Chewy and salty, these Sourdough Pretzel Bites are perfect game day treat made with only 5 simple ingredients! These pretzel bites have no yeast, so it's a great way to use up some of your sourdough starter!
When you are ready to serve these pretzels, make sure you check out all the delicious recipes for ideas for what to dip pretzels in!
These sourdough pretzel bites are so delicious and surprisingly easy to make! They are a perfect treat for the big game and all your guests will be so impressed that you made homemade pretzel bites! They are chewy, soft, and slightly salty, everything you could want in a pretzel bite!
These turned out so good! I will definitely be adding this recipe to my favorites list. I even reheated them in the air fryer next day! Sooo good, thank you!!!
- Brittany
Baking with sourdough starter is one of my favorite things to do! You can make sourdough bread, sourdough bread with jalapenos and cheddar, cinnamon raisin sourdough bread, and even sourdough hamburger buns!
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Chewy Sourdough Pretzel Bites
When you think of sourdough, you might think that all you can make is bread. WRONG! You can make sourdough pretzel, sourdough pizza crust, and even sourdough banana pancakes! There's nothing sourdough can't do. It's always in my kitchen, and I hope it's always in yours too!
Plus, making pretzel bites is a fun and easy way to get the whole family involved in the kitchen. You can let your kids sprinkle the salt on the pretzels and even let them help you boil the pretzels. Carefully of course!
Sourdough Pretzel Ingredients
- Active Sourdough Starter- If you are new to sourdough, make sure to check out this post how to keep a sourdough starter for how to keep a sourdough starter. It will walk you through baking and keeping a healthy starter. You can make your own sourdough starter from scratch, buy one, or get one from a sourdough friend!
- Water- Lukewarm. Too cold and the pretzel dough will take too long to rise, and too hot you run the risk of killing the starter and the dough will not rise.
- Flour- All purpose flour or bread flour. Bread flour vs all purpose flour is often a confusing topic, but in this recipe, they can be used interchangeably.
- Honey- Granulated sugar can be substituted for honey if you want to make this recipe vegan.
- Salt- For added flavor in the dough.
- Baking Soda- This will be added to the boiling water, it won't be added to the dough.
See printable recipe card for full recipe information on ingredients and quantities.
How To Make Sourdough Pretzel Bites
Step 1: Combine the water and starter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment. Mix with a fork until combined.
Add the flour, honey, and salt to the bowl.
Step 2: Turn the mixer on medium speed and mix for 5 minutes until the dough forms a ball and no longer sticks to the side of the bowl.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 8-10 hours, or until doubled in size.
Step 3: When the dough has doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
Step 4: Cut the dough into eight equal pieces. You can do this with a bench scraper or a sharp knife.
Step 5: Roll each dough piece into a log about 12 inches long.
Step 6: Cut 1 ½ inch pieces out of the dough. Place the pieces onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Step 7: Allow the pieces to rest on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.
While the dough rests, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Step 8: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add ⅓ cup baking soda to the water. Drop 8-10 pieces of dough into the boiling water and let them boil for 10 seconds on each side.
Step 9: Take the pieces out of the boiling water and place them back on the parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle coarse salt or everything bagel seasoning on the wet dough pieces.
When all the dough pieces are boiled, place the baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes. Halfway through the baking process, rotate the baking sheets so the pretzel bites brown evenly on each side.
Why Is Baking Soda Added To The Water?
Baking soda is added to the boiling water to create that classic chew that pretzels have. Without it, the pretzel bites will become more like little dinner rolls.
Don't overboil the pretzels. They only need 10-15 seconds in the boiling water.
Tips and Tricks
- To make sure that your sourdough starter is ready to be baked with, do the water test! Place a tablespoon of your starter in a glass of water. If it floats it's ready, if it sinks you'll have to feed it again until it is active and bubbly.
- If you do not have silicone mats, parchment paper would work as well. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray to make sure the pretzels do not stick once baked.
- The longer you boil the pretzels for in the water the chewier they will be. Try not to boil them for more than 20 seconds, as they will get too chewy and lose their texture.
- Top these pretzels with coarse sea salt, everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, or serve them plain. You can also make these sweet! Once they are baked, roll them in a cinnamon sugar mixture and serve warm.
- Serve these pretzels with your favorite mustard, queso, beer cheese, garlic dip, or Instant Pot hummus.
- You can double or triple this recipe! It's perfect to even triple, but boil the pretzel bites in batches as to not overcrowd them in the hot water.
Storage Tips
These pretzel bites are best eaten the same day. That's because the salt tends to make the pretzel bites moist the next day. If you are eating them the next day, place them in the oven for 5-10 minutes to heat them up and soften them.
You can freeze the pretzel bites in a Ziploc bag for up to 3 months. It is best is you do not add the salt before freezing. When you are ready to defrost the pretzels, place them on the counter and let them come to room temperature. Then lightly brush them with egg wash and sprinkle salt on them. Bake them for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees.
