Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs are a great snack idea for your next get-together. They are easy to make in the Air Fryer just by following these step-by-step instructions. How will you dip your Pretzel Dog?
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These Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs are such a fun little recipe.
We enjoyed these for a special dinner at our house recently and the kids loved them.
🔑 Key to Success #1 – Use a Stand Mixer to Make the Dough
This pretzel dough is super easy to make and uses only a few ingredients.
I use it for making traditional Soft Pretzels, Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites, and now for Pretzel Dogs.
To make things easier, you’ll want to mix up the dough with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment.
I have a Kitchenaid 5-Qt Stand Mixer and it’s perfect for this Pretzel dough.
I even let the Pretzel dough rise in the bowl of my Kitchenaid.
Just take the dough out of the mixer bowl and clean it well then coat the inside with vegetable oil.
Be sure to turn the dough over in the bowl to coat both sides of the dough with oil.
🔑 Key to Success #2 – Wrap Pretzel Dough Around the Dogs
After you divide the Pretzel dough into 8 equal pieces, roll each piece of dough into a rope about 20-24 inches long.
Take the rope of dough and wrap it around the hot dog, pressing the ends of the dough together firmly.
Be sure to press the dough together well so that it won’t start to unroll when you’re working with the Pretzel Dogs later.
And I should also say to choose a hot dog variety that you like.
I personally like Nathan’s All-Beef Hot Dogs for this recipe but you can use whatever you prefer.
🔑 Key to Success #3 – Soda Bath for the Win
The baking soda bath is the key to getting that nice chewy pretzel texture to your Pretzel Dogs.
Even with the hot dogs wrapped up in the pretzel dough, you should still dip them into the baking soda bath.
It only takes about 30 seconds in the soda water for each Air Fryer Pretzel Dog.
That’s plenty of time to make the Pretzel magic happen.
🔑 Key to Success #4 – Don’t Crowd the Air Fryer
When you put the Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs into the Air Fryer, the pretzel dough is going to puff up so you’ll want to leave plenty of room between your ‘dogs.
I have a Cozyna XL 5.8 QT Air Fryer and I put two Pretzel Dogs into my Air Fryer basket at a time.
Any more than that and it would be hard to flip the Pretzel Dogs over.
Don’t forget to check out the 5 best non-toxic air fryers that don’t cause cancer.
Speaking of flipping, you’ll definitely want to flip your Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs over halfway through cooking.
This will allow you to get both sides of your Pretzel Dogs nice and golden brown. Don’t skip this step!
I hope you’ll give this great recipe
Please don’t be intimidated by the Pretzel dough.
It’s much easier to manage than you may think.
📌 Get the Printable Recipe for Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs
Save this Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs recipe to your Air Fryer Recipes board or your Snack Food board.
Air Fryer Pretzel Dogs
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water 110 to 115 degrees F
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 pkg active dry yeast
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 oz melted butter
- 10 cups water
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 1 egg yolk beaten with 1 Tbsp water
- pretzel salt
- 8 bun-length hot dogs
Instructions
- Combine water, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook. Sprinkle yeast on top and allow to sit 5 minutes.
- Add flour and butter. Mix on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of bowl, approximately 5 minutes.
- Place dough in well-greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a clean dry towel and sit in warm place for 50-60 minutes until the dough has doubled in size.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Preheat Air Fryer to 400 degrees F.
- In large stock pot or roasting pan, combine 10 cups of water and the baking soda and bring to a boil.
- Place pretzel dough onto an oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece of dough into an 18-inch rope. Wrap pretzel dough around hotdog, making sure to press the ends together.
- One-by-one, place each pretzel dog into the boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove from water and place on parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Place 3-4 pretzels directly into Air Fryer basket and cook 5 minutes at 400 degrees F. Turn pretzel dogs over and cook another 3-4 minutes until dark golden brown.
Equipment
Nutrition
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Laura
Saturday 23rd of March 2024
I've been using this recipe for the past couple of years. It's perfect for a Saturday dinner at home. My daughter loves them! Our hotdogs come in a 6-pack and then we use the extra dough to make a couple small pretzels.
Linda
Tuesday 23rd of April 2019
Pretzel Dogs were perfect, I used purchased pizza dough instead of making it from scratch. They were delicious!
Jennifer
Tuesday 23rd of April 2019
I'm so glad you liked them!