Pretzel pigs in a blanket, pretzel hot dogs, whatever you call them, these mini sausage bites are delicious and great finger food for any kind of party.
Pretzel pigs in a blanket or pretzel hot dogs served with Bavarian grainy mustard. These sausage bites will be gone in a flash at your next party. Make some Stuffed Bread Rolls and Mushroom Puff Pastry Pies, too.
We love pretzels or Brezel in Germany. Salty, fluffy in the middle, chewier on the sides, eaten as they are, on the go, or savored on a Sunday morning with a little butter smeared on top. Heaven!
I don't bake pretzels often, not because it is difficult—it really isn't—but because you can buy them at every bakery around here. They are always fresh and delicious and really not that expensive. They are large enough to satisfy you entirely, and if you have one, you will not think about lunch for several hours.
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Recipe ingredients
Dough ingredients: All-purpose flour, yeast, salt, sugar, and milk.
Alkahli bath: Water and bicarbonate of soda.
Sausages: I made half of the pigs with hot dog sausages and half with Bavarian weisswurst. You can also use frankfurters or cocktail sausages. Try these Vienna Sausage Appetizers, too.
Cut the hot dogs into three pieces to fit into the pretzel dough rectangles.
When using weisswurst, remove the peel first. Cut the weisswurst in half horizontally, then cut each half into two pieces vertically to get four pieces from one sausage.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make pretzel dogs?
Pretzel dough recipe
The recipe is actually very easy, especially if you are using a kitchen machine to knead the dough. However, this particular dough is easy to make even without a machine.
- Step #1: Mix flour, salt, and the active dry yeast. Add lukewarm milk and sugar. You can knead the dough with a handheld mixer fitted with dough hooks or, for a couple of minutes, in a kitchen machine fitted with dough hooks. If you knead it by hand, you should do it for about 4-5 minutes.
- Step #2: Let rise for about 45 minutes; it should double in size.
- Step #3: Knead again very shortly and roll it into a rectangle, then cut it vertically in half and horizontally to make 12 smaller rectangles. Trim the edges to create even rectangles.
- Steps #4,5,6: Place a sausage in the middle of each rectangle and wrap the dough around it.
- Step #7: Use the dough scraps to cut a few extra rectangles. I made 3 or 4 smaller ones. Wrap a sausage piece in these extra rectangles as well.
Have more pretzels: Homemade Pretzel Chips, Romanian Covrigei, or Baked Schnitzel in pretzel buns.
Alkali bath for pretzels
- Step #8: Carefully place some of the pretzel pigs into the boiling water and simmer for about 30 seconds.
- Step #9: Remove them with a slotted spoon, shake off the excess water, and place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Step #10: Repeat with the remaining pretzel pigs.
Bake them
- Step #11: Brush the pretzel bites with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
- Step #12: Bake the "pigs" for 15 - 20 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through.
How else can I use pretzel dough?
You can use it to make regular pretzels or buns.
For pretzels, form 5-6 of them (double the recipe for 10-12) and boil them in the water and baking soda solution for about 30 seconds. Remove them with a slotted spoon, shake off excess water, and place them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper.
Let them air dry briefly, brush them with beaten egg, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 360°F/ 180°C.
For buns, follow the same procedure after shaping them.
Good to know!
The milk you mix with the yeast should be around 96°F (36°C), about body temperature.
To make proper pretzels, "bathe" them in an alkali bath before baking. This gives them their shiny look, distinct taste, and chewy crust.
Bakeries use lye (caustic soda) for this step, but lye is a dangerous chemical and should not be used at home. Instead, make homemade pretzels using a baking soda bath. While the results might not be as intensely colored or chewy as those made with lye, the pretzels will still be delicious.
How to serve?
Serve the pigs in a pretzel blanket with sweet coarse mustard, the typical accompaniment for weisswurst or curry sauce/ curry ketchup.
I prefer them when they are still warm, but they are fine at room temperature as well.
However, reheat them in the oven before serving, if possible.
Pretzel Pigs in a Blanket
Ingredients
Pretzel dough:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 250 g
- 1 packet active dried yeast 7 g/ 0.25 oz
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- a pinch of granulated sugar
- ¾ cup milk 175 ml
Pretzel pigs:
- 4 sausages Notes 2 and 3
- 6½ cups water 1.5 liter
- 3 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda
- 1 egg
- coarse sea salt as much as needed
- sweet coarse mustard to serve
- curry sauce or curry ketchup to serve
Instructions
Pretzel dough:
- Combine: Mix the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Very gently, heat milk and sugar; it should have about 97°F/ 36°C (body temperature). Pour the milk into the flour mixture and knead.2 cups all-purpose flour/ 250 g + 1 packet active dried yeast + ½ teaspoon fine sea salt + a pinch of granulated sugar + ¾ cup milk/ 175 ml
- You can knead the dough with the handheld mixer fitted with dough hooks or in a kitchen machine fitted with dough hooks (2-3 minutes). If you knead the dough by hand, you should do it for about 4-5 minutes.
- Let rise: Place the dough into a bowl and let rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place, it should double in size.
Pigs:
- Preheat the oven to 360°F/ 180°C.
- Make alkali solution: While you wrap the pigs, bring the water to a boil. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in the water and let boil for about 3 minutes.6½ cups water + 3 tablespoons bicarbonate of soda
- Cut dough: After the dough has doubled in size, knead it briefly on a floured surface. Roll the dough to a rectangle and cut it. Once vertically in half and then horizontally to obtain 12 smaller rectangles. Cut the edges of the dough all around so that the rectangles are regular.
- Add sausages: Cut each sausage in three pieces that would fit into the dough rectangles. If making the pigs with weisswurst, start by removing the peel of the weisswurst. Half the weisswurst horizontally and cut the halves in two vertically as well. In the end, you will have 4 pieces out of one weisswurst.4 sausages
- Make pretzel pigs: Place one piece of sausage in the middle of each rectangle and roll the dough around it.
- Use the dough scraps to roll and cut a few more rectangles, I had 3 or 4 smaller extras. Wrap a sausage piece in these extra pretzel dough rectangles as well.
- Boil pretzels: Carefully place some of the pretzel pigs into the boiling water and let simmer for about 30 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon, shake shortly to remove the excess water, and place the pigs on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.Repeat with a second batch.
- Bake pretzel pigs: Brush the pretzel bites with beaten egg and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.1 egg + coarse sea salt
- Serve with sweet coarse mustard, the typical accompaniment for weisswurst or curry sauce/ curry ketchup.
Notes
- Measurements: Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking (the Amazon link opens in a new tab); it guarantees the best results.
- Type of sausage: Hot dogs, wiener, frankfurters, or white sausages (weisswurst).
- The recipe makes 12 pretzel pigs, however I had 3 or 4 smaller extras, which I formed out of the dough scraps leftover after rolling and cutting the pretzel dough. You might need 1 extra sausage to fill the pretzel dough scraps.
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
I'm working on a pretzel dog too, but I'm cheating with store bought dough. These look so good and pretzel look perfect!! They would fly off the plate at my house!
Sissi says
This is exactly the kind of food I consider dangerous: I could eat tons of it! Seriously your pretzel dogs look fabulous! I love Wiener sausages and I love pretzels (we have a small shop at the train station and whenever I pass I cannot resist buying one... especially when it's fresh and warm) but I would never think of combining both in such cute snacks.
Kelly | Foodtasia says
My kids would love these! And me as well! The pretzel looks so delicious and your step by step photos are very helpful. When we visited Germany, the first thing we had was the pretzel. Loved them!