Have you ever wanted to make soft, chewy, hot & fresh Soft Pretzels at home!? Today I’m walking you through all the steps so you can make your own golden homemade pretzels at home. If I can do it, you can do it!
Today we are tackling Soft Pretzels! You and I, together, we’ve got this.
For when you really want one of those salty, chewy, mall-style pretzels but you don’t want to change out of your comfy pants and actually go to the mall. Side note, does anyone actually go to the mall anymore? Or are we all just shopping online now? Or am I the only who doesn’t leave my house for fear of being asked by an associate if they can help me with anything?
Anyway, Soft Pretzels! Yes, they are made with a yeast-based dough. Yes, they require bread flour rather than our standard all-purpose flour (more on that below). Yes, they require a bath before we can bake them (more on that below, too). But while these things may sound a little foreign and scary, especially if you usually stick to cookies 🙋🏼, there’s actually nothing very complex about making pretzels, once you get down to it. The hardest part for me was just figuring out how to twist my dough into an actual pretzel shape.
Let’s get to it, and remember, for extra help you can always check out my step-by-step video at the bottom of the recipe (and leave me a comment with any questions!)!
The Best Flour for Making Soft Pretzels
I really recommend that you use bread flour rather than all purpose when making soft pretzels. Bread flour has a higher gluten content, which in this case yields softer and chewier soft pretzels than you could expect with all purpose flour.
With some recipes, you can get away with using all purpose flour in place of bread flour (I often do in my popular pizza dough recipe), but I really recommend using bread flour for this soft pretzel recipe.
How to Twist a Pretzel
It’s easier to show you than it is to explain in writing, but I’ll give it my best shot. Start by taking your rope of pretzel dough and form it into a “U” shape. Cross the ends over one another, then cross again (see first and second picture, below). Next take your crossed/twisted ends and fold them down over the bottom of the pretzel (third picture, below).
The Importance of a Baking Soda Bath
Before we can bake our soft pretzels, we have to give them a bath. A baking soda bath, to be specific. You’ll bring 8 cups of water and ¼ cup (yes, cup) of baking soda to a boil in a large pot and boil each pretzel in this solution for 60 seconds. Yes, it’s extra work, but it’s going to help give our soft pretzels their shiny brown appearance and their chewy texture. It’s what’s going to make our soft pretzels actual soft pretzels!
It’s this brief alkaline bath that encourages your soft pretzels to brown more quickly and develop that crisp exterior and chewy interior. It’s what gives them their signature brown exterior. Traditional/professional soft pretzel makers often actually boil their pretzels in lye (which is much more alkaline) and some people like to bake their baking soda before boiling it to make it more alkaline. That’s a bit more time consuming and I’m perfectly happy with the brief baking soda bath I use here, but more power to you if you want to give that a shot!
Anyway, the moral of my rambling is: skip the baking soda bath and you’ll end up with pretzels that look and taste much more like pale, dull, twisted breadsticks (like a garlic-less Garlic Knot), and much less like glorious mall-style soft pretzels. If you’re a baking nerd like I am, you might find this article interesting, I thought it was an enjoyable read that also covered some of the science behind this process!
While I enjoy a good savory soft pretzel dipped in mustard, you probably won’ be surprised that at the mall I always go for cinnamon sugar pretzels instead. I included instructions in the notes below so you can make your own cinnamon sugar pretzels at home if you prefer sweet to savory, too (my people… 💜)!
Enjoy!
I hope you will check out my Soft Pretzel video at the bottom of the recipe! If you enjoy watching, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel where I’ve already uploaded over 100 recipe videos that you can watch for free!
Homemade Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
- 3 cups bread flour plus additional as needed (375g+)
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar tightly packed
- 2 ½ teaspoons instant/rapid rise yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup hot water between 110-115F (43-46C)
For rising/boiling/baking
- Olive or canola oil for bowl
- 8 cups water
- ¼ cup baking soda (yes that is correct, ¼ cup)
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 Tablespoon water
- Pretzel salt or coarse sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Combine bread flour (3 cups/375g), brown sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer that’s been fitted with a dough hook. Stir until combined.
