Gluten Free Pretzel Bites Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret ingredient which makes a pretzel taste like a pretzel? ›

But it's the distinctive "pretzel" flavor that makes this bread extraordinary. That comes from dipping the shaped dough in an alkaline solution — traditionally a small amount of food-grade lye dissolved in water — before baking.

Corn starch, potato starch, tapioca starch, palm oil, dextrose, cellulose gum, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, mono-calcium phosphate), salt, citric acid, yeast, soy lecithin, soda.

Brown Sugar- brown sugar is what Auntie Anne's pretzels, use for their pretzel dough. Salt- use good quality sea salt. Baking powder- works as a dough conditioner for these soft homemade pretzels. Basic Alkaline wash- is a simple baking soda and water solution made for dipping pretzels in.

Homemade Soft Pretzels can be made with all purpose flour (plain flour) or bread flour. The difference is that if you use all purpose flour you will find that the inside of your pretzels will have a softer more fluffy texture, like a dinner roll.

According to King Arthur Baking, lye and caustic sodas are used in the process of baking pretzels because lye's reaction to the pretzels, much like baking soda, gives them that chewy texture, light interior, and brown crust.

What Gives Pretzels Their Pretzel Flavor? You have baking soda to thank for that distinct pretzel flavor. Baking soda is highly alkaline and imparts that subtly metallic taste onto the dough before your pretzels go into the oven. Some recipes call for a lye bath, which does the same thing.

As for the difference in flavor between gluten-free pretzel sticks and regular ones, nothing really stood out as obvious to Foegeding, but it could be due to the specifics of the Maillard reaction. This chemical reaction between amino acids and sugars is what turns steaks and bread crusts brown and toasty-tasting.

They're Less Dense. There's nothing worse than mowing down on some dense pretzels and suddenly it hits you... you don't have a single drop of liquid to drown out the dryness of what you just devoured. Gluten-free pretzels are more airy than your average pretzel.

Enjoy a free pretzel after your first $1 spent, a free pretzel on your birthday when you spend $10+ annually, and other exclusive member offers.

The boiling water + baking soda is important for color and texture of pretzel. Baking soda raises pH, thus creating a basic solution. This help the browning process during baking, which will occur more in basic pH. Thus, producing the desired flavor and brown color of pretzel.

Why do Auntie Anne's pretzels taste so good? ›

All those pretzels are made and twisted on the spot.

Auntie Anne's definitely doesn't serve pre-made pretzels! Every location receives shipments of the signature flour mixture, which is put in a mixer along with water and yeast. They're baked, brushed with real butter, salted and served right there.

I really recommend that you use bread flour rather than all purpose when making soft pretzels. Bread flour has a higher gluten content, which in this case yields softer and chewier soft pretzels than you could expect with all purpose flour.

Lye is primarily used to make pretzels, and it's the reason for their unmistakable shiny, mahogany color. To prepare, shaped pretzels are dipped in a lye bath, then baked in the oven. This method can also be used with rolls or buns. Once lye-dipped pretzels are baked, they're totally safe (and delicious!) to eat.

“Because salt helps to control fermentation, it's better to catch this one sooner than later in yeast doughs,” says Laurie. Without salt, your dough will rise faster than it normally would, leading to less flavor development and a weaker structure. To incorporate the salt, mix it with a few teaspoons of water.

Salt is the most common seasoning, or topping, for pretzels, complementing the washing soda or lye treatment that gives pretzels their traditional skin and flavor acquired through the Maillard reaction. Other toppings are mustard, cheeses, sugar, chocolate, cinnamon, sweet glazing, seeds, and nuts.

They're Boiled, Not Baked.

The dough is first shaped into a long rope and then boiled in water before being baked at a higher temperature than bread. This process creates a distinctive pretzel shape and gives them their unique taste.

Bake longer

If you're not baking your pretzels long enough, they'll come out pale and dull. It's important to bake them until they're a deep golden brown. Likewise, the dough inside is cooked through and won't taste raw or doughy when you bite into it.

Making pretzels at home with a lye bath

Traditional German pretzels are first dipped in a 3% to 4% lye-to-water bath before baking. Pretzel purists often argue a pretzel isn't really a pretzel unless lye is used.