This is a very easy, same day sourdough pretzel bites recipe that you should absolutely try. Pretzels are loved by so many people, and what is not to love? They have an incredible texture, as well as great taste and flavor.
Ingredients
Sweet Stiff Sourdough Starter
- 10 g sourdough starter
- 35 g water
- 70 g bread flour
- 10 g sugar
Main dough
- 100 g sweet stiff starter(37%)
- 150 g warm water (58%)
- 270 g bread flour (100%)
- 27 g sugar (10%)
- 5 g salt (2%)
- 2 g malt (could be replaced by 6 g of honey)
- 27 g soft butter (10%)
Garnish
- Sea salt (optional)
- Melted butter for brushing baked pretzels (optional)
Boiling
- Wide pot
- 1 gallon of water
- 3 tbs baking soda
Directions
Starter
- 10 pm dissolve sugar in the water, add starter(100g) and whisk together, add flour, mix well, form a ball, place in a jar, cover and let it sit at room temp 74-78F until it increases in volume in 2 or more times.
- Stiff sweet starter will have lower hydration then regular liquid starter and will help us to lower the acidity of final product (learn how to make sourdough starter from scratch here).
Dough
- Add all the ingredients, except butter, into a mixing bowl, knead for 5-10 minutes until well incorporated, at the end of mixing add soft butter, continue to mix for a couple more minutes, until gluten is developed.
- Cover and let it rise until dough becomes lighter and bigger with bubbles on the surface for about 3-4 hours, perform a couple of folds during this time.
Shaping
- Prepare baking tray with parchment paper generously oiled.
- Place the dough onto a non-floured surface. Flatten the dough into a rectangle and divide it into 4 equal pieces, about 110-115 grams each, prereshape them as cylinders, then roll into 20cm long ropes.
- Set the pretzel ropes on a prepared baking tray. Cover and let them proof for about 1 hour (until they become puffy).
- When proofing is done, move the pretzel ropes into the fridge for 30 minutes (it will help to transfer them into boiling water later).
Boiling
- While the dough chills in the fridge boil the water. Add baking soda and whisk well to have it dissolved.
- Preheat your oven to 425F (220C).
- Remove the pretzel ropes from the fridge, put 2 of them into the pot with boiling water and wait for them to float on the surface (10 seconds or less). Cook for 20-30 seconds on each side for a thin crust. Using a slotted spoon, remove your pretzel ropes from the boiling water, and place them on a well oiled parchment paper, let them cool for about 1 minute.
- Use scissors to cut the ropes into bite size pieces (about 1 inch thick).
- Ensure that pretzel bites remain on an oiled parchment paper.
- Sprinkle them with sea salt (optional).
Baking
- Bake pretzels for about 14-16 minutes until they turn nice and brown.
- Brush them with melted butter, while still hot for more flavor.
Enjoy your sourdough pretzel bites 🥨
Hi! These look delicious and can’t wait to try making these. Two questions-
1) did you use sourdough discard or fresh fed starter
2) in the directions for the starter it says to add 100g of starter, but under the ingredients it lists 20g of starter. Could you please clarify the amount?
Hi!
I’m using fresh fed starter to create sweet stiff starter, 100g of which you’ll need for the recipe 🙏
Thanks for sharing, I will definitely try this recipe, as I have tried many others from your journal. I have a question… To prepare the stuff sweet starter, we should add 20 g to the water + sugar, right?
Thanks!
Hello! Thank you! Yes! Mix starter with water snd sugar, then add flour.
Good luck 🙏
Hi there! So you say at 10pm to mix the sweet stuff starter with the flour and water and let rise at 74 degrees. Is that an overnight rise?
Yes, starter has to rise overnight, or you can change the ratio and let it rise faster.
Hi, I can’t wait to try this. Do we’re making a levain first (stiff sweet starter- the night before), letting it rise to about 100 grams before we can make the dough the next day, right? Thank you!
Ann!
Hi! Yes! All correct 🙏
Hi! You have start the stiff starter at 10 pm. Does this mean you do that (the stiff starter) the night before and the rest of it the next day “same day.” Or start all of it at 10 AM including the stiff starter?
Also, you have 10 g start listed in ingredient list but 100g starter in recipe description. Which is correct?
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try thi.
Kei, hi!
You have to prepare stiff starter night before, and use it on it’s peak next morning 🙏
I too am confused .. the stiff starter recipe only needs 10g of of starter to make the stiff sweet starter and then you only need 100g of the stiff starter for the actual dough recipe?
So we ignore th night before directions when you say to add “100g” of starter to the water and sugar mix?
Hi!
You need 10g if active starter to create stiff starter for the dough(who will be used next day)
excellent recipe.. I’ll definitely be making this again. just curious what is the purpose of the baking soda in the boiling water?
Thank you!
Baking soda will give nice dark color and special flavor, which pretzels are known for.
Would it be ok to throw into he fridge overnight right after bulk?
Sure, absolutely.
Hi Natasha,
Thank you for the recipe, it turned out great. This is the second time I make these, definitely will be doing more later.
Canet, thank you so much for your kind feedback 🙏
I made this today. They are currently in the oven. I made 4 pretzels instead of pretzel bites and I am so very excited to eat them. They are browning so beautifully and smell quite yummy. Thanks for making such easy to follow instructions. You and Randy (my sourdough starter) came in strong for the win today!! 🙂
Danielle, thank you so much for your feedback. I’m so glad you liked it ❤️
Hi,
Thank you for the recipe!
Just to clarify, when making the Sweet Stiff Sourdough starter, you only use 10 g of sourdough starter?
Yes, all correct 🙏
So instead to bites, can I go ahead and shape it like regular pretzels and follow the same process?
Hi there! Could you par bake these ahead of time and then finish baking off later?
Hi!
I’ve never done it!
But I think you can bake it 3/4 way through and then freeze, then bake again before eating
A sourdough newbie here – go make the sweet stiff starter, does the 10 grams of original starter have to be active/at its peak or can it be straight from the fridge? Thank you
Hi Natasha!
How many “bretzels” can I make from this recipe?
Thank you as always 💕
Hi, I am not familiar with sourdough starter, so please can you give more info what it is and if I cannot fine to buy it is there any substitute? Can you send a photo as well? Thank you in advance.
Hi!
Here’s the link
https://natashasbaking.com/sourdough-starter-from-scratch-in-7-days/
So….make sure when you proof the dough ropes that you cover them with something that won’t stick to the dough. Even though I used a damp cheesecloth…they stuck.
Sorry, Lauren, maybe some oil will help
If I want add more starter so it can rise faster, do I change the rest of ingredients and how?? Thanks.
Maybe some extra flour will be needed (just see the consistency)
Hey Natalya,
What would you suggest to get these to form into perfectly round balls vs. them being rectangular?
Thanks,
CJ
All your recipes are so amazing. I would like to use this recipe to wrap a hotdog or sausage link – “pigs in a blanket” style. Do you think it would work?