Who knew that gluten-free could be this good?! Check out this Gluten-Free Soft Pretzel Bites Recipe that turns out fabulous! Plus they are vegan too!
This post used to live on our sister-site GrowingGlutenFree but has since been moved here.
There are a few things that folks take for granted. Being able to stop at the snack bar or concession stand for a hot pretzel. You know, the chewy ones with butter and salt. My kids would love to get one, but can’t because of gluten or dairy. I decided that for the super bowl, we were going to have a super snack and I made these Gluten Free Soft Pretzel Bites.
I found a recipe online that I was going to try yesterday. I made the dough and waited for it to rise…..and waited….and waited. The entire recipe needed to be reworked. I pitched the dough in the trash. Gluten-free baking is full of trial and error and wasted ingredients. That is the worst!
So today I started my day looking at that recipe and how I could tweak it so it would work. I mixed the flours, baking soda, salt, and psyllium husk in my mixer. I chose to use psyllium husk because I wanted to make this vegan too. I got the yeast started in the warm water and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
Once the yeast was ready, I just dumped it into the flour mix along with 1/4 cup of olive oil and 1 tsp of apple cider vinegar. I turned the mixer on and let it mix the dough for about 1 minute. Long enough to mix everything well and knead the dough a bit. I then put the dough in a large bowl and brushed the top with a little more olive oil. Set it in a warm place to rise. I left mine sit for about an hour.
*Note* This isn’t going to get huge when it rises. It may double, but mine got maybe 50% bigger. That is fine.
After the dough rose, I divided the dough into six even pieces. You can split it into any amount you want. Separating the dough makes it easier to work with. You are also going to want to put a large pot with 6 cups of boiling water and 1/2 cup of baking soda on the stove. Get it going to a rolling boil while you are shaping your pretzel bites. You also need to preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
On a piece of parchment paper or a rice floured counter, roll out a piece of dough into a snake-like shape. You may have to mold it a bit with your hands. Then cut it into 1 – 1 1/2 inch pieces. I took a knife and scored the top diagonally. I placed them on a parchment lined pan and carried them over to the stove.
That pot of baking soda water should be boiling now. Turn it down to medium – medium-high heat. Drop the pretzel bites in a few at a time. They will float to the top after about 1 minute. Flip them and let them cook another 30 seconds. Remove and place back on parchment lined pan.
Spread the pretzel bites out so they aren’t touching. Brush the tops of them with a dairy-free butter. I mixed a little honey with mine, but if you are vegan, you can leave out the honey. Sprinkle with kosher salt. You can also leave off the salt and season them when they are done baking. Place in the oven at 450 degrees for 15 minutes
After 15 minutes they come out looking and smelling fantabulous! I dare you not to try to eat one right off the pan….be careful, they are hot!
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or enjoy them alone! If you have leftovers, you can store in an airtight container and freeze. Reheat in microwave or toaster oven for a quick snack!
PS: These are AWESOME! If you didn’t know they were gluten-free soft pretzel bites, you would never guess it. They are soft, chewy and just perfect!
Gluten Free Soft Pretzel Bites
Ingredients
Pretzel Dough
- 1 1/4 cups water - lukewarm (100º-110ºF)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons quick acting yeast - or 1 packet
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husk - whole/ or 1 egg for non-vegan
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder - gluten free
- 1/4 cup olive oil - or softened butter
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup brown rice flour
- 3/4 cup white rice flour
- 1 cup potato starch
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1 tsp xanthan gum
Water Bath
- 6 cups water
- 1/2 cup baking soda
Topping
- margarine - dairy free
- Kosher Salt
- Honey - optional
Instructions
- Place yeast in warm water with sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- While yeast is proofing mix together dry ingredients in stand mixer. Once yeast is done mix it into the dry ingredients along with olive oil, and apple cider vinegar. Continue to mix for 1 - 2 minutes or until dough is will mixed and pulling from sides.
- Place dough in a bowl greased with olive oil. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil and let it sit in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough has grown by about 50%.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and place a large pot on the stove with 6 cups of water and 1/2 cup of baking soda. Bring the pot to a rolling boil.
- While the pot of water is coming to a boil. Turn dough out onto a parchment paper lined surface. Divide it into 6 equal pieces. Take one of the pieces and roll it (mold it) into a snake shaped piece about 12 inches long. Cut into 1 inch bites. Use a knife to score the top diagonally. Place the bites on a parchment lined pan. Continue this with all of the dough.
- Carry the cut bites to the stove and drop them a few at a time into the now boiling water. Turn the heat down on the pot to medium heat now that it is boiling. Let them boil for about 1 to 1.5 minutes. Remove and place back on the parchment lined pan.
- Spread the pretzel bites out on the parchment lined pan so they are not touching. Brush with dairy free butter, or olive oil. I mixed some honey with my butter (optional). Top with kosher salt or wait to season when they are done baking.
- Bake them for 15 minutes at 450 degrees.
- Remove and serve!
Freeze & Heat
- You can store these in an airtight bag in the freezer. Just reheat in a toaster oven or microwave for a quick snack.
could this work for a pizza crust?
I have never tried it but that is a great idea. I am sure it would. If you try it please let me know how it turns out. 🙂
I’m in complete shock at how amazing these are. No one knew they were gluten free. The big problem is that they are insanely Addicting!! I’m going to turn these into bagels next time, they’d be perfect!
My kids love pretzels, will try these!
What a great recipe! The dough was easy to work with and pretzels were delicious, even the next day. We mixed few leftover in a pan with butter & cinnamon sugar – better than ones at the mall! ! I was confused by instructions of mixing sugar with yeast. Do you use honey?