These Pizza Pretzels are a fun twist on a regular soft pretzel recipe. These Small Batch Pretzels are covered in cheese and pepperoni and served with the dip of your choice. These cheese pretzels are going to be a crowd favourite!
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Pizza Pretzels
Hi hi! Just popping in to share the recipe for these Pepperoni Pizza Pretzels with you. Before we left New York I redeveloped my Pretzel dough recipe and made a few things with it which I will share here. The pretzel dough is super versatile and easy to make, so I am excited to show off what it can do!
I had a bag of tiny pepperoni in my fridge so naturally I had to make cheese pretzels and then take it one step further and add the pepperoni to make pizza pretzels.
These cheese pretzels are covered in pepperoni and are just so good. I scaled the recipe back to a small batch pretzel recipe. The cheese is crunchy and the pepperoni is salty and flavourful. You can serve them with whatever you like - I used a tomato based sauce but they would also be amazing with hot honey.
How to make Small Batch Pretzels
I scaled back my regular pretzel recipe, which made 12 large pretzels. This smaller batch pretzel recipe makes 6 pretzels, but you can easily double it if you like.
This recipe is a pretty stiff dough, so I like to make it in the stand mixer with the dough hook. I haven't tried making it by hand. It would be quite hard to knead it by hand I think. You are welcome to try but please know it has not been tested so I cannot guarantee the results.
- Make the Pretzel Dough. This can be done either the day before, or the same day. Leave to rise.
- Divide the dough and shape the pretzels. I did traditional pretzel shapes, but these would work great just as pretzel sticks or twists too.
- Second rise. I do the second rise for pretzels uncovered, in order to let the pretzels develop a bit of a skin. This helps them stand up to the water bath.
- Chill. Slightly chilled dough is a little less floppy and easier to work with when putting the pretzels in the water bath. Popping the risen pretzels into the fridge helps with this.
- Baking Soda bath. This step gives the pretzels their pretzel taste and helps them to get golden brown in the oven. I used baked baking soda for this step.
- Add cheese and pepperoni. These are pizza pretzels, so I added grated cheese and tiny pepperoni. Leave the pepperoni off if you would just like plain cheese pretzels.
- Bake. Bake the pretzels until they are golden brown, the cheese is nice and bubbly and the pepperoni is nice and sizzly.
- Enjoy! Serve alongside some dipping sauce of your choice.
How to Shape a Pretzel
Pretzels are easy to shape once you get the hang of it. I've added a shaping video down below, or you can follow these steps:
- Divide the dough into the number of pretzels that you want to make.
- Shape each piece of dough into a ball and place under a piece of plastic wrap to rest.
- Flatten or roll each ball into a rectangle and then roll into a log. Place back under the plastic wrap.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the log out to a 30" rope. This will seem long but remember that the pretzel will puff up.
- Shape the log of dough into a 'U' shape.
- Cross the two ends over each other twice, to form a twist.
- Bring the ends down and press onto the rounded part of the pretzel.
- Carefully transfer to a sheet pan
- Repeat with the remaining pretzels
Baking Soda vs Lye for Pretzels
Some pretzel recipes will have you use lye to soak the pretzels in. Giving the pretzels a wee bath in lye (sodium hydroxide) helps to speed up the Maillard reaction, which gives the pretzels that lovely brown colour and chew. However, lye is caustic (alkaline) and scary, so I used something a little less alkaline but still very effective - baked baking soda. Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is moderately alkaline, but baking it produces sodium carbonate, which is slightly more alkaline, so therefore perfect for dipping your pretzels without having to worry about the safety risk of using Lye. Yay chemistry!
To make baked baking soda: Line a sheet pan with foil, and spread 1 cup of baking soda evenly over it. Bake at 250˚f / 121˚c for one hour, then transfer to an airtight container. This will be enough for four batches of pretzels - you use ¼ cup at a time.
Pepperoni and Cheese Pretzels
I found these tiny pepperoni when I was looking for pepperoni for another project, and had no choice but to get them to make these Pizza Pretzels as they are SO CUTE. The brand is "Hormel", and I got them in NYC just via online grocery. If you can't find them (they seemed to be a bit of a niche product), you can cut up a salami stick to form little circles of salami. Alternatively you could use slices of regular sized salami.
Make sure that you put enough pepperoni on the pizza pretzels - as they bake they will rise a little and it will get spread out. You can always add more mid way through the baking process.
