These elevated sourdough pretzel dogs aren’t just for kids. Made with uncured organic grass-fed hotdogs and sourdough soft pretzel dough, they make for an impressive, crowd-pleasing appetizer or your family’s new favorite dinner!
A few weeks ago I read that you can use any dinner roll recipe as a pretzel recipe- you just boil them in baking soda water first for that signature dark color and chew.
I knew I had to try that with my dinner roll recipe and make pretzel dogs. New Year’s Eve was coming up and I thought this would be such a fun party food.
Of course, being a mom to three little ones, we didn’t have much of a NYE party but between us and our best family friends with whom my older two ended up staying the night with, the sourdough pretzel dogs did not go to waste and were thoroughly enjoyed by all.
Why Make Pretzel Dogs From Scratch?
Couldn’t I just buy these frozen? Why go through the trouble?
- Most hotdogs, especially anything you’d find in a frozen party food, are highly processed and made with mystery ingredients. What makes these pretzel dogs different (well, one of the things) is that they’re made with organic, grass-fed beef hotdogs. I love when I figure out how to make a yummy food, that’s usually considered junk food, from scratch with real, nourishing ingredients. That’s why I’m totally comfortable serving these for lunch or dinner!
- The soft pretzel dough on the outside of the dogs is fermented, which makes it easier for our bodies to digest. Thus all the nutrients in the dough are more bioavailable, making them much more nutrient dense. Plus, sourdough is full of gut-healthy probiotics.
- All of the ingredients are real, whole foods. Everything from the mineral salt, to the grass-fed butter, to the organic cheese are wholesome ingredients that will make this recipe much more healthy and satisfying.
- Everyone will love you 😀 But for real, anytime you go through the trouble of making something from scratch, it makes your dish that much more special and impressive. Your kids will love these, as well as your party attendees.
What You Need For This Recipe
- a stand mixer or hand mixer with dough hook attachment
- a large pot or Dutch oven
- 1 full sheet or 2 half sheet baking pans
- plenty of baking soda
- a sourdough starter (or sub and dinner roll recipe)
- organic grass-fed beef hotdogs
- Kosher or course ground sea salt
- a little patience
Where do I find some of these ingredients?
The hotdogs I refer to I find at Aldi, next to the bacon. I’m telling you these are Aldi gold. I also get the organic sliced Colby cheese there.
Boiling the pretzels in baking soda water is what sets them apart from regular dough. That, and the signature salt sprinkle on top.
For that reason you’ll need a pretty large pot to boil a few of the pretzel dogs at a time before baking. I used my oblong Dutch oven which was perfect due to the increased surface area, as opposed my stock pot. But any large pot will do. You might just have to do two at a time instead of three or four, if the circumference is smaller.
Keep a close eye on it after you add the baking soda as it will continually foam up throughout your boiling time. You might need to stir it down and at times reduce the heat a bit. Keep it boiling but don’t walk away during the boiling stage, until all the pretzel dogs have been bathed.
After boiling them, we’ll briefly drain them on paper towels before placing them on the baking sheets to bake. You can sprinkle on the salt right after boiling, or wait until after baking and sprinkle it on after brushing them with melted butter.
I’ve tried it both ways and I preferred waiting until after baking, personally.
How To Make Sourdough Pretzel Dogs
- Make the soft pretzel dough. The night before, combine the dough ingredients with your mixer until elastic and not sticky. Ferment covered for about 12 hours.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle and cut into strips.
- Cut each hotdog and cheese slice (if using) in half to make 20 dogs and cheese slices.
- Roll the cheese around each hotdog half, then roll up in a dough strip.
- Boil in batches in baking soda water for about 30 seconds each. Drain on paper towels.
- Place on prepared baking sheet at 400 degrees F for about 20 minutes.
- Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt, cool slightly and serve with dipping sauces!
It’s really very easy, I promise. This dough is a cinch to make, especially if you’re familiar with sourdough. Of course, you could use any yeast dinner roll recipe if sourdough isn’t your thing. These are still worth making from scratch either way.
Tips And Tricks
One thing that’s a little hard to describe is the process of cutting the dough strips and rolling up the pretzel dogs. In these pictures you can see how I’ve done it.
The dough should be approximately 16×10 inches, but it doesn’t need to be exact.
You’ll want to work fairly quickly on this part so the dough doesn’t dry out.
