Soft Pretzel Recipe
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A homemade soft pretzel makes a delicious treat! A crisp, buttery, and salty outside encases a tender inside in this family favorite pretzel recipe.
My family is a bit obsessed with soft pretzels. While my husband and I have loved them for as long as we each can remember, Sam was first introduced to them on a trip to Walt Disney World. The look in his eyes with his first bite had us both determined that we had to make pretzels for him at home.
My husband is the one that is our official pretzel maker though. For over six weeks, he worked on making the the best ones he could make and perfecting his pretzel making skills.
I have to tell you, we loved them all, but were happy being his taste-testers as he kept working on the recipe. I’m happy to be the beneficiary of something so delicious without any of the work! But they always disappeared before I could snap a photo of them. Imagine that! Ha!
While making your own soft pretzels at home may seem intimidating, don’t let it be! There is definitely a process to be followed in making them, but the steps aren’t complicated at all!
I thought it might be helpful to show step-by-step photographs of the process and grabbed my camera as my husband made his soft pretzel recipe yesterday. I had to snap fast, especiallyof the finished pretzels since there were hands reaching for them even as I did!
How to Make Soft Pretzels Step-by-Step
The easiest way to make your pretzel dough is to knead it with the dough hook of your stand mixer. Once all of the flour has been well combined, turn your mixer to medium speed and knead for 7 – 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and tacky but not sticky to the touch. Don’t rush this step. The smoother your dough, the easier your pretzels are to make!
Of course, if you don’t have a stand mixer or prefer to knead your dough by hand, you absolutely can! You’ll just want to add about 10 more minutes to the kneading time.
Pour your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for about 5 turns. Then, place into a buttered bowl to double in size. The time that it takes for the dough to double in size will depend on many things – temperature, humidity, etc. – but generally takes about 1 hour – 1 1/2 hours.
Once your dough has doubled in size, divide it into eight to twelve even pieces.
Form into pretzels and place on a parchment lined baking sheet where the parchment has been lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray.
Bring your baking soda and water to a low simmer in a 4-quart saucepan. Place pretzels, only one at a time, into the saucepan. Initially they may sink to the bottom of the pan, but will rise slowly. Once they have risen, remove them back to the parchment lined baking sheet using a slotted spoon to drain them. Allow to dry completely, about 5 minutes.
Once the pretzels have dried, brush them with melted butter and generously sprinkle them with sea salt. Bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.
And devour!
Here’s my husband’s Soft Pretzel Recipe. I think you’ll love them as much as we do!
Soft Pretzel Recipe
Ingredients
Dough:
- 1 1/4 cups (284 g) water
- 1 teaspoon (4 g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons (4 g) yeast
- 1/2 cup (99 g) granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (4 g) Kosher salt
- 4 – 4 1/2 cups (480-540 g) all-purpose flour
Water Bath and Finishes:
- 1/2 cup (115 g) baking soda
- 4 cups (908 g) water
- 1/4 cup (57 g) butter, melted
- sea salt
Instructions
Dough:
- Heat water to 110º – 120º F in a in a medium glass bowl in the microwave. Stir in one teaspoon granulated sugar until it dissolves. Sprinkle the yeast into the water and sugar and allow to sit for about 5 minutes to foam as it proofs.
- While yeast is proofing, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and 3 cups of the all-purpose flour in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer.
- Pour yeast mixture into the flour, sugar and salt mixture. Stir mixture together until all of the flour is well incorporated, being sure to get all of the flour incorporated from the bottom of the bowl. Add another cup of flour and stir together until well combined.
- Using the dough hook on your stand mixer, knead the dough, adding flour 1/4 cup at a time until the the dough forms a ball and does not stick to the bottom of the bowl.
- Turn the mixer to medium speed and knead for 7-10 minutes. The dough should be tacky but not sticky.
- While the dough is kneading, prepare a medium glass bowl by coating lightly with butter.
- Remove dough from mixer and knead together about 5-7 turns. Form the dough into a ball and roll in the butter bowl to make sure that all of the dough is coated. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm, dry place free of drafts to rise until it has doubled in size. The time will depend on your environment at the time of rising, generally 1 1/2 hours.
- Spray parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Once dough has risen, remove dough from the bowl and divide into 8 – 12 even pieces using a bench scraper or knife. Roll into about 24 inch logs and then shape into pretzels. Repeat until all pretzels are formed.
Water Bath and Finishes:
- Add baking soda to water in a 4-quart saucepan over medium low heat. Bring to a simmer. Add pretzels, one at a time to the water. It may initially sink to the bottom and rise as it is ready to be removed. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pretzel from the saucepan and place on the parchment lined baking sheet to dry completely, about 5 minutes. Repeat until all pretzels have been bathed in the baking soda water.
- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- Brush with butter, sprinkle generously with sea salt and bake 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to rest until easy to handle. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
Which denomination of sugar should I use first??? 1/2 cup or the 1tso?
You will add the ingredients in the order they are listed in the recipe. Add the one teaspoon sugar to the heated water, then sprinkle in the yeast. While that is proofing, stir together the 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and flour. Hope this helps.
I’m making these for the first time and everything went perfectly and exactly like your post until I put a pretzel in simmering water with baking soda. My pretzel is not sinking and then rising. It is staying on top of the water. How do I know when to take it out? Thanks!
Kim,
It’s not necessary for the pretzel to sink. You just want to make sure the entire pretzel is covered with the baking soda/water solution. You can push the pretzel down into the water or turn it with a spatula to make sure it has been completely covered in the solution, then remove it to the parchment lined baking sheet to dry. Hope this helps and you love these pretzels as much as my family does.
Hello! If I may ask, what kind of baking soda do you use (may I use ordinary soda from supermarket) and how much in grams I should put in a water. I am afraid of spoiling original recipe if I will use normal soda.
I will be grateful if you can send me this information
regular baking soda in the baking section of supermarket
These look relish. I am making them for super bowl tomorrow. Doubt there will be any left, but for future reference what is the best way to store leftovers short term? Can they be reheated? What about freezing for long term? Thanks. Love your recipes!
Hi Trish,
Great questions! We keep a supply of these in the freezer for “pretzel emergencies”! Ha! We prepare the dough without the final step of baking and then flash freeze them on the parchment lined baking sheet for about 30 minutes. Then, we remove them and store them in a gallon zip top bag. To bake them once frozen, we remove the number we need from the zip top bag and bake them in a preheated oven following the directions. We add about 3-5 more minutes to the baking time if baking from frozen. Frozen, they should last about 30 days in the freezer.
For those that have already been baked, we wrap each one individually in aluminum foil and store in our bread box. Then, when ready to reheat, we pop them into the oven for a few minutes until they are heated throughout. They should only last a couple of days this way.
I hope that helps!
I am so glad you posted this, these pretzels look fantastic!
Aren’t you lucky that you have a husband who is into making THE best soft pretzels. I am envious. I would never
make these, but I sure would eat them. Perfect!
These look DELICIOUS.
They don’t sound too difficult to make.
Thanks for sharing.
Elizabeth
Thanks so much, Jess. His pretzels are out of this world! I hope you enjoy them!
These pretzels look so soft and puffy! I’ve made pretzel bites before and they were a huge hit, can’t wait to try your recipe. Pinned!