If you don't eat meat you can just leave the pepperoni off. You could sprinkle the cheese pretzels with pizza style condiments too before baking - garlic powder, or chilli flakes, or some oregano! You do you here.
Baking Pretzels on Silpat vs Parchment
I use Silpat mats (silicone mats) when I am making pretzels as it stops them from sticking. I came across this in testing. After the pretzels came out of the water bath, if I put them directly onto the parchment, they were sticking super, super badly.
There are two ways around this - either drain the pretzels for a few minutes on a wire rack after dipping and then transfer to lightly oiled parchment paper, or line the baking sheets with silpats or silicone baking sheets rather than baking paper.
I found baking on silicone to be the easiest option - once the pretzels come out of the dip they are a little delicate, so moving them from the rack to the baking sheet can be a little stressful. It works though! A few silpats or silicone baking mats are a great investment! With these Pizza Pretzels the cheese doesn't stick to the mat too, so makes the whole process much easier.
FAQ for Pizza Pretzels
You can see a full list of all the tools I use here
If you don't, they won't taste like pretzels. The soak in the alkaline solution is what gives them the pretzel taste. It also gives the cheese something to stick to.
Pretzel salt is a coarse salt - it is opaque (which I think comes from having some air in it), so it gives a textural crunch. You can use a fine coarse salt too if you can't find pretzel salt
I used a mixture of grated mozzarella and cheddar, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Mozzarella is mild and stretchy and goes great with the pepperoni slices.
I store these just in an airtight container or wrapped in foil if it isn't too hot. You can put them wrapped in the fridge if you like. To reheat you can pop in the microwave and re-warm. They are best eaten on the day that they are made though!
Yes. If you only have active dry yeast, it works as a 1:1 sub in the recipe. However you will need to activate it. Bring the milk to a lukewarm temperature, then add the sugar and the yeast. Leave for 10-15 minutes until it gets foamy, then add the rest of the ingredients and continue with the recipe.
Bread flour is flour with a higher percentage of protein. If you are in NZ or the UK it is 'high grade flour' or 'strong flour'
Yes, if you don't want to use it, you can use water.
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Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Recipe for Pizza Pretzels
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Pizza Pretzels
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Pretzels
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These Pizza Pretzels are a fun twist on a regular soft pretzel recipe. These Small Batch Pretzels are covered in cheese and pepperoni and served with the dip of your choice. These cheese pretzels are going to be a crowd favourite!
Ingredients
Pretzel Dough
- 120g whole milk, at room temperature
- 110g light beer, at room temperature
- 8g granulated sugar
- 6g instant yeast
- 7g salt
- 10g milk powder
- 345g bread flour (High grade flour)
- 30g rye flour, or more bread flour
- 35g unsalted butter, at room temperature
To Boil
- ¼ cup baked baking soda (see notes) plus 6 cups water
To Finish
- 100g grated cheese of your choice, I used mozzarella and cheddar
- About 75g pepperoni (I used mini pepperoni - it will cup up in the oven so use more than you think)
- Marinara / Pizza Sauce for serving (optional)
Instructions
PRETZEL DOUGH
- Combine all ingredients except for the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
- Mix on medium-low speed for 10-12 minutes until a stiff, smooth dough forms. It will be quite firm - this is fine and is what gives lovely chewy pretzels. Don't freak out.
- Add the butter and mix for a further 5 minutes until it is completely incorporated and passes the window pane test.
- Shape the dough into a ball, and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot for 45 minutes to an hour, or until doubled in size. This initial rise can also be done in the fridge overnight.
ASSEMBLY
- Turn the dough out onto a work surface (do not flour), and weigh the dough then divide into 6 equal sized balls. Shape each into a ball, then place on the bench under plastic wrap to rest. Leave for 5 minutes.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll each ball out into a rectangle (ish) shape, then roll up into a log. Return to under the plastic to rest for another 5 minutes. The resting allows the dough to relax and be rolled out. Keep covered until you are ready to use.
- Line one or two baking sheets with silpats / silicone baking mats, or parchment paper (see notes). They will just fit onto one if you have a large baking sheet, or you can use two instead.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll the dough into a long thin sausage, 30” (76cm) long. This will seem very thin but is necessary in order for the pretzels to be the right shape once risen. If you would like them a little thicker, roll the dough sausage a little shorter.
