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Pretzel Dog Recipe

Pretzel Dog is a combination of chewy pretzel and a juicy sausage, which makes a delicious lunch or an appetizer for kids and adults alike! Serve them with some spicy mustard for that perfect game day snack!

Pretzel Dogs stacked on top of each other topped with salt.

Pretzel Dog

Pretzel dogs and I go way, way back. When working my first job as a cashier at a local mall, getting myself a pretzel dog for lunch was the highlight of my day. The dough was slightly chewy, the sausage was nice and juicy, the two made the perfect pair.

Making it at home might seem like a chore, but it really is not complicated. Once you realize just how easy it is you just might spoil yourself or your kids with this fun appetizer or lunch more often than you should 😉

Pretzel dogs piled onto a plate with a side of mustard.

For this recipe, I used a slightly modified Alton Brown’s Soft Pretzels recipe which was perfect! The dough process isn’t too elaborate and the combination with the hot dog was just what I wanted.

Pretzel Dog vs. Pigs in a Blanket

The steps to making both the pretzel dog and a pig in a blanket are one and the same. Except for the baking soda bath that the pretzel dogs have to go through before being baked. If you’re not feeling like going through the trouble though, just omit it and you’ll still get beautiful and delicious pigs in a blanket.

Make-ahead Option

The number of ingredients below will make for a large batch (15 pretzel dogs). Feel free to either halve the recipe or freeze the baked and cooled Pretzel Dogs. To reheat, just pop the Pretzel Dogs or Pretzels in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 350F and they’ll taste just like fresh.

What kind of Sausage to use in Pretzel Dogs?

You’re the boss, so choose your favorite hot dog sausage. I use Costco’s Kirkland Brand Dinner Franks or Polish Sausage, both are good choices.

Two perfectly baked pretzel dogs dipped in mustard..

How to make a Pretzel Dog?

The easiest way to make the Pretzel Dog dough is to use the dough cycle of the bread maker. If you do not have a bread maker, do not fret, you can either mix the dough by hand or use a mixer.

Step by step pictures on how to make and wrap a pretzel dog.

Once the dough is proofed, the dough is split into 15 balls and then into ropes. Next, you wrap the dough rope around a sausage, give it a baking soda bath and into the oven it goes.
Dipping the pretzel dogs into a baking soda bath before baking is what gives them that signature taste!

After that, it’s just one trip to the oven, and voila!

Pretzel dogs on a baking sheet with mustard and catchup in small round mini bowls.

Try these other great Appetizers:

Pretzel Dogs

4.91 from 42 votes

Pretzel Dog is a combination of chewy pretzel dough sprinkled with coarse salt and a juicy sausage, which makes a delicious lunch or an appetizer for kids and adults alike!

Author: Marina | Let the Baking Begin
Course: Appetizer, dinner
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pigs in a blanket, pretzel dogs, pretzel sausage
Calories: 334 kcal
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 15 pretzel dogs

Ingredients

Ingredients

  • 15 Sausages franks

Pretzel Dough

  • cups water warm
  • 1 tbsp sugar granulated
  • 1 tsp salt, kosher reduce amount if using table salt
  • 1 Tbsp yeast active dry
  • cups flour all purpose
  • 2 oz butter, unsalted melted
  • 2 Tbsp Vegetable oil to grease the pan

Baking Soda Bath

Egg Wash

  • 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 Tbsp water

Topping

  • 1 tsp Coarse kosher salt or Pretzel Salt

Instructions

Instructions

  1. If using bread maker combine 1½ cups warm water, 1 tbspsugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp yeast, 4½ cups flour & 2 oz unsalted butter and set for the dough cycle. Once the cycle is complete, move on to step 6.

  2. If using a stand mixer, combine 1½ cups warm water, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, and 1 Tbsp yeast. Stir and allow it to sit for 4-5 minutes.

  3. Once the mixture has risen slightly, add 4½ cups flour to the bowl of the mixer, the yeast slurry, and the 2 oz melted butter. Using the dough attachment/hook knead on low speed just until the dough comes together.

  4. Increase the speed to medium and knead until dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl (about 4-5 minutes).

  5. Remove the dough from the bowl, spray it with non-stick spray, then return the dough back into the bowl and cover with a tea towel. Let rise for 1 hour in a draft-free, warm place (you can place it in the oven with the light on. Do not turn the oven on at all) or until doubled in size.

  6. Next, preheat oven to 450°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.

Make the baking soda bath

  1. Bring 10 cups of water and 1/2 cup baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

Shape and Bake the Pretzel Dogs

  1. Turn the dough out onto an oiled work surface and divide it into 15 pcs or about hte sie of a golf ball size pieces (mine were about 75 g each).

