Stuffed Pretzel Bites

These pretzel bites are stuffed with little sausages or mini hot dogs. They are ridiculously good and amazingly easy to make. They only take about an hour and a half from start to finish.

That I could make something with yeast and serve it as an appetizer is something that seemed impossible to me. Yeast? Seriously? Yes!!

If you still are nervous about baking bread as your guests are arriving, you can also make these in advance and freeze them. All you have to do is thaw them, reheat them in the oven, and serve. So tasty.

To get this gorgeous dark pretzel color, the wrapped sausages are dipped into a boiling bath of water, baking soda, and salt right before baking. I sprinkled mine with pretzel salt. You can also use coarse sea salt or kosher salt.... or nothing! They will still be delicious.

I did not have a gaggle of people coming over to my house when I made these, so after consuming more of these than I am willing to admit, I individually wrapped the cooled leftover bites in freezer wrap, placed them in a freezer bag, and placed them in the freezer. They are wonderful reheated, and they didn't last long. (Confession: I even had some for breakfast).

I dipped these in yellow mustard, but if you prefer a honey or Dijon mustard, those would be amazing too.

After the recipe, check out the amazing list of stuffed bread recipes from the wonderful group of #BreadBakers. We have everything from sweet rolls to savory breads.

Stuffed Pretzel Bites Recipe

Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

361 grams (3 cups) unbleached all purpose flour
18 grams (2 tablespoons) non-diastic malt powder or 11 grams (1 tablespoon) granulated sugar (I used the malt powder)

1 tbsp room temperature unsalted butter

1 tsp salt

2 tsp instant yeast

227 grams (1 cup) water

24 mini hot dogs (I used Kingsford Farms Little Smokies)

Water Bath

1361 grams (1 1/2 quarts) water

1 tbsp salt

64 grams (1/4 cup) baking soda

Topping

Pretzel salt, coarse sea salt, or kosher salt. 

Instructions

1. Place all of the dough ingredients (not the hot dogs) into the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low for about 7 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth. The dough should be slightly sticky. 
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes. 
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. There should be two racks in the oven in the upper and lower third. 
4. Mix the water bath ingredients in a 3 quart sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then turn off the heat until ready to use. 
5. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 24 equal pieces. Cover the pieces with oiled plastic wrap. Spray the counter with spray oil. 
6. Roll each piece into a 4 inch by 2 inch rectangle, and wrap each around a mini hot dog, sealing the seam and pinching the ends. Place each wrapped hot dog onto the baking sheets and cover with oiled plastic wrap.
7. Bring the water bath back to a boil. 
8. Add the wrapped pretzel bites to the boiling water bath, six at a time, and let them boil for 30 seconds. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them back onto the baking sheets, seam side down. Immediately sprinkle with the pretzel salt. 
9. Bake the pretzels for 20 to 22 minutes, turning and rotating the baking sheets halfway through. If you have convection, turn it on half way through. The pretzel bites should be a deep brown. 
10. Cool the pretzel bites for a few minutes on the pans before serving, or let cool completely and freeze to serve later (see notes above). 

What is Bread Bakers? It’s a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Bread Bakers Pinterest Board. Links are also updated after each event on the Bread Bakers home page. How is the monthly theme determined? We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Would you like to join in the fun? If you are a food blogger, send an email with your blog name and url to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.

Stuffed Breads from the Bread Bakers

Sweet Breads

• Figgy Olive Oil and Sesame Challah from Sarah at What Smells So Good?
• No-Knead Apricot Sweet Rolls from Renee at Magnolia Days

Savory Breads

• Baked Peas Kachori from Shilpi at SimplyVeggies
• Cauliflower, Paneer & Peas Stromboli from Priya at I Camp in my Kitchen
• Cheesy Pizza Wheels from Tara at Noshing with the Nolands
• Chicken Stuffed Casserole Bread from Vimala at Cooking Club
• Cuban Sandwich-Stuffed Cuban Bread from Jenni at Jenni Field’s Pastry Chef Online
• Jalapeño Cheddar Stuffed Pretzel Rolls from Heather at Hezzi D’s Books and Cooks
• Jamaican Meat Loaf from Kelly of Passion Kneaded
• Paneer Kulchi from Anshie at Spice Roots
• Prosciutto, Salami and Mozzarella Stromboli from Wendy at A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Stuffed Bazlama - Turkish Bread from Sneha at Sneha's Recipe
• Tiganopsomo - Feta-Stuffed Fried Bread from Stacy at Food Lust People Love
• Zucchini and Goat Cheese Stuffed Bread from Aisha at La cocina de Aisha