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 their food allergies. 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. When 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!
How to Make
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.
Next I got the yeast started in the warm water and let it sit for about 5 minutes.
Once the yeast was ready, I put it in the mixer along with the flour mix, ¼ cup of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. I turned the mixer on and let it mix the dough for about 1 minute. Just long enough to mix everything well and knead the dough a bit.
Resting/Rising
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. This step helps build up the dough and gives you a puffier pretzel bite later on.
*Note* This isn't going to get huge when it rises. It may double, but mine got maybe 50% bigger. That is fine.
Shaping
After the dough has rested divide it into six even pieces. 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 ¼ - ½ cup of baking soda on the stove. Get it going to a rolling boil while you are shaping your pretzel bites. While you are prepping, go ahead and preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
On a piece of parchment paper, or a gluten free floured counter, roll out a piece of dough into a snake-like shape. It will be about 12 inches long. You may have to mold it a bit with your hands. Then cut it into 1 - 1 ½ inch pieces.
Take a knife and score the top diagonally. I placed them on a parchment lined pan and carried them over to the stove.
Boiling/Baking
Now that your pot of water is boiling, you can turn the heat down a little. 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 dairy-free butter. Spray olive oil is great for this too!
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!
Serving
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce or enjoy them alone! We love to bake these plain and then top some with salt and some with cinnamon sugar when they are done.
Storage
If you have leftovers, you can store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also freeze any leftovers for up to 3 months.
Reheat in microwave or toaster oven for a quick snack!
Vegan
I chose to use psyllium husk because I wanted to make this vegan too. You could use an egg if you weren't worried about it being vegan. I have also substituted ground flax seed without any issues too!
Tips
While it is totally tempting to use a pre-mixed gluten free flour blend I have found that these turn out so much better when you use the flour ratios listed in the recipe card. We have texted both ways and love this version the most!
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!
Recipe
Gluten Free Soft Pretzel Bites
Equipment
- pot
Ingredients
Pretzel Dough
- 1 ¼ cups water lukewarm (100º-110ºF)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons quick acting yeast or 1 packet
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
- ¾ cup brown rice flour
- ¾ cup white rice flour
- 1 cup potato starch
- 1 cup tapioca flour
- 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking powder gluten free
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup olive oil or softened butter
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husk whole/ or 1 egg for non-vegan
Water Bath
- 6 cups water
- ½ 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 begins to bubble, mix it into the dry ingredients along with olive oil, and apple cider vinegar. If using an egg instead of psyllium husk add it with the wet ingredients. 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 ½ 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.
julie
could this work for a pizza crust?
Amanda @ A Few Short Cuts
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. 🙂
Kim
These were delicious! Definitely tastes like pretzels. Unfortunately my dough ended up being to moist to roll out so I used my smallest cookie scoop to drop them in the boiling water. We ended up with hush puppy shaped pretzel bites. Any thoughts at to why it was to moist. I will be making these again. Delicious!
Sam
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!
Marion
My kids love pretzels, will try these!
Christine
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?
Skim
Hi I am so excited to try these for my kids who are allergic to everything! Can I use a gluten free flour blend instead of getting all the flours separately?
Amanda Carlisle
You can definitely give it a try. I typically prefer blends myself, but I have found I have better luck with bread and these soft pretzels when I make my own. Hope that helps.
s rosenlund
Mine turned out too dark before the inside was done.
Amanda Carlisle
Sounds like your oven is running a bit hot. I would turn the oven down a bit next time and see if that helps.
Christy
These turned out great! When she said you cannot tell they are gluten free it is not an exaggeration. We found the dough very easy to work with and used ingredients I always have in hand for gluten free baking. Thanks for sharing!
Vanessa
Would it work to use an egg replacement vs an egg or psyllium husk?
Amanda Carlisle
Hi Vanessa, I did this last time I made them. Yes it does. 🙂
Krysta K
They turned out so soft and fluffy! The only downside was they had a very strong baking soda taste... I’m going to have to try and figure out how to adjust that.
Olivia D'Aguanno
These came out really great! I’m in shock! I’ve tried to make gf dough dozens of times and I’ve never succeeded, but this dough came out great. My only dilemma was they have a bit of a bitter taste to them. Should I decrease the amount of baking soda in the water bath? Or was I supposed to let the water bath boil for a long time before dropping in the dough? I want to make these again for sure!
Sharin
Do you think I can use dry active yeast? We have an allergy to ascorbic acid, which is in all other yeasts. Thanks
Amanda Carlisle
Yes, it should be fine.
Ed
My family and I just loved them. It’s great to find a gluten-free recipe that delivers on its promise. There are so many online that are a disappointment. I’ve had a gluten intolerance forever, and this is the first time I could enjoy the real soft pretzels taste and texture without getting sick. Thank you so much.