Hello lovelies, I'm back with a new recipe! Since the girls started kindergarten last week, I've been on the lookout for healthy snacks to pack in their lunchbox. And since we all love pretzels so much, I baked a batch of vegan pretzel balls – and the best part: you really only have to swap a single ingredient.
Pretzel balls, or pretzel chestnuts, are basically tiny pretzel rolls that you snip with scissors so they burst open like little chestnuts as they bake. They get their classic pretzel flavor and glossy brown crust completely without real, caustic lye – I just use a simple baking-soda bath. Bring 1 l water to a boil, take it off the heat and stir in 50 gr baking soda. Each dough ball then bathes in it for about 30-45 seconds before it goes on the tray.
My yeast dough rises for about 2 hours, then I shape little balls of around 25 gr – that way you get lots of small bites. After a second short rest they go into the soda water, get scored, sprinkled with coarse salt and baked at 180 °C (355 °F) for about 20-25 minutes. If you like them extra crisp, spritz them with a little water before baking.
We love the pretzel balls best fresh from the oven – that's when they taste the very best. Serve them with a grainy mustard, a hearty herb dip or simply some vegan butter. Whether in a lunchbox, as an apéro or on the party table, they vanish in no time around here – they're the perfect party snack and everyone loves them. Any leftovers freeze beautifully and can be thawed and baked back up whenever you need them.
If you love these vegan pretzel balls, my baking corner has more hearty yeast ideas waiting for you: for a bigger pretzel craving I love my pretzel bagels, for your next barbecue or game night there's the vegan stick bread with tofu wiener, and if you like it fluffy and savory you have to try my tomato burger buns. I'd be so happy if you bake these pretzel balls, and I can't wait to hear how you like them.
