hours after mixing your dough depending on the chill method you chose coming up.
Reshape, roll and cut
- After the rise, divide the dough into equal- ish 8 balls and cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes.
- Roll into ropes and cut into bite size pieces.
- Place on parchment lined baking sheet and cover again with tea towel for 15 minutes to rest. Then place in the fridge for 2-4 hours if you need some time, or the freezer for 15 minutes if you’re ready to bake asap.
Boil The bites
- Preheat oven to 450. In a large pot, fill halfway with water and 3 tablespoons of baking soda and bring to a boil.
- once boiling, lower heat to medium and toss about 10 of the pieces in. they will probably sink at first, this is normal, they will float! Once they start floating, continue boiling for about 20 seconds, then pull them out on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Egg wash and bake
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon of water and 1 egg, then lightly brush each bite with the egg wash.
- sprinkle with salt if desired, or leave plain if you’re tossing them in cinnamon sugar later.
- bake at 450 for 10 minutes.
Cinnamon sugar option
- after cooling a few minutes, toss the bites in a tablespoon or 2 of melted butter then toss in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar
- These are delicious on their own, or you can dip them in an icing by mixing powdered sugar, milk and vanilla together!
Dip dip dip
- Cheese dip
- Honey mustard
- Icing dip
- anything you want! dip away!
These are seriously so good! better than the mall because we made them at home and with sourdough starter!
Ingredients
Method
The Dough
- In a bowl with dough whisk or stand mixer with dough hook attachment, combine sourdough starter, water, milk, melted butter and honey and mix well.
- Add in the flour and salt and mix well, then switch to your hands and knead the dough for 8-10 minutes. ( if you are using a stand mixer- knead with the dough hook for 5-8 minutes).
- Lightly shape into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and allow to rise for 8-10 hours on the counter. ** I like to start my dough in the evening and let it rise overnight!**
- In the morning or after the rise, flip the dough on the counter and divide into 8 balls. cover with tea towel and allow to rest again for 30 minutes.
- Roll each ball into ropes and cut out your bite size pieces, however big you want them! Just remember, they will grow a little during the boiling and baking process.
- Place the pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet, cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest for 15 minutes then place them in the fridge for 2 hours or the freezer for 15 minutes. **The 2 hour fridge method is helpful when you need some time in-between steps! anywhere from 2-4 hours in the fridge is okay. use the freezer method if you want to bake asap**
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat oven to 450 to prepare for baking. Next, Fill a large pot about half way with water and 3 tablespoons of baking soda. once it starts boiling, lower the heat to medium and drop in your bites about 10 at a time. Don't crowd them! they will likely sink at first, but once they start floating, boil for another 20 seconds, then pull them out and place on a parchment lined sheet .
- In a separate bowl, Whisk together 1 egg and a tablespoon of water for the egg wash. Lightly brush the bites with the egg wash and sprinkle with salt if desired! (skip the salt if you’re coating with cinnamon and sugar later).
- Bake at 450 for 10 minutes. While they bake, prepare the cinnamon sugar mixture (if using) by mixing the cinnamon and sugar together in a bowl.
Cinnamon Sugar Coating
- Once they have cooled for a few minutes toss them in a couple tablespoons of melted butter, then toss them in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
icing dip
- Combine all 3 icing ingredients and mix well. Dip away!
Other Recipes
- Homemade Jam
- Stuffed Bagel Minis
- Bacon Jam Sourdough Loaf
- Bacon Jam
- Chili Crunch Oil and Pickle Sourdough Loaf
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