The Easy Hack That Transforms Trader Joe's Pizza Dough Into Pretzels

Trader Joe's pizza dough has gotten great reviews on social media for a few important reasons: Among them are convenience, price, and flexibility. Trader Joe's pizza dough is one of those things that's always great to have on hand so you can make your favorite style of pizza: deep dish, Grandma-style, individual, New York-style thin crust ... Or perhaps you don't want to make pizza at all. Making things other than pizza — including pizza shop staples like focaccia, breadsticks, garlic knots, and calzone, and sweet delights like monkey bread, donuts, and cinnamon rolls – is among people's favorite dinner hacks using Trader Joe's products. But, when people really want to put a twist on it, they throw the dough into a water bath with baking soda to make soft pretzels.

Taking the shaped dough and placing it in boiling water with a teaspoon of baking soda is the key to turning pizza dough into pretzel dough. That critical step will ensure you get both the chewy bite and rich brown color you want in a soft pretzel. Skipping that step is one of the mistakes people make when making pretzels at home – whether starting from scratch or getting a head start with Trader Joe's pizza dough.

Boiling the shaped dough in a baking soda bath for about 45 seconds helps gelatinize the starch on the outside but won't cook the dough on the inside. It also prevents the dough from rising too much in the oven, giving you the chewy texture you want in a pretzel. Adding baking soda to the water gives the pretzels an alkaline coating, which will trigger the Maillard reaction in the oven and give them that golden brown color distinctive to pretzels.

The process for making the pretzels is simple. Just cut the dough and roll it into long strips. Shape it into twists or cut it into nuggets or even knots. Place them in the baking soda bath until they float to the top and they're almost ready for the oven. Another important step is giving them an egg wash — which also adds to the golden brown color — and seasoning before slipping them into a 450 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 12 to 15 minutes. If you're making nuggets, you can also pop them into the air fryer for 6 minutes at 390 degrees Fahrenheit.

Trader Joe's pizza dough is available in plain, herb, and whole wheat varieties, allowing you to add a slightly different spin on your pretzels. There is also a gluten-free version should there be any sensitivities to wheat in your home. You can use sea or pretzel salt for flavorings. Or, while you're at the store, pick up some Trader Joe's Everything bagel seasoning for a unique blend of flavors. Trader Joe's also suggests making pretzel nuggets and serving them with a beer cheese dip or slicing a pretzel twist in half and stuffing it with some herbed gouda.

The pretzels you make at home may just be better than the ones you can buy on the street. All too often those pretzels are cold, stale, and lack the flavor you crave. So the next time you are on the street in New York and are tempted to grab a pretzel from one of the street vendors around the city, remind yourself about the Trader Joe's pizza dough you have in your freezer and enjoy your own soft, chewy pretzels straight from the oven.