I first had pretzel pizza when I visited my family in Germany and we ordered it at a restaurant in Saarbrücken. Out came what looked like a Flammkuchen, but with a much darker crust and it was SO GOOD! That may have been the moment when I decided I needed to bring a version of this to the blog.
I took my famous pretzel recipe and turned the dough into two large pretzel pizzas. I then added sour cream and Emmentaler cheese (gruyere would be a bit more rustic and perfect as well), USA-made authentic Bratwurst from Schaller & Weber (I used Knackwurst for this recipe), onion, sauerkraut and mustard. The result is addictive! My version of a Brizza (from Brezel and Pizza) was born.
How to make it
You'll start by making your pretzel dough, then covering it up and letting that rest while you prep your other ingredients.
For the minimal prep, you're slicing the Knackwurst, draining the sauerkraut, and cutting the onion into thin rings (I did half rings).
Now you will divide the dough into 4 and use 2 of the smaller doughs to roll out into 2 large pizza bottom crusts.
Place onto 2 large baking sheets prepped with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
Top your bottom crusts in the following order: sour cream, salt and pepper, cheese, sauerkraut, onion rings, mustard, and bratwurst.
Cut each remaining dough into 2 and shape 4 pretzel strings from the remaining dough. Each pretzel string will reach halfway around each of the two pizzas.
Mix together the lye solution (detailed instructions in recipe card), then using tongs, pull the strings through the lye water. Place on the edge of the pizza and sprinkle with pretzel salt (optional).
Serve immediately with a cold beer (NA beer is acceptable too).
Ingredients
Pretzel pizza isn't hard to make, but you will want to make sure you have the right ingredients ahead of time.
- Flour. I use all-purpose flour.
- Butter. I use grass-fed butter in all of my baking and cooking.
- Yeast. I keep a jar of dry yeast granules in the fridge to help it last longer.
- Brown sugar. If you don't have brown sugar, you can use regular sugar or even honey or maple syrup.
- Lye. I buy mine here, then use it for all my pretzel recipes. Make sure to store it in a safe place away from kids.
- Pretzel salt (optional). While this is not a must, it's definitely nice to have and helps make your pretzels look authentic.
- Sour Cream. I spread sour cream on the round dough circles, then season with salt and pepper.
- Cheese. I used Emmentaler cheese, but Swiss Gruyère cheese would add a lovely sharp note. You could also use gouda.
- Bratwurst. I used Knackwurst by Schaller & Weber for this recipe, which is a German-style, extra thick bratwurst that's similar to Wiener sausages and is perfect on this pretzel pizza. You can use different kinds of German-style Bratwurst for this recipe and Schaller & Weber offers authentic sausages made in New York City.
- Sauerkraut. I used a whole jar of sauerkraut for my 2 pizzas. It adds a mild pickled flavor without being overpowering.
- Mustard. The dripped German Düsseldorf-style mustard is all over the pizza, which pairs perfectly with the sausage.
- Onion. I thinly sliced some red onion for color, then layered it all over the pretzel pizza.
Variations
While my pretzel pizza version uses a white sauce, feel free to use red sauce and experiment with different toppings.
An authentic Flammkuchen version with bacon and onion would be easy and delicious, too.
Or make a pretzel pizza with Weisswurst, sweet mustard, and Obatzda, which would be perfect for Oktoberfest season or a Bavarian brunch.
Video
Watch this short video showing you how to make pretzel pizza at home.
More German pretzel recipes
Love this pretzel pizza and want more pretzels. Then try my authentic German pretzels (Brezeln) with Obatzda, bacon-cheese pretzels just like from the German pretzel bakery Ditsch, and pretzel rolls (Laugenbrötchen).
Pretzel Pizza with Bratwurst
Equipment
Ingredients
Pretzel Dough
- 500 grams all-purpose flour
- 15 grams brown sugar
- 30 grams butter room temperature
- 10 grams sea salt
- 4 grams active dry yeast ½ pouch
- 275 milliliters water luke warm
Lye Solution
- 12 grams food-grade lye I am using a food-grade lye with a concentration of 100%.
- 300 milliliters water COLD water
Toppings
- 200 grams sour cream
- 200 grams emmentaler cheese or gruyère Swiss cheese for a more rustic version
- ¼ onion I used red onion for color, but yellow onion will work too.
- 3 Bratwurst I used Knackwurst by Schaller & Weber, an authentic German-style Bratwurst made from pork and beef.
- 450 grams sauerkraut net weight
- German mustard I used Düsseldorf-style mustard by Schaller & Weber
- pretzel salt optional
Instructions
- Stir together the Luke warm (barely warm) water, brown sugar and yeast and allow to bubble up, this should take 5 minutes. If it's not getting bubbly, your water may have been too hot or your yeast is bad. You'll have to repeat this step.15 grams brown sugar, 4 grams active dry yeast, 275 milliliters water
- Combine with all other dough ingredients. Knead the dough on the low setting for 8 to 10 minutes using the dough hook.500 grams all-purpose flour, 10 grams sea salt, 30 grams butter
- Cover the dough with a clean linen towel and let it rest while you prep your pretzel pizza toppings.
- Cut the Knackwurst into slices, thinly slice the onion (I used about ¼ of a large red onion), drain the sauerkraut. Shred the cheese if you didn't buy a shredded kind.200 grams emmentaler cheese, 3 Bratwurst, 450 grams sauerkraut, ¼ onion
- Divide the dough into quarters and roll out two of the quarters into round circles with about 16 inch (40 cm) diameter.
- Place the rolled out pizza circles onto large baking sheets topped with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Top in the following order: sour cream, salt and pepper, shredded cheese, sauerkraut, onion rings, mustard, bratwurst.200 grams sour cream, German mustard
- Shape the other 2 dough pieces into long strings, long enough to wrap around the edge of the pizza crust.
- Prepare your lye solution in a well-ventilated area (like standing under a vent hood set to high or ideally being outside) because of potential fumes. Add the premeasured lye (it comes in dry granules) into COLD water, not the over way around. At this point, I like to step to the side for about 10 to 15 seconds to let potential fumes evaporate.Then carefully combine with a whisk until the solution is clear.Now add your pretzel strings and leave them in the solution for 5 to 10 seconds, carefully removing them with 2 sets of tongs and placing 2 each on the edge of the pretzel pizza.12 grams food-grade lye, 300 milliliters water
- Optionally top the crust ring with pretzel salt before baking. You could skip adding the salt and add a little shredded cheese onto the crust instead or add nothing at all (Germans don't like a ton of salt on their pretzels and the pizza toppings are already salty enough).pretzel salt
- Bake your pretzel pizza at 355° Fahrenheit or 180° Celsius (convection/Umluft setting) for about 14 to 17 minutes, rotating the 2 pizzas 7 minutes into baking.
Video
Notes
- While my pretzel pizza version uses a white sauce, feel free to use red sauce and experiment with different toppings.
- An authentic Flammkuchen version with bacon and onion would be easy and delicious, too.
- Or make a pretzel pizza with Weisswurst, sweet mustard, and Obatzda, which would be perfect for Oktoberfest season or a Bavarian brunch.
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