- Make the dough into a ‘U’ shape, then cross the two ends over twice to form a twist, then bring the ends down and press onto the rounded part of the pretzel. See video in body of post for a visual demonstration.
- Transfer to a lined baking sheet.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough balls, until you have 6 pretzels. Space evenly amongst the baking sheets (you can get away with using one sheet but things get a bit squishy).
- Rise the pretzels, uncovered, at room temperature for 30 minutes, then transfer to the fridge for a further 10 minutes.
BAKING
- While the pretzels are rising, preheat the oven to 450˚f / 235˚c. In a large, shallow pan (I used a frying pan / skillet), combine ¼ cup baked baking soda and 6 cups of water. Heat until the solution is steaming, then turn off.
- Working with one pretzel at a time, carefully lift off the baking sheet, and place upside down in the solution. Soak for 10 seconds, then carefully flip over and soak for another. Remove using a slotted spatula or another flat utensil, and place onto the silicone mat lined baking sheet.
- Repeat the process with the remaining pretzels. Sprinkle with cheese as soon as they come out of the pan in order to ensure that it sticks. Divide the cheese evenly over the pretzels, pressing down lightly to help it stick.
- Top the pretzels with the pepperoni - be generous with the amount as it cups up in the oven.
- Transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake the pretzels for 12-15 minutes until they are baked through and the cheese on top is lightly golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and leave to stand on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
- Serve slightly warm with tomato / pizza sauce / mustard / hot honey / your choice of dip to serve if you like.
Keywords: Pretzels, Pizza, Pizza Pretzels, Pepperoni, Small Batch
Comments
these are the best things ever!!
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so so good!!
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I cannot wait to make these. I just have to go ahead and thank you for using baking soda instead of lye in your recipe. I’ve only made pretzels once and the recipe called for lye, and it stripped the finish off my baking sheets…..needless to say I was ambivalent about consuming them after seeing that. I’m sure it was something I did and not the recipe, but I’ve been scared off from trying pretzels again, until now!
Ahh of course! haha yeah lye is caustic! baked baking soda is also caustic but nowhere near as much as lye so you should be just fine!
Yikes! I was also going to comment about the baked baking soda because I also think lye is “scary,” and you definitely just confirmed that. I’ll be making these soon, my kids are going to love them!
★★★★★
Such a great recipe! Just made these and I found your recipe easy to follow with lots of helpful guidance. Also YES to measurements in grams!! 🤗 The dough was really easy to work with and I’ve never made pretzels this good before! Made a marinara sauce to serve them with and it paired perfectly!
★★★★★
Yayyy I am so so happy you loved!
It’s always hard to please 2yr old twins, a 9yr old, my husband and my cousin, but these were a hit with all.
I love the fact all Erin’s recipes are in grams as I have different measuring cups and this always makes it consistent.
I didn’t have mini pepperoni only the thin sliced kind, so I used a little round cutter and made them myself.
★★★★★
So happy you loved!!
Sweet mudder-o-gawd, if you haven’t made these yet - get to it! I’ve made them twice now, and the family is regularly asking for more!
Read through the entire post and recipe - doing so makes everything else ‘click’ - trust me. The recipe is SO user friendly if you’ve read through her stuff.
★★★★★
another great recipe. didnt have rye flour so made them with 00. also - made 10 instead of 6 as needed smaller portions. worked out absolutely beautiful and got great reviews !
Thank you very much Erin
★★★★★
These were cute and fun, I made some with tiny slices of salami for my family and vegetarian ones with sliced olives for me. Just the right balance of soft interior with lightly chewy crust, we all really enjoyed them. (I should note that I didn't use beer, and it was no problem!)
★★★★★
These are absolutely addictive and a delicious spin on our Friday night pizza nights! We cannot get enough! So easy to make. My picky kids love them!
Forgot to rate this delicious recipe!
★★★★★
★★★★★
Loved this recipe! I used sliced fresh jalapeños with a cheese mix of smoked gouda, cheddar and fontina instead of the pepperoni. They turned out light and a little crispy, so good! I was only able to roll the dough out to 24 inches but they still worked just fine. I also loved the addition of the rye flour. So yummy and very versatile. You could make these sweet or savory. I used the method of draining the pretzels on a wire rack before baking on oiled parchment paper and I had no trouble with sticking.