  2. HOW TO MAKE PRETZEL DOGS: Roll each dough ball into a rope and wrap it around the full length of the sausage, pinching the ends onto themselves to prevent them unwrapping.

    TO MAKE PRETZELS: Shape the dough into a 24-inch rope, then holding the ends of the rope cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel.

  3. One by one place the place the pretzel dogs into the boiling soda water for 30 seconds. Using a large slotted spoon or spatula remove them from the water and place onto the prepared baking sheet.
  4. Brush on with beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with salt.
  5. Place in oven and bake at 450°F until golden brown in color, about 12 minutes.

Nutrition Facts
Pretzel Dogs
Amount Per Serving
Calories 334 Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Fat 21g32%
Saturated Fat 8g50%
Cholesterol 62mg21%
Sodium 723mg31%
Potassium 190mg5%
Carbohydrates 22g7%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 13g26%
Vitamin A 132IU3%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 12mg1%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Marina | Let the Baking Begin

Welcome to Let the Baking Begin! I'm Marina and my love and passion for eating only the most delicious foods drive me to share that love here on Let the Baking Begin (since 2009). With over 20 years of experience in the kitchen, you know the recipes are tested and retested until perfect. I'm so happy to have you here. Enjoy! Read more...

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  • XboxMeister

    Ever since Dr. Steins bagel dogs disappeared from Costco I’ve been searching for a replacement. Recently Costco got a different version in for a few months and then they disappeared. ‍.

    But now that problem is solved with this excellent recipe. It’s so easy, particularly with a bread maker. I quartered the dough recipe and it came out great. I used bread flour and bread machine yeast instead of AP and active dry yeast as I prefer the taste and it didn’t seem to be a problem. Definitely as good as anything I got at Costco. I have a couple extra I’ll freeze in food saver bags to see how they reheat. Really appreciate the recipe including info about storing them.

    Great recipe! If you like bagel/pretzel dogs, you’ll love these.

    · Reply
  • Julie

    This was a great recipe! I’ve been wanting to make pretzel dogs for Oktoberfest season but was anxious about making the dough. I found your instructions to be easy to follow for my kitchen aid mixer and the dough turned out perfect. I divided it into 16 portions and used Aidelle’s chicken sausages and Johnsonville cheddar and beef dogs. I had to bake mine longer in my oven. It took probably 25 minutes to get golden brown. Thank you for your instructions and pictures!

    · Reply
  • Licia

    Can I refrigerate the uncooked pretzel dogs in the refrigerator for use on the next day then do the baking soda bath and bake thank you my first time making these they look so good

    · Reply
  • Christine

    Recipe ideas!

    · Reply
  • B

    These were amazing! I actually used leftover pizza dough and the cooking method for these worked great. Can’t wait to try them with your dough!

    · Reply
  • Renee Fye

    I have followed this recipe several times and 4 1/2 cups of flour is entirely too much. The dough will be extremely dry and difficult to roll. Even 4 cups is too much. I recommend adjusting it down to 3- 3 1/2 cups of flour.

    · Reply
  • Diana

    Saw the Instagram story and had to make these. They were delicious and the dough turned out so soft and pillowy, tastes like a way better, fresher pretzel. I definitely think the big key is making the dough in bread maker. The dough itself was just a pleasure to work with. Served it with cheese dip and will probably never buy store bought pretzels ever again. Highly recommend

    · Reply
  • Jeanne

    I thought I’d make this recipe after seeing pretzel dogs featured on “The Kitchen.” The dough whipped together quickly. I machine kneaded it for 5 mins. It very quickly rose in about 1 hr. I made 15 portions ranging form 74-77 grams. My granddaughter and I loved how soft and squishy the dough was. We wrapped 13 Teton beef sausages
    (From Costco) that I had cut in half. (We left 2 portions of the dough to make soft pretzel sticks.) The pretzel dogs were perfectly cooked at 12 mins. They look enormous even though the sausages are only half cut. Everyone loved them! Thank you very much for this recipe, we enjoyed it tremendously!

    · Reply
  • Lana

    Just made them today. Turned out perfect!!!! Going to save this recipe!!! Thank you so much!

    · Reply
  • Jen

    We had pretzel dogs for the first time whilst on holiday in Vienna and had been dreaming of them ever since! I’d never baked anything successfully before this recipe – always somehow tasted ‘yeasty’. But this recipe is P E R F E C T!! Even for a beginner! The following day after being in the fridge overnight we’ve simply reheated in the oven and they’re delicious all over again!! Super happy!! Not sure if helpful, but tried different wrapping techniques and, for us, the best ones were wrapped completely in dough – (pressed dough into 1inch+ strips, wrapped around the sausage, then rolled the sausage and dough together, sealing the ends. Prob just personal preference, but they looked the neatest out of the oven!

