Glossy salted sourdough pretzel bites gathered in a ceramic bowl with mustard.

Savory & Snacks - Active or discard

Sourdough Pretzel Bites

Deeply burnished, chewy little pretzel knots made with sourdough starter and a quick baking-soda bath — salty, golden, and addictively snackable.

Total time
About 13 hr
Hands-on
45 min
Yield
About 64 bites
Starter
Active or discard
Difficulty
Intermediate
Heat
425°F / 218°C
Pan or vessel
Wide pot + sheet pan

Gather first

Ingredients

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1/2 cup sourdough starter (active or discard)
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 cups flour (bread or all-purpose)

For the Bath

  • 6 cups water
  • 2 tbsp baking soda
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar

Topping

  • to taste coarse salt

Method

Step by step

Part 1

Mix & Rise

Day 1
  1. Whisk together the starter, water, honey, and salt really well.
  2. Give it another quick mix to make sure everything is combined.
  3. Add the 3 cups flour and whisk lightly, then switch to kneading the dough by hand until it comes together.
  4. Cover and let rise for about 12 hours. The dough should roughly double.

Part 2

Shape

Day 2
  1. Sprinkle a little flour onto your work surface and dump the dough out. It will be a little bit sticky — that's fine.
  2. Work the dough into a ball and divide it into 8 equal pieces.
  3. Roll each piece into a long, even log.
  4. Use a pizza cutter to slice each log into bite-size pieces.

Part 3

Boil the Bath

  1. Put 6 cups water on the stove with 2 tbsp baking soda and 1 tbsp brown sugar. Give it a stir.
  2. Bring it up to a rolling boil.
  3. Drop in about a dozen bites at a time and let them boil for 1 minute.
  4. Scoop them out and transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Part 4

Bake

  1. Sprinkle coarse salt over the boiled bites while they're still wet so it sticks.
  2. Preheat the oven to 425°F if you haven't already.
  3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until deep golden brown.
    Set a check timer
    Choose when to check; the step's visual cues decide when it is ready.

For next time

My Kitchen Notes

Keep track of changes, room temperature, proofing cues, or anything you want to repeat next time.

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Finish well

After baking

Doneness, storage, and reheating notes for this recipe.

Doneness

Richly burnished; bottoms sound hollow when tapped

Storage

Best the day they are baked; freeze cooled bites for longer storage.

Reheat or serve

Refresh at 350°F / 177°C until warm, then add salt if needed.