- Add melted butter and water and stir on low speed until completely combined. Continue to stir until a smooth elastic dough forms that clings to itself and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Dough should be slightly tacky but not unmanageably sticky. If needed, stir in additional bread flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time (I often need to add 1-2 additional Tablespoons).
- Lightly brush a large bowl with olive oil and place your dough ball into oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and then place in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes/until doubled in size (the top of my oven is usually quite warm while preheating, so I’ll usually turn on my oven to 450F/230C at this point and place my dough on top).
- Preheat oven to 450F/230C and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Once pretzel dough has finished rising, transfer dough to a clean, lightly floured surface and divide dough into 10 even pieces.
- Roll each piece of dough into a long thin rope (mine were about 20-24” long!) and twist into a pretzel shape (see photos in post [above] or demonstration in video [below] for example). It's easy to roll the dough between your palms while stretching. You may also roll it with your palms against a clean surface, don't flour the surface very much or it will be difficult to work the dough.
- Combine water and baking soda in a large deep dish (I like to use a Dutch oven) and bring to a boil. Once boiling, gently lower each pretzel into the boiling water/baking soda mixture. Boil for 30 seconds on each side then drain and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pretzels, spacing at least 1 ½” apart.
- Whisk together lightly beaten egg and 1 Tablespoon water and brush over each pretzel. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt or pretzel salt, as desired (see notes for instructions on making cinnamon sugar soft pretzels).
- Transfer to 450F (230C) oven and bake for 9-12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool several minutes, then enjoy. Pretzels are best enjoyed warm the day they are made.
Notes
To make Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels:
Do not top your pretzels with salt and bake as indicated. Meanwhile melt ¼ cup salted butter and stir together ½ cup sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Once pretzels have finished baking, allow to cool for several minutes then brush generously with butter and sprinkle generously with cinnamon/sugar.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Becca
HELP! My dough came out beautifully. It all went downhill from there. I boiled them and put them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Brushed them with egg wash and sprinkled salt on. I baked them 12 minutes and they looked great. When I tried to pick one up, it was stuck to the parchment. I mean really stuck. So stuck that when I pulled it off, the underside of the pretzel was left on the sheet. I thought maybe I tried to take them off while they were to hot but I waited 15 minutes and tried again and they were still just as stuck. I pried them off and tried one. They were still doughy and rubbery/gummy. So I transferred to another clean piece of parchment, and put them in the oven for another 10 minutes. It didn’t help much. I flipped them over to finish cooking the other side and they cooked but still had that rubbery/gummy texture. What did I do wrong?
Sam
Hi Becca! That’s really interesting. I have never seen this happen. I wonder if maybe there wasn’t enough flour in the dough, or maybe there was an issue with the parchment paper you were using. It seems very odd that you would be able to boil the pretzels and then they would stick to the parchment paper so much. 🙁
Kathy Howarth
Making pretzels now. Dough seems very dry. Is this normal. Been rising for 30 minutes and nothing is happening. Can you help.
Sam
Hi Kathy! The dough shouldn’t be incredibly dry. You can see what it looks like in the video. If it’s not rising your yeast may be dead. 🙁
Miriam Rose Blanar
Oh my goodness! These were the best pretzels ever! I made some last week from a different site as part of a baking challenge and they were meh… BUT THESE!!!! These are so delicious and the best ever!!!! So much better than the other site!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much Miriam! We’re so happy you like our pretzels and very much appreciate your five star review 😊
Erin
Mine turned out pretty thick, had to bake them an additional 10 minutes, and they are still overly chewy. I substituted butter for olive oil, 1/3 the flour for whole wheat flour, and didn’t roll them as long. What was my biggest mistake?
Sam
Hi Erin! Unfortunately, all of these substitutions could lead to this issue. 🙁
Krissany Tauber
I’ve made these several times and they turn out perfectly every single time! I’m planning to try them as sticks today for a party so we have more to go around! I’ve also frozen these and then reheated in the oven and it works beautifully
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Great idea! We hope they turn out wonderfully for you, Krissany! 😊
Ryan Harris
Letting the dough rise now and i noticed there are some dry areas in the dough and i also see small clumps of brown sugar and was wondering if this is normal thanks.