Other Recipes To Try
Did you love this recipe?
If so, don't forget to leave a 5-star review and tag me on Instagram and Facebook! Don't forget to join our sourdough Facebook group and share a photo of this recipe!
More From Lynn's Way Of Life
Discard Pretzel Bites FAQs
Yes! If you wanted to make these pretzels, you can! Instead of cutting the logs, twist them into a pretzel shape. Then boil them and bake them for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
You can, but you would need to add 2 teaspoons of active yeast to the dough as well. The sourdough discard does not have the amount of yeast that you would need to make these pretzel bites chewy and rise.
📖 Recipe
Sourdough Pretzel Bites Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Sourdough Starter Active and Bubbly
- 1 ¼ Cup Water Warm
- 3 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- ⅓ Cup Baking Soda For boiling the pretzel bites
Instructions
- Combine the water and starter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment.
- Mix with a fork until combined.
- Add the flour, honey, and salt to the bowl.
- Turn the mixer on medium speed and mix for 5 minutes until the dough forms a ball and no longer sticks to the side of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 8-10 hours, or until doubled in size.
- When the dough has doubled in size, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Cut the dough into eight equal pieces.
- Roll each dough piece into a log about 12 inches long. Cut 1 ½ inch pieces out of the dough and place the pieces onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Allow the pieces to rest on the baking sheet for 30 minutes.
- While the dough rests, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add ⅓ cup of baking soda to the water.
- Drop 8-10 pieces of dough into the boiling water and let them boil for 10 seconds on each side. Take the pieces out of the boiling water and place them back on the baking sheet. Sprinkle coarse salt or everything bagel seasoning on the wet dough pieces.
- When all the dough pieces are boiled, place the baking sheet in the oven for 15 minutes. Halfway through the baking process, rotate the baking sheets so the pretzel bites brown evenly on each side.
Notes
- Adding baking soda to the boiling water will give the pretzel bites the classic chewy of soft pretzels.
- If you do not have a silicone mat to line the baking sheet, you can use parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking oil.
- Top these pretzel bites with salt, everything bagel seasoning, or sesame seeds.
Jaye says
My dough was very sticky when I put it in the container to ferment. It was difficult to keep the cut pieces in shape. Probably user error! Please help!
Lynn Polito says
Hi! It sounds like the starter didn't do it's job. Did it rise at all?
Jaye says
yes it rose & overflowed.
Claw says
Lynn, In the previous comment i thought i marked 5 stars but as soon as i hit to post i saw that it had just 4 stars, definitely worth 5 stars
Claw says
Very easy recipe, they turned out to be delicious. I will definitely be making them again.
FSethman says
Can I make this with discard too? I’ve got ready of both but hoping to use my discard sooner than starter.
Lynn Polito says
Sure! You would just have to add some instant yeast to help make the pretzels rise. And it will likely only take a few hours until it is ready.
SP says
My dough was so sticky and I was not able to roll/form it into anything. I dropped them in the baking soda water and they looked terrable but tasted good. Any tips would be appreciated.
Lynn Polito says
You can add some more flour when you are cutting them into pretzel bites. That might help. Humidity in the kitchen is different and can change the consistency of the dough.
Chloe Whitman says
About how many does this make? sit says 10 servings but how many bites are in a serving?
Lynn Polito says
It makes about 36 bites. You can make them bigger or smaller based on how you like the pretzel bites.
McKenna says
Can I do a cold ferment after about 6hrs?☺️
Lynn Polito says
yes! That would work too!
Patricia says
I used bread flour what’s going to happen?
Lynn Polito says
That will work great!
Kimberly Moran says
Those of us getting a super sticky dough may be in high humidity climates, I know I am being in Florida. I ended up adding 3/4-1 cup extra flour after the rising process and they turned out yummo!
Lynn Polito says
Great info! Thanks for sharing!
Carlee says
I followed the exact instructions but my dough is so sticky and wouldn’t form a ball. I had to add more flower, any tips?
Kimberly Moran says
Mine too! I added flour to get it to work, we will see if it helped
VP says
I’ve made this recipe multiple times and they are always a hit! Everyone loves them and requests them for play dates and family gatherings. Thanks for the easy and delicious recipe!
Lynn Polito says
You are so welcome! Thanks for making my recipe!
Denise says
When I first read this recipe, I thought it sounded like too much liquid and not enough dry ingredients. But none of the reviews or directions said anything about a sticky dough so I decided to try this. I should have gone with my gut. After 3.5 cups, it was not even close to making a ball and drawing away from the sides of the mixer. I had to add a lot more flour to get the right consistency. I am hoping it turns out today when I make the pretzel bites.
The dough tasted great so I have high hopes.
Lynn Polito says
Hm. I've made these quite a few times and the dough has not been too sticky. Are you using a 100% hydration starter?
Denise says
My starter uses the 1:1 ratio of water and flour when I feed it. I followed your instructions exactly as written and used my starter.