German Pretzel Dogs
These pretzel hot dogs will be the BEST pretzel dogs you'll have. Authentic Wiener hot dogs are wrapped in authentic German pretzel dough. They can't get better than this and would make any German happy!My clear step-by-step instructions will help you confidently make pretzel dogs from scratch whenever you feel like it. And you'll feel more German doing it! Bake some for your next sports event, birthday party, or just because.
Servings: 10 pretzel dogs
Calories: 323kcal
Ingredients
Filling
- 10 Wiener sausages The most authentic Wiener sausage I have tasted in the United States. They are from a German-style butcher in NYC called Schaller & Weber. ALSO check my notes for variations.
Pretzel Dough
- 500 grams all-purpose flour
- 15 grams brown sugar
- 30 grams butter room temperature
- 10 grams sea salt
- 7 grams active dry yeast 1 pouch
- 275 milliliters water luke warm
Lye Solution
- 12 grams food-grade lye I am using a food-grade lye with a concentration of 100%. Your solution should have no more than 4% lye. You could also use baking soda instead of lye. See notes below.
- 300 milliliters water COLD water
Topping
- pretzel salt pretzel salt helps your pretzel dogs look super authentic. OR top them with seeds (my favorite) or even grated cheese.
Instructions
- Stir together the luke warm (barely warm) water, brown sugar and yeast and allow to bubble up, this should take 5 minutes. If it's not getting bubbly, your water may have been too hot or your yeast is bad. You'll have to repeat this step.15 grams brown sugar, 7 grams active dry yeast, 275 milliliters water
- Sift together the flour and salt, and add in the butter and the bubbly yeast mixture. Knead the dough on the low setting for 8 to 10 minutes using the dough hook.500 grams all-purpose flour, 10 grams sea salt, 30 grams butter
- Cover the dough airtight and let it rest in a warm spot for about an hour.
- Shape the dough into a long, even thickness log and divide into 10 equal pieces. Let them cuddle against each other and cover them with wax paper (or a clean linen towel) to prevent a skin from developing on the surface of the dough.
- Shape each dough piece into a string that's around 2 times as long as your sausage. Then start twisting them around the hot dogs or Wieners, tucking the ends in, so they don't unravel.10 Wiener sausages
- Place on baking sheets covered with silicone baking mats, cover with a clean linen towel, and let them rest and develop for about 30 minutes.
- Prepare your lye solution in a well-ventilated area (like standing under a vent hood set to high or ideally being outside) because of potential fumes. I also recommend wearing a cloth or medical grade face mask and rubber gloves to be extra safe (luckily everyone should have these at home by now). Add the premeasured lye (it comes in dry granules) into COLD water, not the over way around. At this point, I like to step to the side for about 10 to 15 seconds to let potential fumes evaporate. Then carefully combine with a whisk until the solution is clear.Now dip the pretzel dogs using a steel skimmer (you could also use two forks) for 5 to 10 seconds each before transferring them using your skimmer onto a baking sheet covered a silicone baking mat (You could also use parchment paper and spray with non-stick spray, but I have found the baking mats work better in releasing the pretzel dogs after baking, so it may be time to invest in some).12 grams food-grade lye, 300 milliliters water
- Then sprinkle with the pretzel salt. You could also add shredded cheese or seeds onto the pretzel hot dogs instead of the pretzel salt (if adding seeds, I like to dip the pretzel in the seeds instead of sprinkling them on). Pumpkin seeds are my favorite seeds to add, but even an everything seed blend would be great!pretzel salt
- Bake at 355° Fahrenheit or 180° Celsius (convection/Umluft setting) for about 12 minutes or until golden brown (I like to rotate them after 6 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before enjoying on their own, with Obatzda, a Bavarian cheese spread or even my beer cheese fondue!
Notes
Pretzel hot dog variations
Use sausages other than Wieners or hot dogs for your pretzel brats. The Nürnberger bratwurst are small little links that are perfect for making pretzel dogs. You will use half as much dough as you will for the Wiener pretzel dogs, so you can make twice as many. I love these Nürnberger sausages by Schaller & Weber and they are my Opa's favorite sausage.
Experiment with the toppings (seeded pretzels are my favorite) or add cheese on top or around the hot dog.
Nutrition
Calories: 323kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 719mg | Potassium: 129mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Vitamin C: 0.05mg | Calcium: 22mg | Iron: 3mg