Try getting your water on the stovetop to boil right before you turn your dough out of the bowl and roll it out.
You can keep your wrapped pretzel dogs under a lent-free towel while you work on the others.
Once they’re all assembled, then you can pour in the baking soda. We’re using a 1/4 to make sure they get that deep color while baking.
I lined a large plate with paper towels to drain mine.
I also used parchment paper on the baking sheet to ensure they wouldn’t stick to the pan.
What If One Unrolls?
This totally happened to me and it’s no big deal.
One or two very well may come uncoiled during the baking soda bath.
If it does, just roll it back up as soon as it’s cool enough to handle and place it seam side down.
As you’re forming them before the baking soda bath, try to pinch the edges together and keep everything as seamless as possible to prevent this from happening.
Grab the Recipe!
So there you have it. It’s not so bad, huh? They are so much more delicious than the processed stuff and you can actually feel good about eating them. I love a quick, healthy source of protein like this to keep on hand for busy homeschool days.
Get your printable recipe below or Pin it for later. By the way, if you’re looking for more sourdough recipes, recipes that solve the what’s-for-dinner problem, or just recipes that add something special to the day, check out my Recipes Archive!
I’d love it if you read my story here, to know the “why” behind my blog.
I so appreciate every click and share. I hope this recipe blesses your family!
-Tara
Sourdough Pretzel Dogs
These Sourdough Pretzel Dogs are not your average appetizer from the freezer aisle. These are made with uncured, all-beef, nitrate-free, organic, grass fed hot dogs (!) and organic cheese, wrapped in sourdough soft pretzel dough, then finished with a sprinkle of Kosher salt.
Ingredients
- SOFT PRETZEL DOUGH:
- 1/2 cup (115g) active sourdough starter
- 1/4 (85g) honey
- 1/2 cup (115g) warm water
- 1/4 cup (half stick, 56g) butter, melted
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- PRETZEL DOGS:
- 1 batch of completed pretzel dough
- 10 (2 packs) uncured grass-fed hotdogs (or your favorite), cut in half
- 10 slices organic Colby cheese (optional)
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 2 Tbs melted butter, for brushing
- 2 Tbs Kosher salt, for sprinkling
- mustard, ketchup, cheese sauce, etc. for dipping
Instructions
- Make the soft pretzel dough: The day before, combine all the soft pretzel dough ingredients in your mixer with the dough hook, or knead by hand. Dough should be pulling away, cleaning the bowl, elastic and not sticky. If dough seems dry, slowly drizzle in water about 1 Tbs at a time. If it's sticky, slowly add a bit of flour until it comes together.
- Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap or beeswax wrap. Allow to ferment and rise for about 12 hours.
- The next day, once pretzel dough has risen and you're ready to assemble your pretzel dogs, cut each hotdog in half so you have 20 mini hotdogs. Cut square slices of cheese in half and set aside.
- Roll out your dough on a well floured surface, into approximately a 16x10 rectangle. Make 10 long cuts down the length of the dough into equal strips. Then cut the whole thing in half the opposite way so you have 20 small strips of dough.
- If using cheese, wrap the cheese slice around the mini hotdog, then begin rolling up in a strip of dough. You want the dough to spiral up the hotdog from one end to the other. Enclose the ends as much as possible to avoid cheese spilling out during boiling and baking.
- Meanwhile, begin boiling water in a large pot or dutch over. The more surface area the better, but you do need some depth. Fill a little more than halfway with water and bring to a boil. Once you have your pretzel dogs assembled, pour your baking soda in the water and start dropping in pretzel dogs 3-4 at a time.
- Boil for about 30 seconds each, then carefully transfer to a paper towel lined platter to drain off excess water, using a slotted spoon or 'spider'.
- Keep boiling in batches until all have been bathed in baking soda water. You can either sprinkle on Kosher salt now while wet, or after baking once you brush with butter.
- Preheat your oven to 400 F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place boiled pretzel dogs on baking sheet, 4 rows of 5, with a little space in between for expansion. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Pretzel dogs are done when dough inside is fluffy and white. Melt your butter in a small sauce pan and brush each pretzel dog as soon as they're out of the oven. Sprinkle with Kosher salt if you didn't already.
- Allow to cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack, serve with dipping sauces and enjoy your healthy, crowd-pleasing appetizer!
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