Easy Homemade Soft Pretzel Recipe

No ratings yet

Easy Homemade Soft Pretzel Recipe

Soft and delicious homemade soft pretzels are easier to make than you think! The simple yeasted dough rests for just 10 minutes before shaping, and a quick baking soda boil is key to delivering that traditional pretzel flavor you're craving, no special equipment or skills required.

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 12 pretzels

Ingredients

SOFT PRETZEL DOUGH

▢ 1 and ¼ cups (300mL) warm water
▢ 2 and ¼ teaspoons (7g) active dry yeast or 1 packet
▢ 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
▢ 1 Tablespoon (15mL) olive oil¹
▢ 1 teaspoon salt
▢ 3 and ½ to 4 cups (420-480g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
▢ coarse salt for topping

BAKING SODA BATH

▢ ⅓ cup (80g) baking soda
▢ 8 cups (1.9L) water

Need to keep track of your ingredients?Check out my Printable Ingredient List!

Instructions

SOFT PRETZEL DOUGH

In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, whisk together the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar. Allow the mixture to sit for 5-10 minutes to proof.
1 and ¼ cups (300mL) warm water, 2 and ¼ teaspoons (7g) active dry yeast, 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
Once the yeast is proofed, whisk in the olive oil and salt, then add about 3 cups of the flour to the mixture.
1 Tablespoon (15mL) olive oil¹, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 and ½ to 4 cups (420-480g) all-purpose flour
Use a wooden spoon to stir everything together, or turn your mixer to low to begin blending the mixture. Add about ½ cup of flour to the bowl, then mix everything together. The dough should become slightly tacky and pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it is still too sticky, add about ¼ cup of additional flour, then 1 Tablespoon at a time, not exceeding 4 cups total, until the dough is tacky and bounces back when you poke it.
Use the mixer on medium-low speed (or your hands on a lightly floured surface) to knead the dough for an additional 5 minutes. If the dough becomes too sticky, add 1 teaspoon of flour at a time and incorporate into the dough until you have a soft and slightly tacky dough (it should feel like fresh PlayDoh).
Shape the kneaded dough into a ball, then cover it loosely with a kitchen towel and allow it to rest for 20 minutes (proceed to the next steps while it rests).
Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C), then line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set them aside.

BAKING SODA BATH

Prepare the baking soda bath in a large pot. Turn the heat to high to bring the mixture to a boil. You want it to be boiling before you get to step #4 of this section.
⅓ cup (80g) baking soda, 8 cups (1.9L) water
With a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or kitchen shears, cut the dough into 12 sections (about 70-75g each²).
Roll each section of dough into a 20–22" rope. Form a teardrop shape with the rope, then twist the ends together at the top of the tear drop (overlap them once, then give that overlap one more twist). Bring the twisted ends back down towards yourself and press them down gently to form a pretzel shape.
Drop one pretzel at a time into the boiling baking soda water for 20–30 seconds and no longer. Use a slotted spatula or spoon to lift the pretzel out of the water and allow as much excess water as possible drip off. Place the wet pretzel onto the prepared baking sheet, then repeat with remaining pretzels.
Sprinkle the tops of the pretzels with coarse salt, then bake them for 13–15 minutes or until dark golden brown (or desired darkness). Rotate the pans top to bottom halfway through baking.
coarse salt
Remove the pretzels from the oven and, if desired, serve warm with cheese sauce. Pretzels are best served on day one, but you can store leftovers at room temperature up to 3 days. We like to reheat ours in the air fryer. See notes section for making ahead^3,4 and/or freezing^5,6instructions.

Video

Notes

Olive oil: you can also use another kind of neutral oil, and you can even use melted butter. The recipe as written is vegan.
Section weights: I like to weigh my whole ball of dough so I know exactly how much each section will weigh. The 70-75g indicated is an approximation, but your dough may vary based on how much flour you added and the humidity in your kitchen.
Make ahead: make pretzels through shaping stage, leave off the coarse salt, and bake the pretzels as directed. Allow the pretzels to cool completely, then store them covered tightly at room temperature. When you're ready to serve them, place the baked pretzels on a baking sheet, brush them lightly with water, then add the coarse salt. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 5-10 minutes.
Make just the dough ahead: follow the recipe through the boiling step, then cover the pretzels tightly with oiled plastic wrap and chill them in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake them (up to 24 hours).
Freeze baked pretzels: cool the unsalted baked pretzels completely, then freeze them in an airtight container up to 3 months. To reheat them, brush the frozen pretzels with water and sprinkle with coarse salt, then bake them at 350°F (177°C) for about 20 minutes. There is no need to thaw them!
Freeze unbaked pretzels: flash freeze the shaped and bathed dough on the baking sheets, then store the shaped pretzels in an airtight container up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then proceed with the baking instructions.

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.