This Pretzel Dog Recipe is the ultimate mash-up of two comfort foods. The pillowy soft, salty dough wrapped around the savory, juicy hot dogs makes a kid-friendly, nostalgic treat. Perfect for fun family meals or game day snacks, both kids and adults love them.
What we love about these Pretzel Hot Dogs
I love this pretzel dough. The pretzels bake up so soft on the inside and golden and crispy on the outside. Paired with the juicy hot dogs, they are a huge home run. My kids love these. This recipe is half of my pretzel bites recipe, with just a little more yeast. You can double it and do half pretzel bites and half pretzel dogs and you will have lots and lots of smiles from your kids or guests. These pretzel dogs at our house have been meals, after school snacks, and they make the perfect game day treat.
There are a few steps, but the dough is easy to work with and the process isn’t complicated. The dough only rises once, verses other homemade rolls, which usually rise again once they are shaped. They cook in seconds in the baking soda water bath before the final bake in the oven. If you need to make more than 8, the recipe is easy to double.
Looking for other fun appetizers/tailgating food? Try our Oven Barbecue Chicken Wings, our Buffalo Honey Wings, or our Cowboy Caviar with Avocado.
What you need to make these Pretzel Dogs
You will need the following ingredients:
- Vegetable oil
- Water
- Brown sugar
- Active dry yeast
- All-purpose flour
- Butter
- Kosher salt
- Baking soda
- Bun-size hot dogs
- Egg
- Pretzel salt, coarse salt, and/or sesame seeds
Pretzel Dog Substitutions
I know what it’s like when you don’t have everything on hand, and the last thing you want to do is run to the store and pick something up. Here are a few ideas to substitute items on the ingredients list if needed:
- You could substitute granulated sugar for brown sugar if necessary.
- You could try other seasonings on the pretzels instead of just salt, like poppy seeds, sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning, etc.
- You could try bread flour in place of the all-purpose flour.
- You could try brushing the pretzels with extra butter instead of using the egg wash.
Step-by-step Instructions
Step 1. In a small bowl, combine the warm water, brown sugar, and active dry yeast. Stir to mix. Set aside and let it sit for about 5 minutes. In a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, mix together the yeast mixture, flour, melted butter, and salt. Beat on medium speed for one minute until ingredients are combined.
Step 2. Switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook and knead the dough in the mixer on medium speed for about 5 minutes (you can also knead by hand). Turn the dough into the prepared, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel to let the dough rise for one hour.
Step 3. Punch the dough down. Place it on the prepared greased surface and, using a bench scraper or pizza cutter, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces (it doesn’t have to be exact). Roll each of the dough pieces into an 16-inch rope. Starting at one end, wrap a rope of dough around a hot dog, leaving an inch of the hot dog showing on each end, and place on the prepared baking sheet.
Step 4. Carefully place the hot dogs one at a time into boiling water for just 30 seconds, and then using a slotted spatula, remove the hot dogs as they finish on to your prepared baking sheets. Brush the pretzel dogs with the beaten egg and sprinkle with pretzel salt or coarse sea salt or sesame seeds.
Step 5. Place 4 pretzel dogs on each prepared baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes. You can bake them one at a time or bake both sheets on different racks in the oven, switching spots half way through.
Step 6: Serve warm or at room temperature with ketchup and various mustards if desired.
Tips
- The baking soda water bath gives pretzels their unique texture and color. The solution from the baking soda creates the shiny, crisp, and darker crust and the more dense and chewy texture of the pretzel. Baking soda is a safer and more accessible alternative to food-grade lye, which is traditionally used and creates a darker crust.
- I love my USA pan baking sheets, they cook so evenly, are high quality, and long-lasting. They work perfectly here for the pretzel dogs.
Frequently Asked Questions
| Can pretzel dogs be made in advance? |
| a. Assemble the pretzel dogs, up to the step before boiling, place them on a baking sheet, and cover with plastic wrap. Store them in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 days. When ready to bake, let them come to room temperature for about an hour and boil and bake following the recipe instructions. b. To freeze them, wrap the hot dogs in the pretzel dough, place them on the prepared parchment-lined baking sheet, and freeze them until solid. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag or container for storage (up to 3 months). Have them thaw over night, bring them to room temperature, and boil and bake them according to the recipe instructions. |
| How to store and reheat Pretzel Dogs? |
| a. Once the pretzel dogs cool to room temperature, store them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. b. To refresh them, you can heat them in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit oven or an air fryer for a few minutes until they are warm and crispy. I would avoid using a microwave to reheat them as they may turn a little hard or soggy. |
Pretzel Dog Recipe
8
servings35
minutes12
minutes1 hour
2
hoursThis Pretzel Dog Recipe is the ultimate mash-up of two comfort foods. The pillowy soft, salty dough wrapped around the savory, juicy hot dogs makes a kid-friendly, nostalgic treat. Perfect for fun family meals or game day snacks, both kids and adults love them.