Sam
Hi Ryan! I don’t think the dry spots will cause any problems and the small clumps of brown sugar are fine. I hope you love them! 🙂
Luanda manzie
Hey Sam,
1st your are awesome on so many levels. I have learned so much from you. I have been following you for 3 yrs and I don’t regret any day..
Sam
Thank you so much, Luanda! I’m so glad you have enjoyed everything so much! 🙂
Nick
Thank you for this recipe.. I am just leaning a new hobby (I got a mixer, with no previous experience). Two batches with your recipe turned out perfectly, and I’m learning how to experiment now.
Crystal
I use all of your cookie recipes and I can’t wait to use your this one! You are hands down the best! Would this recipe work if I make them into bite size?
Sam
I am so glad you have enjoyed everything so much, Crystal! You could make little bite size pretzel pieces if you’d like. 🙂
Cavet
Outstanding!! When your 23 year old daughter says: Dad those are better than the pretzel place that charges $6.00! We have a winner ! Thank you again I always use you recipes for something I haven’t made before!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them so much! I am honored to be your go to for new adventures. 🙂
Ali
Attempted these today. Amazing!!! Can’t believe I made professional level bakery pretzels at home. Your recipes are amazing and they work every single time. I made 1 salt and 8 cinnamon. I much prefer the cinnamon ones.
Sam
Yay! So glad they turned out so well for you, Ali! I’m glad you have been enjoying my recipes. As for the sweet vs savory pretzels, I much prefer the cinnamon ones myself, too 😉
Ji-Ha
Sam! These are so incredibly good!!!!!! I was also always hesitant about using recipes that included the use of yeast, but thanks to you, I am no longer afraid! Thanks again for another wonderful recipe!!! Love your blog and recipes!!:D
Sam
I am so glad you enjoy them so much! 🙂
Ji-Ha
Hello again!:) I just had some questions about freezing these before baking.
1. Is it ok to freeze the dough?
2. If so, should I freeze them before the baking soda bath?
3. Then when it comes to baking the frozen ones, should I be thawing them in the fridge before baking them?
I’m excited to make these again, but wondered if I could just bake the ones I would eat right away and keep the rest for some other day? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!:)
Sam
Hi! So honestly I have never frozen them but I think it should be totally fine to freeze and I would freeze after the baking soda bath personally. You could probably bake right from frozen, they’ll just likely need more time in the oven. I hope that helps! 🙂
Julie
Hi! Can I put this dough recipie into a bread machine vs. a kitchen aid? Thank you!
Sam
Hi Julie! I’m honestly not sure how it would work in a bread machine. It could be worth a shot. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
Leah
Hi there! I just made this recipe in my bread machine and it came out perfect!
Just place the ingredients in your bread machine pan in this order-
Water at 110-115°F
1/2 of the Flour
Salt
Other 1/2 of Flour
Brown Sugar (I sprinkled it on top of Flour)
Yeast
Then set your machine to dough setting. Mine goes for 1.5 hours so I turned it off with 30 minutes remaining on my machine.
Hope this works for you.
Brittany
Straightforward recipe!
I have tried your cookie recipes and they DO NOT disappoint!
Can I refrigerate the dough and bake the following day?
Thank you for all the tips and well-tested recipes!
Sam
Hi Brittany! I haven’t tried it but I don’t see any reason it wouldn’t work.
Brittany
Thanks for your reply!
I didn’t end up refrigerating them but they still came out great! I received many compliments and they were gobbled up by my friends at my boyfriend’s social distance birthday celebration.
Sam
That’s so awesome! I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them. 🙂
Maria
Hi there! I’ve been following you for a couple of months and I’ve done a couple of your recipes and this one is so good my kids loved the pretzels. The only thing I was having trouble was rolling the dough out lol, but other then that the pretzels were so good.
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed them, Maria! 🙂