Made from scratch these Soft Beer Pretzels are the perfect savory treat for snacking on for tailgating on game day, parties, or noshing while sipping a nice cool beer. These pretzels also great for gifting to family, friends and co-workers during the holidays.
Football season is almost here and honestly I can’t wait to call those Hogs!
If you ask me the best part of game day is hands down the food! Snacks and appetizers are so much fun to make and eat. For game days I like to serve snack foods like Ranch Seasoned Oyster Crackers, Sweet and Spicy Peanuts and Stovetop Popcorn. Some times I switch things up by making my family’s favorite Slow Cooker Beef Queso Dip.
How to make Soft Beer Pretzels: (full recipe at bottom of page)
Ingredients:
Light Beer
Active-Dry Yeast
Brown Sugar
All Purpose Flour
Kosher Salt
Baking Soda
Egg
Sesame Seeds (for topping, optional)
Equipment:
Microwave
Large Mixing Bowl
Large Pot
Baking Sheet
Bench Scraper or Large Knife
Directions:
- In a large bowl warm the beer in the microwave for 15 seconds.
- Pour in brown sugar and stir.
- Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the beer mixture and let it sit for five minutes, After five minutes, stir in the yeast.
- Add in the salt and flour and combine until shaggy ball forms and the dough seems dry. Not all of the flour will be incorporated.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean surface. Use the flour in the bowl to dust your hands and work surface and add more flour as needed. Knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball– it should take about five minutes. The dough will become increasingly sticky over the first 2-3 minutes. Use the flour in the bowl to dust your hands as needed.
- Once the dough is smooth and only slightly tacky, place it into a well oiled bowl and let it sit at room temperature for at least an hour, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat your oven to 425F.
- Once the dough has doubled, turn it out of the bowl and divide it into eight pieces. Roll the sections into long rods and then shape them as desired: rods, nuggets, etc.
- To shape a traditional pretzel, create a “u” with the open end facing away from you. Twist the ends over each other twice and then flip the twisted end toward you so it overlaps on top of the bottom of the “u”.
- After you’ve shaped the pretzels, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Slowly sprinkle in the baking soda– if you add the baking soda too fast it will bubble over so add it slowly.
- Boil the pretzels once at a time for 45 seconds on each side and then remove them to a parchment lined baking sheet (or two baking sheets if one isn’t big enough to hold all the pretzels).
- Brush the boiled pretzels with an egg wash (a beaten egg + a splash of water) and sprinkle them with sesame seeds and flake salt.
- Bake the pretzels at 425F for 20-25 minutes or until they are a deep amber brown color.
Variations and Substitutions:
To make bite sized pieces instead of traditional twisty pretzels follow directions as stated. Then roll the dough into a rod long rod then cut into one inch pieces. After cutting the dough into one inch pieces. Prepare water for boiling as directed. Then boil bite sized pieces for 30 seconds. Follow remaining steps as directed.
Storing and Reheating:
How to store and freeze:
Store pretzels in an air tight container or a zip top bag for 3-4 days.
To freeze pretzels wrap each pretzel tightly in plastic wrap then place in a zip top freezer bag. Pretzels will be good in the freezer for up to one month.
How to reheat:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees wrap the pretzels in foil then place in a oven for 3-5 minutes or until warm to the touch.
- Place pretzel on a microwave safe plate then with the microwave set on high reheat in 15 seconds intervals until your desired warmness.
- If the pretzel is frozen remove from freezer and allow it to thaw at room temperature until pretzel is soft. Then follow directions for either above method.
I hope you and your family will love this recipe as much as we do! If you do try this recipe please come back and leave a comment letting me know how much you liked it!
Happy Baking Y’all!
Susanne
Still hungry? Follow New South Charm on Pinterest for more recipe ideas!
Soft Beer Pretzels
Ingredients
- 1 cup light beer pale ale or Belgian wheat
- 2 ½ active-dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ baking soda
- 1 egg
- Salt and sesame seeds for topping
Instructions
-
In a large bowl warm the beer in the microwave for 15 seconds.
-
Pour in brown sugar and stir.
-
Sprinkle the yeast over the top of the beer mixture and let it sit for five minutes, After five minutes, stir in the yeast.
-
Add in the salt and flour and combine until shaggy ball forms and the dough seems dry. Not all of the flour will be incorporated.
-
Turn the dough out onto a clean surface. Use the flour in the bowl to dust your hands and work surface and add more flour as needed. Knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball– it should take about five minutes. The dough will become increasingly sticky over the first 2-3 minutes. Use the flour in the bowl to dust your hands as needed.
-
Once the dough is smooth and only slightly tacky, place it into a well oiled bowl and let it sit at room temperature for at least an hour, or until doubled in size.
-
Once the dough has doubled, turn it out of the bowl and divide it into eight pieces. Roll the sections into long rods and then shape them as desired: rods, nuggets, etc.
-
To shape a traditional pretzel, create a “u” with the open end facing away from you. Twist the ends over each other twice and then flip the twisted end toward you so it overlaps on top of the bottom of the “u”. After you’ve shaped the pretzels, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Slowly sprinkle in the baking soda– if you add the baking soda too fast it will bubble over so add it slowly.
-
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
-
Boil the pretzels once at a time for 45 seconds on each side and then remove them to a parchment lined baking sheet (or two baking sheets if one isn’t big enough to hold all the pretzels).
-
Brush the boiled pretzels with an egg wash (a beaten egg + a splash of water) and sprinkle them with sesame seeds and flake salt.
-
Bake the pretzels at 425F for 20-25 minutes or until they are a deep amber brown color.
Recipe Notes
To make bite sized pieces instead of traditional twisty pretzels follow directions as stated. Then roll the dough into a rod long rod then cut into one inch pieces. After cutting the dough into one inch pieces. Prepare water for boiling as directed. Then boil bite sized pieces for 30 seconds. Follow remaining steps as directed.
Nutritional information is estimated. Information will vary based on ingredient choices and serving sizes.
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