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Pretzel Dogs

A pretzel dog is a hot dog wrapped in a soft pretzel. Both pretzels and the cooked sausages now known as hot dogs came to North America with German immigrants. Pretzels arrived in the early 18th century with immigrants known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, but the doughy treat didn’t become popular until the 20th century. This is likely when a cooked sausage was wrapped with pretzel dough and a new snack was born. Pretzel dogs are commonly served at fairs, carnivals, and by street vendors with optional dipping sauces like melted cheese or mustard.   

Recipe Servings: 18

Prep Time
30 minutes
+ 1 hour 35 minutes resting
Cook Time
15 minutes
Total Time
2 hours 20 minutes
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal

Ingredients

  • 11½ cups and 1 Tbsp water, divided
  • 1 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp and ¼ cup kosher salt, divided
  • 1 packet (¼ oz) active dry yeast
  • 4½ cups bread flour
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • Nonstick cooking spray, as needed
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • ⅔ cup baking soda
  • 18 hot dogs

Directions

  1. Heat 1½ cups of water to 110°F in a small saucepan set over low heat.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and 2 teaspoons kosher salt.
  3. Pour yeast over mixture and let rest for 5–10 minutes, or until foamy.
  4. Whisk together the flour and butter in a large bowl.
  5. Stir in yeast mixture.
  6. Grease a large bowl using nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the dough to the bowl, cover it loosely with plastic wrap, and let it rest in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
  7. Preheat the oven to 450°F and line two baking sheets with parchment or grease them using nonstick cooking spray.
  8. Beat together 1 tablespoon of water and the egg yolk in a small bowl and set aside.
  9. Combine 10 cups of water and the baking soda in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
  10. Transfer the dough to a greased surface and roll it into a 10 x 20-inch rectangle.
  11. Cut the dough into 18 strips each 1-inch wide.
  12. Wrap a strip of dough around each of the hot dogs in a spiral, pinching the edges to seal, and leaving the ends open. There should be about a ½-inch of hot dog showing on each end.
  13. Drop 2–3 dough-wrapped hot dogs into the boiling water and let them boil for about 30 seconds.
  14. Transfer boiled hot dogs to the prepared baking sheets.
  15. Brush each wrapped dog with the egg yolk mixture and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup of salt.
  16. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  17. Remove the pretzel dogs from the oven and let them cool slightly before serving warm.

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