Pretzel Dogs
When I was a kid, I only ate hot dogs one of two ways: nearly burnt to a crisp on the grill, or wrapped in crescent rolls and baked in the oven. The former typically happened during the summer, while the latter was almost always a fall and winter treat. My mom would kick the crescent-wrapped dogs up a notch by slicing the hot dogs down the middle and stuffing a half-slice of American cheese in the middle. As far as my 8-year-old palate was concerned, that was just about as gourmet as you could get. That was my favorite way to eat hot dogs for years and years… until I discovered pretzel dogs. I have been a soft pretzel lover for what seems like forever, so imagine the shock and awe when I discovered hot dogs wrapped in soft pretzel dough. I don’t eat hot dogs very often, but a few times a year, I’ll have one either straight from the grill, black and charred, or wrapped in a buttery soft pretzel, which is usually accompanied by copious amounts of outlet shopping. For some reason, it never occurred to me to make them at home. Until now. Which is definitely cause for celebration.
I’ve been making homemade soft pretzels for nearly as long as I’ve had this blog and I’ve shared a couple of recipes with you in the past. This one, however, has been my staple for the last nearly three years. I can’t believe in all that time I haven’t gotten it out to you! To make the pretzel dogs, I used this basic soft pretzel recipe and instead of shaping the dough into pretzels (which you could also totally do), I wrapped it around hot dogs. It’s so easy, and if you’ve been intimidated by yeast recipes before, this would be a perfect one to start with. The dough is easy to mix together, very forgiving, and only requires one quick rise of less than an hour.
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Whether you want to get in some hot dog-eating while it’s still summer, or you’re on the hunt for game day food for the upcoming fall season, these are definite musts for your menu. You could cut the hot dogs in half for smaller portions, or even use lil’ smokies for bite-size versions. Serve them up with ketchup, your favorite mustard and an ice-cold beer. Perfect for summer, perfect for watching the game, perfect for shopping… perfect anytime!
Pretzel Dogs
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (375 ml) warm water, 110 to 115 degrees F
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 package active dry yeast, 2¼ teaspoons
- 4½ cups (562.5 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter, melted
- Vegetable oil, for pan
- 10 cups (2.5 l) water
- ⅔ cup (80 g) baking soda
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Kosher salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Combine the water, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam.
- Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it in a clean, oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area for about 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
- Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart pot.
- In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a rope that’s about 24-inches long. Starting at one end, wrap the dough around the hot dog, pinching each end together so that it’s sealed. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan and repeat with the remaining dough and hot dogs.
- Place the pretzel dogs into the boiling water two at a time and boil for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat slotted spatula. Return the boiled pretzel dogs to the half sheet pan, brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle with the coarse kosher salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
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Alton’s recipe rocks! Works well with whole wheat flour, too!
hey quick question where did you get that measuring mat?
Hi Ace, The mat is from King Arthur Flour: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/silicone-rolling-mat#4994#
These are so cute! Such a great variation on a plain old hot dog.
Wow, I’m not really big on hot dogs but these actually look really good!!
These look good. I eat very few hot dogs but I’d like to try this recipe. I already pinned it.
Oh these preztel dogs look amazing! I haven’t had one in forever, but these ones look delicious.
I love pretzel dogs and yours look so perfect! Now you have me craving for some!
Can you use the dough setting on a breadmaker?
Hi Nancy, I have never used a breadmaker, so I’m unsure about how the settings work. There is very little prep time and only one rise, so doing it by hand isn’t very difficult.
I am craving a soft pretzel so badly, and this is such a great way to use them. I can’t remember the last time I had a hot dog, and I’ve never had one wrapped in a pretzel, but I am now officially craving one!
That’s me too! Burnt on the grill or pigs in the blanket :) Love the idea of pretzel wrapped dogs – my kiddos will too!
Totally just added this to my to make list! Thanks so much! I LOVE pretzeldogs!
Would wheat flour work instead of all purpose?
I haven’t used it, but someone else in the comment thread mentioned that she’s made this recipe with whole wheat flour and it worked out just fine.
Yes, delicious. I was planning to try these for game day this fall. And OMG my mom totally made the crescent dogs with cheese for us too! It was like the best thing ever when she’d bust those out.
Awesome! My son is a very picky eater and I am trying to come up with meal ideas for my sitter while I am night school. I would want to make these in advance. Any recommendations for freezing them?
Hi Meghan, I would make and baked these, and then freeze the finished product. To warm, pop them in a 325-degree oven or in a toaster oven. (The pretzel might get too soft in the microwave.)
Yes please! I’ll take 4.
OMG… Can’t wait to try this… I’ve never made pretzels before, but love them…. AND just happen to have yeast that’s crying to be used…. thanks!
I don’t do hot dogs, but sign me up for the pretzel part:) Love!
These are crazy and incredible and just all things awesome! Who would have thought?
I’m IN LOVE with pretzel dogs! I just had a few friends over for a “dinner club” and pretzels dogs were the entree! Always a good choice.
This looks great. Could you also provide directions on how to just make pretzels out of this dough? Thanks!
Hi Debbie, You would make the dough the exact same way, still dividing it into 8 pieces and roll into a 24-inch rope. Instead of wrapping that rope around a hot dog, you’d just shape it into a pretzel. Boil and bake the same as the recipe above.
Perfect, thanks!
Oh my gosh. I have to make these! And, never have I thought that hot dogs were so beautiful! haha!
PS-That’s the pretzel recipe I love, too! :)
Yum! I love pretzel dogs, I’ll have to try making them myself now
I’m not really much of a hot dog eater, but these look fabulous!!
What a fun idea!! My kids would be all over these!
I’m not really much of a hotdog person, but pretzel dogs? Yeah, I could do that! I love pretzels!
I liked my version … until I saw yours. I’ll have to make this recipe from now on.
I saw french bread wrapped hot dogs all over Europe and my Husband and me to make one for him, I think he would like your pretzel dogs better! Bookmarking your recipe!
That’s funny you say that… my boyfriend loves hot dogs on French bread! He loves these pretzel dogs, too :)
I can’t wait to try this! I’ve been putting off yeast recipes, but this will be my first attempt! Quick question: were your hot dogs pre-cooked at all before you boiled the pretzel dogs?
Hi Jennifer, No pre-cooking. Just took them from the package, wrapped in the dough, then boiled and baked.
Thanks for clearing that up for me! These are on our menu this weekend. It’s unbelievable, but my husband has never had a pretzel dog!
What a great idea!! Every once in a while, I love a good hot dog. It’s great to see a different way of doing them.
I am a huge hot dog fan…I’m an even bigger fan of a hot dog wrapped up in a soft pretzel! OMG!