Ingredients
Vegetable oil
¾ cup warm water (temperature should be between 105 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons melted butter
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
8 bun -length hot dogs
10 cups water
½ cup baking soda
1 egg, beaten
Pretzel salt or other coarse salt (like Kosher salt or sea salt) or sesame seeds
Directions
- Brush a large bowl with a little vegetable oil to coat and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the warm water, brown sugar and active dry yeast. Stir to mix. Set aside and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
- In a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, mix together the yeast mixture, flour, melted butter, and salt. Beat on medium speed for one minute until ingredients are combined. The dough should not be sticking to the side of the bowl when mixed, and should come away from it when mixing. If the dough seems too sticky, you can add another ¼ cup of flour.
- Switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook and knead the dough in the mixer on medium speed for about 5 minutes (you can also knead by hand). Turn the dough into the prepared, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel to let the dough rise for one hour. The dough should about double in size during this time.
- While the dough is rising, brush a small amount of oil on two 18×13 baking sheets (half sheet pans). Line them with parchment paper and brush with oil again.
- Brush a little oil on a counter or working surface to roll the dough when it is ready. (Using flour can make the dough harder to roll and a slightly greased surface works well).
- While the dough is rising, bring the 10 cups of water to a boil in a deep pot. Add the baking soda. This will cause a reaction that causes the water to bubble up and using a deep pot prevents it from boiling over. I add a little bit of the baking soda at a time which helps to reduce the height of the reaction as well.
- Punch the dough down. Place it on the prepared greased surface and using a bench scraper or pizza cutter, cut the dough in to 8 equal pieces (it doesn’t have to be exact).
- Roll each of the dough pieces into an 16-inch rope. (I keep the dough waiting to be rolled in the bowl covered as I work). Starting at one end, wrap a rope of dough around a hot dog, pressing the ends to the dough to seal, and leaving an inch of the hot dog showing on each end. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces and hot dogs.
- Carefully place the hot dogs one at a time into boiling water for just 30 seconds, and then using a slotted spatula, remove the hot dogs as they finish on to your prepared baking sheets.
- Brush the boiled pretzel dogs with the beaten egg and sprinkle with pretzel salt or coarse sea salt or sesame seeds. Place 4 pretzel dogs on each prepared baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes. You can bake them one at a time or bake both sheets on different racks in the oven at the same time, switching spots half way through. Serve warm or at room temperature with ketchup and a variety of mustards if desired.
Notes
- We are divided at our house on which topping is best for the Pretzel Dogs. I prefer sesame seeds and my kids prefer the salt. If you like the pretzel dogs on the salty side, sprinkle with coarse salt, or try half of the pretzel dogs with sesame seeds and half with salt and see what you prefer. I love pretzel salt on pretzels and pretzel bites, but with the hot dogs already being salty, I do like the sesame seeds on top better personally here.
- I buy pretzel salt online. I use pretzel salt from the Boise Salt Co., which I bought on Amazon, and it works very well. I bought the 4-ounce container, and while it seems small, it lasts a while. I have made pretzels several times and haven’t used half of the salt yet. You can also use other coarse salts like kosher salt or coarse sea salt.
- The double greasing of the pans before and after lining with parchment paper has worked consistently well every time, so that the pretzel bites don’t stick to the pan. I also recommend using a lightly oiled surface for rolling out the pretzels instead of a lightly floured surface, so the dough doesn’t get too tough.
- When rolling the dough into a rope, I start with my hands in the middle of the dough portion and move my hands in a back-and-forth motion, applying equal pressure while I gradually work from the middle of the dough to the ends of the dough with my hands. If one section is a little thicker, I will roll that section a little more.
These are 10 times better than those mall pretzels. The kids had a blast putting these together.
These pretzel dogs look amazing golden, soft, and perfectly wrapped! That chewy pretzel crust with a juicy sausage inside sounds like the ultimate game-day snack.
These were a hit with the kiddos! Thanks for the recipe!