Football Shaped Soft Pretzel Bites

A plate of mini football pretzel bites, with a bowl of hot cheese dip.

5 from 1 vote

These Football Shaped Soft Pretzel Bites are super cute, and a great game day snack for your Super Bowl Party! Perfect for charcuterie boards.

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Rising Time1 20

Total Time2 5

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American, German

Diet: Low Fat

Servings: Pretzel Bites

Calories: 63kcal

Author: Marie Porter

Equipment

2 Baking Sheets
Parchment Paper

Ingredients

Dough

¾ cups Warm Beer or water
2 tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
1 package Active Dry Yeast About 2 ¼ tsp
2 ½ cups All Purpose Flour
¼ teaspoon Salt
2 oz Unsalted Butter Melted
Olive Oil

Assembly

3 quarts Water
¾ cup Baking Soda
1 Large Egg
1 tablespoon Cold Water
½ cup All Purpose Flour
8 tablespoon Water

Instructions

Make the Dough

Combine warm beer with brown sugar, stir until sugar is almost dissolved. Add yeast, stirring until incorporated.
Set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes, or until foamy.
In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.
Add melted butter, stirring until well distributed.
Pour in yeast/beer mixture, stirring until well combined.
Turn dough out onto a clean surface, knead for a couple of minutes. Dough should be soft and smooth.
Pour about 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a large, clean metal or glass bowl.
Add freshly kneaded dough to the bowl, turning to coat with the oil.
Cover with plastic wrap, set aside in a warm spot to rise for an hour or two, until doubled.

Once the dough has doubled in size:

Divide dough into approximately 32 equal-sized chunks.
I find it easiest to divide the dough in 4 equal pieces, then each of those into 4 equal pieces, and - finally - each of those 16 pieces in half.
One at a time, roll each dough piece into a smooth ball, then more of an oval.
Pinch the two short ends of each oval to form a football shape.
Arrange formed pretzel bites on parchment lined baking sheets, cover loosely with plastic wrap.
Allow to rise in a warm place for 20 more minutes, then re-pinch the ends if they’ve rounded out during the rise.

Boil and Bake

Preheat oven to 375F.
Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add baking soda, stir until combined, and turn the heat down until you have a gentle simmer.
Boil the pretzel bites, about 10 at a time, to about a minute.
Gently stir as they boil, to ensure that the entire surface of each is in contact with the water at some point.
Use a slotted spoon to transfer each popper to prepared baking sheets.
If any have rounded out, you can re-pinch them at this point.
Whisk together eggs and water, brush this mixture across the tops of the poppers.
In a small bowl or coffee mug, whisk together the remaining flour with water until a smooth paste forms.
Carefully spoon into a pastry bag, trying to avoid creating any air pockets as you go.
Snip the tip off the pastry bag, and pipe “stitching” on top of each pretzel bite.
You may need to use kitchen scissons snip the end of your paste line as you go, depending on how much the gluten developed.
Bake pretzel bites for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown.
Allow to cool for a minute or two before eating.

Notes

If you’re not eating them right away, allow them to cool to room temperature before transferring them to an airtight container - we’ll usually use a large Ziplock freezer baggie.

Store in the fridge until ready to use - best served at room temperature or warmer.

For that fresh baked taste, reheat for a minute or two in a 400 F air fryer, after allowing them to come up to room temperature.

Also note: this recipe can easily be doubled if you need to make more!

Nutrition