Honey Free Snackable Soft Pretzel Bites

Total time1 hr 40 min

Prep time25 min

Cook time15 min

4.5

(10)

Soft, chewy, and deeply golden, these pretzel bites deliver everything you love about a classic ballpark pretzel in a poppable, shareable format. The dough comes together with just flour, yeast, sugar, butter, and salt — no sweeteners beyond a single teaspoon of granulated sugar to activate the yeast. That matters because a lot of pretzel recipes lean on honey or malt syrup for color and flavor, but the real magic here comes from the baking soda bath, which gives each bite that signature dark crust and slightly tangy chew without any added liquid sweetener. A quick 30-second dip in boiling baking soda water does the heavy lifting, and the oven takes them to a gorgeous mahogany brown that looks seriously impressive. Fresh out of the oven, a brush of melted butter and a shower of coarse salt is all they need. These are the kind of snack that disappears fast, so consider doubling the batch.

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Ingredients

6 servings

For the dough

1 ½ tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp granulated sugar
1 cup warm water (110°f / 43°c)
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp fine salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the baking soda bath

8 cups water
⅓ cup baking soda

For finishing

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 ½ tsp coarse pretzel salt or flaky sea salt

Instructions

1
In a large bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand for 5–7 minutes, until foamy and fragrant.
2
Add the melted butter (from the dough portion), fine salt, and flour to the yeast mixture. Stir until a shaggy dough forms, then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5–6 minutes, until the dough is smooth, slightly tacky, and springs back slowly when poked.

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