Pretzel Dogs
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Pretzel Dogs! Such a fun snack or meal. Easy recipe for hot dogs wrapped in homemade soft pretzel dough. Dip them in mustard or cheese!
Hey, hey! Back to school is right around the corner, so I’m all about fun snacks and meals for kids that are perfectly pack-able!
I thought this pretzel dogs recipe would be a great offering!
My kids absolutely love these. They’re great as an after-school snack, packed lunch, or light dinner.
And I love them because I can make up a big batch and they can just help themselves all week long.
For more fun kid-friendly recipes, check out my easy tomato soup recipe, my chicken bacon ranch pizza, and my homemade Oreos.
Table of Contents
- What are pretzel dogs?
- Why this is the best pretzel dog recipe
- What do pretzel dogs taste like?
- Ingredients
- Special equipment
- How to make pretzel dogs
- How to serve pretzel dogs
- Expert tips
- Frequently asked questions
- A few more of our best yeast bread recipes
What are pretzel dogs?
This is basically a copycat recipe for the soft pretzel-wrapped hot dogs you can get at Auntie Anne’s or Nathan’s.
It’s just a hot dog that’s been encased in an easy homemade soft pretzel dough and baked.
Why this is the best pretzel dog recipe
- Tastes amazing: Everything is so much better when you make it yourself from wholesome, quality ingredients!
- Few ingredients: Made from pantry staples.
- Easy to make: And fun! This is a fun afternoon baking project that’s perfect for a novice baker.
- Pack-able: This recipe makes a filling, protein-packed treat that’s easy to grab and go.
What do pretzel dogs taste like?
This just tastes like a really good, warm soft pretzel that’s stuffed with a juicy hot dog! What could be better?
Ingredients
Sugar: I like the way brown sugar works with all the toasty flavors here. It’s to balance out the flavors as well as feed the yeast. I’ve used light brown sugar here, but dark brown works equally well!
Water: You’ll need a little lukewarm water to dissolve the yeast, as well as a big pot of water for boiling the pretzel hot dogs.
Yeast: I prefer active dry yeast, but instant yeast can also work. You may just need to decrease the rise times a bit.
Flour: Bread flour is best, but all-purpose flour can work too if you’re careful to knead it really well.
Salt: There’s a little salt in the dough to enhance the flavors, and you’ll probably want to sprinkle more on top to really give them that soft pretzel appeal. I like kosher salt, but you can buy pretzel salt online too if you like!
Beer: I like the way the taste of beer comes through in the pretzels. And the alcohol evaporates away during the cooking process. But if you don’t want to use beer, you can just substitute it with the same amount of water.
Hot dogs: Use whatever kind you like! Turkey franks, all-beef, beef and pork, chicken dogs, even a vegan hot dog will work!
Baking soda: Adding a handful of baking soda to the boiling water is what creates that signature brown soft pretzel crust!
Egg wash: Gives the hot dog pretzel a gorgeous glossy sheen and helps it to brown as it bakes.
Special equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons: Follow my guide on how to measure ingredients.
- Non-stick spray: Prevents the plastic wrap from sticking to the pretzel dogs as they rest.
- Plastic wrap: Keeps things from drying out.
- Extra flour: To prevent sticking.
- Pastry scraper or knife: For dividing the dough.
- Parchment: Place each pretzel dog on its own little square, so they don’t deflate from handling them too much.
- Pot: A large pot for boiling the pretzel hot dogs.
- Spider: A cooking spider or something similar that will allow you to fish the pretzels out of the hot water and drain them.
- Baking sheet: On which to bake. I’m a fan of these aluminum bakers half sheets.
- Pastry brush: For brushing on the egg wash.
- Extra salt: For garnish.
How to make pretzel dogs
This fun recipe comes together in 4 simple steps.
Step 1: Make the soft pretzel dough
Start by dissolving the brown sugar in lukewarm water, then sprinkle the yeast on top.
After about 5 minutes, it should be dissolved too and looking kinda foamy. This is how you know it’s alive!
So just toss in the flour, salt, and beer (or additional water), and give it all a stir.
It should form a stiff dough that gathers itself into a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl cleanly.
Knead this dough really well. It should pass the windowpane test: pull off a small piece and flatten it with your fingertips. Then gently stretch it outwards. It should stretch thin enough for light to pass through it, without tearing. If it can do this, your soft pretzels will have a satisfyingly chewy texture once baked.
Cover the bowl lightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest in a warm place for about 90 minutes.
Step 2: Divide and shape
Punch down the dough, knead it a few times on a lightly floured surface, and divide it into 8 equal portions.
Working with one portion at a time, and keeping the rest lightly covered, roll it into a long rope, then wind it around a hot dog in a spiral.
Place each wrapped hot dog on its own little piece of parchment, then mist your plastic wrap with non-stick spray and lightly cover the pretzel wrapped hot dogs with it.
Let them rest a second time, for about 30 minutes.
Step 3: Boil
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add in the baking soda. Be careful! It will fizz up a ton!
Gently pick up each pretzel dog by the parchment paper it’s sitting on, and flip it into the hot water, peeling the parchment away.
This is my little trick. I came up with it when I created my homemade soft pretzel recipe.
I found that if I didn’t do this, picking up the raw pretzel would deflate all the air out and they’d come out shrunken and wrinkly. If the pretzel dogs sit on their own little square of parchment, it’s much easier to get them into the boiling water without them losing their volume.
