Fans rejoiced after Little Caesars returned its Pretzel Crust Pizza in late March.
The limited-edition pizza first appeared in 2014, and Little Caesars has brought it back since 2019 as a recurring temporary menu item. The pizza features a “buttery-flavored, soft pretzel crust,” topped with cheddar cheese sauce, mozzarella, and muenster. This time around, the “Hot N Ready”-famous pizza chain also introduced a Stuffed Pretzel Crust.
However, one customer is calling out Little Caesars after issuing a complaint to a store manager over the pretzel crust. Is it really a pretzel?
Little Caesars’ Pretzel Pizza Crust exposed
In a viral TikTok, user K (@hey_k_47) explains that they ordered Little Caesars’ Pretzel Crust Pizza. When they opened the box, they told the manager, “This is just a cheese pizza with salt on it.”
K says the manager then revealed how Little Caesars makes its pretzel crusts.
“The manager told me that all they do is add baking soda to the crust to give it color and then put salt on it,” K recalls. “So the pretzel crust is literally just a salty cheese pizza.”
In the clip, K films the salted cheese pizza they received. It’s covered with large salt crystals and appears to have a red tomato sauce, which is not standard, though customers can swap out the cheddar cheese sauce for marinara.
K suggests in the captions that they’re “exposing” Little Caesars for “false advertising” of its pretzel crust.
“Hey @Little Caesars you guys should stop advertising it as Pretzel Crust. The manager told me they don’t have actual pretzel crust and can’t refund me because I ‘got what I ordered’ #falseadvertising,” K wrote.
However, as many commenters pointed out, Little Caesars isn’t guilty of anything.
‘That is a pretzel, hope this helps.’
Viewers clapped back at K in the comments section over their outrage at the pretzel crust.
“Thank you for exposing how pretzels are made,” one commenter said.
“Adding baking soda to dough is literally how you make pretzels,” another wrote.
“Yeah, that’s what a pretzel is buddy,” a third added.
A fourth joked, “That is a pretzel, hope this helps.”
How are pretzels made?
Pretzels are made using a yeast dough, but one special step distinguishes them from standard breads (or pizza crust, in this case).
The pretzels are dipped in an alkaline solution, historically using food-grade lye and more commonly today using baking soda, before baking.
As the Kitchn notes, this impacts both the texture and flavor of the pretzel. “This bath essentially gelatinizes the outside of the pretzel, preventing it from fully ‘springing’ during baking (as bread does) and giving pretzels their signature chewy crust,” author Emma Christensen explains.
So, Little Caesars’ Pretzel Crust Pizza is technically a pretzel.
@hey_k_47 Hey @Little Caesars you guys should stop advertising it as Pretzel Crust. The manager told me they don’t have actual pretzel crust and can’t refund me because I “got what I ordered” #falseadvertising ♬ original sound – K 👌
As one commenter suggested, the light color of K’s pizza may just be due to under-baking. “Hey so. that’s actually how all pretzels are made. a flash boil in baking soda water and then baked. but they didn’t do yours quite enough,” they said.
Alternatively, the use of baking soda instead of lye could be the culprit. The New York Times‘ Harold McGee suggests that baking the baking soda before making the alkaline solution can result in a more traditional pretzel flavor and color.
The Daily Dot has reached out to K via TikTok direct message and to Little Caesars via email.
