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–+ servings
pretzel dogs on parchment paper on a pan with a variety of dipsa

Pretzel Dogs

Rebecca Lindamood
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 5 minutes
Pretzel Dogs are made of the most irresistible, chewy, soft pretzels wrapped around juicy hot dogs or sausages. They're

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for Pretzel Dogs:

  • 4 cups bread flour 1 pound 1 ounce by weight
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1/2 ounce or 14 grams by weight
  • 2 teaspoons SAF or instant yeast
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1/2 cup unfed sourdough starter 4 ounces or 113 grams by weight
  • 8 hot dogs

Ingredients for Pretzel Boil:

  • 2 quarts water
  • 1/2 cup baking soda See notes! (or 40 grams of food grade lye)

Optional Ingredients for Toppings:

  • 2 tablespoons pretzel salt
  • 2 tablespoons everything bagel seasoning

Instructions
 

To Make the Dough:

  • In the work-bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (or in a mixing bowl using your hands), combine the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix on low about 30 seconds, or just to combine dry ingredients. With mixer still on low, carefully pour in the milk and sourdough starter. Continue mixing on low or by hand until you have a smooth, slightly tacky dough. Remove bowl from the mixer, cover with a damp tea towel and set aside to rise in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in bulk and puffy, about an hour or so.

To Form the Pretzel Dogs:

  • Line two half sheet pans with silpats or premium parchment. If using parchment, spray generously with non-stick cooking spray. Set next to your work area.
  • Turn the dough out onto a clean surface.
  • Use a bench knife to cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece like play-dough until you have a snake of dough about 24-inches long.
  • Working with one hot dog or sausage at a time, spiral wrap the rope of pretzel dough from one end of the sausage to the other. Pinch the ends of dough to the dough next to it to "fix" it into place. When you have dealt with all the dough and hot dogs, cover the pans with tea towels and let them rise in a warm, draft-free place until puffy looking, about 20 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 400°F.

Option One: Boil the Pretzel Dogs:

  • 2 quarts of water to a boil in a stainless steel or other non-reactive pan (enameled cast-iron, tempered glass, etc…) When water simmers, add the baking soda. Gently lift the pretzels dogs one at a time into the boiling water. (You can boil more than one at a time, but be sure not to crowd the the pan as they will expand as they boil. Let simmer for about 30 seconds. Use a slotted spatula or spoon to drain and return each piece to its place on the pan. Continue until all pieces have been boiled and returned to the pan.

Option Two: Lye Dip the Pretzel Dogs

  • Add 2 quarts of very cold water to a glass or plastic mixing bowl. Carefully stir in 40 grams of food grade lye with a stainless steel slotted spoon or plastic/silicone spatula.
  • Using gloves, lower one pretzel dog at a time into the water, top side down. After 15 seconds gently flip them over and let them stay in the water another 5 seconds. Lift the pretzel bites, allowing excess water to drain away before replacing them on the lined sheet pans. Be sure to allow space between them for them to expand while baking.

To Bake the Pretzel Dogs

  • Sprinkle each pretzel dog with a sprinkle of pretzel salt or other seasoning to taste. Place pans in oven and bake the pretzels at least until golden brown (at least 18 to 22 minutes), but you can bake until they are deep brown which is my preference (closer to 22-24 minutes in my oven.)
  • Let stand for at least 5 minutes before eating. These are best enjoyed warm, but can be stored in non-airtight container such as a bowl covered with a clean tea towel or a paper bag that is cinched or clipped shut at room temperature for a couple of days. They can be quickly reheated prior to serving.

Notes

You may find you need to add additional water to the recipe. So many factors contribute to how much water is needed: hydration of the starter, whether you measure your starter ingredients by weight or by volume, relative humidity of your room/the outdoors, your elevation. If your sourdough discard is very old, it will be much more liquid. 
The dough should be stiffer/sturdier than most bread dough, but not crumbly. Use your own judgement guided by the descriptions here of what the dough should look and feel like. You can add small amounts of water to your hands and work it into the dough until it feels right.
You can either use baked baking soda or standard baking soda, if you're opting to boil the pretzels. The baked version will give you a closer approximation of a traditional German lye pretzel but does require baking the baking soda ahead of time. 
Spread 1 cup of baking soda evenly over a foil lined sheet pan. Bake in a preheated 250ºF oven for one hour then cool completely. Then use the foil to lift and funnel it into an airtight jar.
Cover and store at room temperature until you need to make pretzels. This method will make enough for two batches of pretzels or pretzel bites.

Nutrition

Calories: 385kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 15gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 4691mgPotassium: 203mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 51IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 67mgIron: 2mg

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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