    · Reply
  • Isa B

    Really good, but they stuck to parchment paper

    · Reply
    • Hi Isa,
      I’ve had that happen and it was easily fixable by getting a different type of parchment paper. Sometimes brands sell an inferior product and don’t deliver on the promise of what their prouduct is supposed to do. Switching brands helps.

      · Reply
  • Allison

    Tried this recipe about two years ago and I just had to come back to comment. My family loves these. I make them a few times a year and my husband has requested them on his birthday.
    They freeze beautifully. Thank goodness. Otherwise we’d eat them all in a weekend. This one goes into our family recipe collection. Thank you so much for sharing it.

    · Reply
  • Vita

    These turned out amazing! Thank you!
    Wondering if I would be able to let them sit on the counter for like an hour after the baking soda/water bath before baking? Or do they have to be baked right away?

    · Reply
  • Rob

    They came out delicious and perfect! Thanks for the recipe.

    · Reply
  • Elise

    These were amazing!!! My husband ate 3 and even my two year old boy ate an entire pretzel dog. So so good! Will be making these again for sure!

    · Reply
  • Keehn

    Is there a conversion for instant yeast instead of dry active yeast ?

    · Reply
  • Cristal

    Can you tell me how the hot dog and regular pretzels should be stored? Thank you!

    · Reply
    • Hi Cristal,
      Pretzel dogs should be refrigerated, covered, or frozen until ready to eat, then thawed in the fridge or microwave. You can re-crisp the previously refrigerated or frozen pretzel dogs in the air fryer or oven.

      · Reply
  • This recipe was outstanding. Thank you so much!!

    · Reply
  • I was want to check the flour would it be bread flour or all purpose flour? I know that sounds stupid but I didnt want to make a mistake when I go to put it in my bread machine
    Thanks morgan

    · Reply
    • I use Canadians flour for all of my baking which is closest to American bread flour. So either regular or bread flour will work here.

      · Reply
  • Wanda

    Delicious. I used (12) 1/4-pound beef weenies and mixed the dough by hand. They are wonderful. I froze most of them to be enjoyed on future days. Thanks a bunch for sharing this very useful recipe with us.

    · Reply
  • Connie

    I was wondering can you just freeze the dough and if so for how long?

    · Reply
    • Hi Connie,
      I know that yeast dough tends to loose it’s potency once frozen and therefor haven’t frozen it myself. You can freeze baked pretzel dogs though, that works just fine. I’d freeze the baked pretzel dogs for up to 2-3 weeks, not more though.

      · Reply
  • Tabitha

    can you make these ahead of time? or can you freeze them?

    · Reply
  • Henry

    Wow, fantastic wеblog format! How long have you been running a blog for?

    you made blogging look easy. The totаl look of yoᥙr web site
    is fantastic, ⅼet alone the content material!

    · Reply
  • Susan

    I guess I messed up. My pretzel part was so baking soda tasting that we couldn’t eat them. This is the first time making these so I don’t know what I did wrong.

    Susan

    · Reply
    • bob

      I know this is really late but if you over dip the pretzels in the bath this can happen, its a quick in and out 1 at a time.

      · Reply
  • alan slimm

    Pretzels are a great way to express your culinary creativity.

    · Reply
  • Brian keith

    Thank you for the recipe, they turned out perfectly yummy. I had fun making them and now a new favorite treat to make.

    · Reply
  • Sue

    Thanks for the recipe they look yummy!! I see that you have pretzel bites in one of the pictures. Do you bake them at the same temp and time?

    · Reply
  • Vanessa

    These are absolutely DELICIOUS!!! Made them for my family for lunch. My kids devoured them as well as my husband. Awesome recipe. Thank you!!!

    · Reply
  • Ashley

    Do these freeze well? I’d love to make them for lunches!

    · Reply
    • I have not done it myself, but I freeze bread all the time and since this is a bread kind of a thing, I don’t see why it wouldn’t.

      · Reply
  • Tori

    Hi! Just made these for lunch and they tasted great! So I mixed it with my kitchenaid and at first the dough was too liquidy even though I follwed the recipe to a T. So if this happens to you just do what I did and add more flour until you get the right consistency. THE DOUGH PROCESS IS SO MESSY! Haha, I had to oil everything but after a good wipe down all was fine, just be prepared for possibly a big mess and big cleanup. Still worth it! The baking soda thing is helpful too but after awhile the bubbles start to rise so just keep a look out. Next time my mom wants me to try it with cheese so that’ll be fun.