Boil each one for a minute or two on each side, then fish them out and drain them.
Step 4: Bake
Place the boiled pretzel dogs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and brush them all over with egg wash. Then sprinkle on a pinch of salt and slide them into a hot oven.
They will bake until they’re deeply golden brown and puffy.
How to serve pretzel dogs
Pretzel dogs are great as an afternoon snack, packed lunch, or light dinner.
You can eat them as-is, or dip them in your favorite condiment.
My S.O. loves to mix hot sauce and ranch, while I’m a big fan of mustard or beer cheese.
Expert tips
Add the flour gradually: When making bread, the amount of flour called for is only an estimate. It can vary based on several different factors. You’ll probably need anywhere from 1 1/2 cups to 2 1/2 cups of flour to make this bread. Start with 1 1/2 cups and add more if the dough is too sticky. Once it gathers itself into a ball and pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl, stop adding flour.
Use a beer you like the taste of: The flavor of the beer definitely comes through in this bread! So make sure you use one who’s flavor you really enjoy.
Keep an eye on it: The rise time can vary by quite a bit. Be sure to keep a close eye on it. You’ll know it’s time to move on to the next step when the dough looks twice as big as it was when it started out. If it doesn’t get enough time to rise, it will have a tight, gummy texture. If it rises for too long, the gluten structure will weaken and the bread won’t puff up as it bakes. Either way, the bread will bake up smaller than it should, so just keep your eye on it and when it’s twice its original size, it’s time to move on to the next step.
Make overnight pretzel dogs: If you’d like to break up the prep a little bit, this recipe can be made as overnight pretzel dogs. Once the rolls have been shaped, cover them with oiled plastic wrap and keep them in the fridge for up to 48 hours, or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. On the day you’d like to bake them, take them out, allow them to come to room temperature then rise to twice their original size, and go on with the recipe as usual from there.
Maintain maximum puffiness: After the rolls have been shaped and had their second rise, they need to be boiled. Excessive handling can deflate them! Sad face. So I recommend placing each pretzel dog on it’s own piece of parchment after it’s been shaped. This way, you can just grab it by a corner and flip it gently into the hot water, peeling the paper away in one swift motion. (See what this looks like when you watch the video embedded in the notes section of the recipe card below.) No messing around trying to pick it up with your hands or with a spatula. Just pinch a corner of parchment and slide the risen dough onto the palm of your hand without disturbing or deflating it.
Create steam in your oven: When you preheat your oven, place an oven-safe dish filled with water on the bottom rack. This will create a steam bath for your pretzel dogs that will result in the crackliest crust!
Frequently asked questions
If you’d like to make pretzel dogs ahead of time and break up the prep over the course of one or more days, see my expert tip above under the heading “Make overnight pretzel dogs.”
I recommend storing pretzel dogs in a paper bag. They need to breathe a little bit, or else they’ll shrivel.
If you put them in a completely airtight bag or container, the moisture inside the bread gets trapped in there, and the surface of the pretzel rolls becomes wet and wrinkly.
Stored in this way, they should keep for around a week or so in the fridge.
You can also freeze them! Place them in a zip-top freezer bag, but take them out of the bag before you thaw them back out.
Pop them in the microwave for around 20 to 30 seconds, or wrap them in foil and place them in a warm oven until heated through.
One pretzel dog is equal to one serving.
This recipe makes 8 pretzel dogs, and the nutritional info provided below is for 1/8th the entire batch. It does not include any kind of dip.
A few more of our best yeast bread recipes
As an amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Pretzel Dogs
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) brown sugar, light or dark
- 1/4 cup (59.15 g) water, lukewarm (not hot)
- 1/4 ounce (7.09 g) dry active yeast, (1 packet or about 2 teaspoons)
- 2 cups (250 g) bread flour, (all-purpose can be substituted)
- 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/2 cup (118 g) beer, (water can be substituted)
- 3 quarts (2,839.06 g) water, (for boiling)
- 1/3 cup (40 g) baking soda
- egg wash, (1 large egg beaten with a teaspoon or so of water)
Instructions
- Place the brown sugar in a large bowl and pour the lukewarm water on top.
- Sprinkle the surface of the water with yeast and allow it to dissolve (approx. 5 minutes).
- Stir in the flour, salt, and water until a stiff dough forms.
- Knead the dough until it becomes silky and elastic (approx. 10 to 15 minutes).
- Cover the dough lightly and allow it to rest in a warm place for 90 minutes.
- Sprinkle the dough, your hands, and the work surface with flour, knead the dough a few times, then divide it into 8 equal portions. Cover lightly.
- Working with one portion of dough at a time, shape it into a long rope (about 20 inches) and spiral it around a hot dog, tucking the ends underneath.
- Place the unbaked pretzel dogs on individual rectangles of parchment paper on a baking sheet, and cover lightly with greased plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and bring the water to a boil over high heat.
- Add the baking soda to the boiling water (it will foam up a ton!) and gently flip each pretzel dog in, removing the parchment once they are submerged.
- Boil the pretzel dogs for a minute or two on each side, then gently lift them from the water, draining on a clean towel, and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Brush them with egg wash and sprinkle with salt, then bake until deeply golden browned (approx. 16 to 24 minutes).
