Fresh Milled Soft Pretzel Bites with Cheese Dip

5 from 1 vote

Fresh Milled Soft Pretzel Bites with Cheese Dip

Soft pretzel bites have this magical way of bringing friends and family together, don’t they? Especially when you make them from scratch with fresh milled flour—it adds a subtle nutty depth that pre-ground flour just can’t match. And pairing those warm, chewy bites with a cheesy dip takes snack time to a whole new level of cozy. Trust me, this recipe is the perfect little weekend project that tastes like a treat you’d find at a festival, minus the long lines and curious looks from people who don’t understand the appeal of a well-made pretzel bite.

Course Breads

Cuisine American

Keyword pretzel bites

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 6

Rise Time 1

Total Time 1 26

Servings bites

Calories 49kcal

Ingredients

Dough:

5 cups freshly milled hard white wheat flour finely milled (650g)
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
⅓ cup sugar 70g
1 ¾ cup warm water 410g
4 teaspoons yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil

Baking Soda Bath:

½ cup baking soda
4 cups HOT water

Topping:

4 tablespoons butter melted
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Coarse salt for sprinkling on top of pretzels

Cheese Dip:

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons freshly milled hard white wheat flour finely milled
1 cup milk 230 grams
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese 85 grams
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine flour, salt, sugar and water. Mix on low speed.
Add yeast, honey, and oil. Continue mixing on low.
Dough should start to come together into a soft dough. If the dough is too dry, flick water in with your fingertips to add moisture until the dough comes together nicely.
Knead on medium/low speed for 7-10 minutes or until the dough is soft, elastic, and passes the windowpane test.
Cover dough and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in size, about an hour.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
Prepare the baking soda bath by filling a shallow baking dish with HOT water and baking soda.
Turn dough out onto counter and divide into 8 equal pieces
Take each piece of dough and roll it out into a long rope and cut 8-10 bite-sized pieces (about 1-inch pieces) from each rope.
Dip each pretzel bite in the baking soda bath, front and back, then allow to drip for a few seconds before placing on the prepared baking sheets.
If you want to skip the garlic topping, go ahead and sprinkle the pretzel with coarse salt now while they are wet so it will stick. If you are going to go for the garlic topping, then wait on the salt.
Bake pretzels for 6-8 minutes or until deep golden brown and baked through.
While the pretzels bake, prepare the garlic topping by melting the butter in a bowl and adding the garlic powder.
When the pretzels are hot out of the oven, use a pastry brush to brush the tops generously with garlic butter and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Prepare the cheese dip by melting the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Add the flour and whisk together while allowing to cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the milk and turn the heat up so the milk starts to boil and thicken. Make sure to continue whisking.
Once thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the cheese, salt and pepper.

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