SUPER EASY Soft Pretzel Bites Recipe - Only TWO ingredients! (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient which makes a pretzel taste like a pretzel? ›

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.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place bites on baking pan. Heat 5-6 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Drizzle a small amount of water over the pretzel so that the pretzel is moist but not soggy. Wrap your pretzel in aluminum foil and place it in the oven for five minutes.

Like lye, baking soda is an alkaline substance, and when mixed with water and brushed over the pretzel dough, it changes the pH of the dough and gelates the surface starch. In the oven, the starch gel hardens and the alkaline baking soda makes browning happen fast.

Auntie Anne Pretzels are somehow more delicious than your average pretzel. A healthy dose of sugar makes for a tasty dough, and a topping of melted butter and salt makes them positively addictive. Another reason the popular pretzels are so good is they are made and served fresh and warm.

Lye is the secret ingredient that gives pretzels their characteristic look and taste. Without lye, you have a breadstick. When you dip raw dough into a hot lye bath, the lye breaks down proteins and starches on the surface.

Individually Wrapped: Wrap each pretzel in plastic wrap to protect against dry air. Room Temperature for Short-Term: Store them in an airtight container at room temperature if enjoying within a couple of days. Refrigerate for a Little Longer: Wrapped pretzels can be refrigerated for up to a week.

Simply wrap all the pretzel bites tightly in foil, sealing the edges together, then place in your oven on “keep warm,” or 170F.

Dunking the pretzels in a boiling baking soda solution is easy and produces a beautiful, shiny pretzel. Our alternative finishing option uses a stronger alkaline, baked baking soda.

Why are my soft pretzels bitter? ›

Why Do My Pretzels Taste Bitter? If your pretzels have any sort of a metallic, bitter taste, it all comes down to the baking soda bath.

Let pretzel bites cool completely. Place them on a baking sheet so they are not touching and freeze until solid, about 1 hour (this flash freezing prevents them from sticking to each other). Place in a large freezer bag or smaller plastic bags for individual servings. Freeze for up to 3 months.

That said, if sourcing and handling lye isn't for you, you can use a simmering baking soda solution instead. With a pH of roughly 8.3, it reacts less than lye and yields pretzels that are lighter in color and flavor, but the results are still impressive.

Like bagels, pretzels are made in boiling water prior to baking to give them their snappy outsides and chewy insides (messy!). Soft pretzels must be boiled, or dipped in a baking soda bath (or lye if you're gusty and strict with your pretzel traditions). THEN, they can be baked.

Notes. Do not let the baked baking soda come in contact with your skin, as it is a caustic substance. If you do make contact with the baked baking soda, flush the area thoroughly with water.

They're Boiled, Not Baked.

The dough is first shaped into a long rope and then boiled in water before being baked at a higher temperature than bread. This process creates a distinctive pretzel shape and gives them their unique taste.

What Gives Pretzels Their Pretzel Flavor? You have baking soda to thank for that distinct pretzel flavor. Baking soda is highly alkaline and imparts that subtly metallic taste onto the dough before your pretzels go into the oven. Some recipes call for a lye bath, which does the same thing.

Soft pretzels are just a yeast bread is that formed into a pretzel shape. The one big difference in pretzel making, as opposed to a regular bread, is that pretzels are boiled and then baked. It is the boiling that gives the outside of the pretzel its beautiful golden brown color and uniquely crisp and chewy texture.

Experts at The Daily Meal (via Fox News) suspect the secret ingredient is sugar. This makes total sense, not because we're some sort of band of dough geniuses over here, but because sugar obviously makes everything better — and because Auntie Anne's pretzels are definitely sweeter than your average pretzel.