    · Reply
  • Teresa

    Excellent recipe!!! This is now one of the family favorites so I make them quite frequently 😉
    Thank you!

    · Reply
  • elinor l.

    These look awesome. I’ll be making these for a New Year’s Eve party. I’ll let you know they turn out. I used to make bagels years ago. Boiling the dough prior to baking contributed in the crustiness and chew of the dough. Can’t wait to try these!

    · Reply
  • These pretzel dogs look so aswesome! I have featured them in my tribute to hot dogs on my blog, Ducks ‘n a Row, today. Hapy National Hot Dog Day!

    · Reply
  • Tanya

    Hi Marina, what does baking soda in whater do?

    · Reply
    • It’s what makes the pretzel taste like the pretzel instead of just baked dough. It also creates the browning on the outside of the pretzel

      · Reply
  • Ruthanne Bowers

    Great recipe! I tried these last weekend!
    I came across a question as I was making them. Would you recommend letting the dough rise again once you have wrapped the hot dogs and formed the pretzels? Like, before you put this in the baking soda solution?

    · Reply
  • Tracey

    The dough didnt work. It was very thick and wouldn’t come together. I tried kneading it but it wouldn’t rise. My yeast proofed so I know it was good…maybe you need to have a bread machine or dough hook only?

    · Reply
    • I am not sure why it didn’t come together. Could it be that your flour was already pretty settled in the bag and then you scooped it with the measuring cup (compacting it even more) and therefor used more flour? My dough comes together fine when I make this. You could measure the dough by weighing it (it should be 22 ounces) to be completely sure. But it could be that the type of flour (brand/quality) is just not very good. Have you baked other things with the flour and it worked fine?

      · Reply
  • EbonyNicoles

    Hey, just a side note to those using a breadman machine to make your dough, be sure to check how much flour your bread machine can hold…mine’s could only hold up to 3 cups of flour, where as this recipe calls for 4-41/2 cups…I cut the flour down to 2 1/2 cups and used 1 cup of water along with 4 tablespoons of melted butter (I might suggest cutting this down to at least 2 tablespoons instead). Hope this helps 🙂

    · Reply
    • That’s a great tip! Thanks!

      · Reply
  • Bobbi - 3GLOL

    Love.love.love pretzel dogs. I use to always get them at the mall too 🙂 Pinning this so I can give it a go! Thanks for sharing!

    · Reply
    • Thanks for pinning Bobbi!

      · Reply
  • Sandra

    I made them for dinner last might. Wrapped hotdogs and bratwurst in the dough. My family loved them. Our 4 year old granddaughter loves the pretzels. Thank you.

    · Reply
    • Bratwurst in the dough sounds amazing! Thanks for your feedback Sandra!

      · Reply
  • Paramitha Nasimova

    Very nice recipe! 🙂 How many pretzel dogs you make for this recipe?

    · Reply
    • Thanks Paramitha!
      this recipe makes about 10-15 pretzel dogs, depending on how big your sausages are.

      · Reply
      • Trish

        I pinned these. I can’t wait to make these…they look so delicious. Thanks for sharing the love.

        · Reply
        • Thanks Trish! You will totally love them when you make them!

          · Reply
  • Erin

    I’d love to make these for my son’s Birthday party. Could I prepare them through step #10, refrigerate overnight, and then bake just before the party? Thank you!

    · Reply
    • To be honest, I am not sure. I have never done it before. Sorry that I couldn’t be of more help 🙁

      · Reply
    • Elizabeth

      Did you try the make-ahead pretzel dogs? If so, how did it turn out and how did you do it?

      · Reply
  • Vera

    hi marina I’m planning to make these tomorrow. can you please tell me how much grams are in one package of active yeast?

    · Reply
    • Hi Vera,
      There’s 2 1/4 (or 2.25) teaspoons in one pack. I will probably add this to the recipe to clarify for others as well 🙂

      · Reply
  • Ivana @ Macarons and Pearls

    These are so so adorable! I adore pretzels, but I never actually mustered enough courage to make them at home 🙂 Now I’m really tempted 🙂 And your photos are really beautiful, Marina! I’m so glad I’ve discovered your blog!

    xx Ivana
    Macarons and Pearls

    · Reply
  • Olga

    Beautiful photos! These pretzel dogs are just asking for me to take a bite. I’ve actually been craving pretzels today, so I think this means that I’ll be making these soon. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    · Reply
    • Thanks Olga! You’re welcome to come and share the link if you do end up posting the recipe 🙂

      · Reply

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