How To Make Soft Pretzels

How to make soft pretzels with a 5-ingredient dough (vegan optional!) and super simple process. These homemade pretzels are beautifully browned, fluffy inside, with the classic pretzel chew. Plus, I’ve included several flavor pretzel varieties too!

The truth is, in the UK, pretzels aren’t a big deal …. yup, it’s true – Auntie Anne’s are around in many of the major cities, but in general, it’s not really ‘our thing.’ However, having just shared a recipe for Simit (a Turkish baked good that lies between a bagel and a soft pretzel), and recently a recipe for NY-style bagels, I suddenly had the urge for homemade soft pretzels and set my mind on learning how to make soft pretzels at home with a simple method.

Not only is this soft pretzel recipe simple – with just 5 basic ingredients (plus water and salt). It’s also surprisingly quick – with just 40 minutes of hands-on prep, which may sound like a lot, but is far less than some pretzel recipes call for. Best of all, it includes the step of the baking soda poaching – for that truly traditional pretzel flavor, color, and slightly chewy texture.

And, once I had the plain soft pretzels sorted, I couldn’t stop there! So I’ve even included several ways to adapt the recipe for flavored soft pretzels!

The Soft Pretzel Ingredients

• Flour: you can use white bread flour (chewier results) or all-purpose flour. If you’d like to use wholewheat, I suggest using a 50/50 mix of it with the all-purpose flour; otherwise, the soft pretzels can turn out quite dense. 
• Dry yeast: you can use fresh, dry, or instant yeast (I used dried). If you use active dry yeast, there’s no need to activate the yeast. Just make sure that if you’re using anything other than dry yeast, to convert it to the correct amount. 
• Olive oil: will yield a more tender dough.
• Salt: to flavor the dough.

• For Poaching: I used a combination of water, baking soda, and brown sugar (which is optional but adds more flavor).
• Coarse salt: for sprinkling over the pretzels
• (Optional) Egg white wash: this will help to make the top of your soft pretzels super shiny but is optional. You could also use dairy or non-dairy milk (this will help the coarse salt to stick, too).

Flavor Variations

• Butter: for more of that “Auntie Anne’s” flavor, you can brush the freshly baked soft pretzels with a little melted butter. 
• Cinnamon sugar pretzels: omit the flaky salt before baking (and eggwash). Once the soft pretzels are out of the oven, brush each with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. You can use about 1/2 cup sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon then taste and increase cinnamon if preferred.
• Chocolate coated pretzels: omit the flaky salt (or don’t for a sweet and savory treat). Once the bagels have cooled from the oven, melt your favorite chocolate (you can use dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate) and simply drizzle over the bagels back and forth with the back of a spoon. You could also spoon the melted chocolate into a plastic bag, snip off the very end and use that to drizzle.
• Everything pretzel: put that everything bagel seasoning to use by sprinkling it generously over the soft pretzels just before baking.
• Parmesan: sprinkle the parmesan on the bagels just before baking.
• Cheese pretzel: right after the soda bath, sprinkle some shredded cheese (cheddar, Monterey Jack, etc.) on the pretzels before baking.
• Jalapeño cheese pretzels: follow the above instructions for cheese pretzels but add a few thinly sliced pieces of jalapeno (or pickled jalapeño) and sprinkle with a little extra cheese over them. Alternatively, omit the cheese and place the jalapeno slices over pretzels with a little flaky salt.

How To Make Soft Pretzels

Step 1: Prepare the Pretzel Dough

First, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the yeast, warm water, and oil in a bowl and allow it to rest for a few minutes to activate and foam up a little.

Then add the yeast mixture into the large bowl with flour and mix it all together into a dough.

Step 2: Knead the Dough

You can do this in a stand mixer with a dough hook, using a hand mixer, a food processor with a dough blade, or even by hand (though that’ll take a bit longer and be more hands-on prep).

Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic (when stretching the dough, it shouldn’t break off). If you give the dough a poke, it should quickly bounce back – if the indentation stays, knead it a little longer.

In a machine, this can take as little as 5 minutes. By hand, it may take up to 15, so be patient.

Step 3: Allow the Dough to Rise

Place the dough in a greased bowl (I use the same one as before) and leave it to rest in a warm place for around an hour. During this time, it should double in size.

If you don’t live somewhere very warm, you can leave the dough covered in the oven with the oven light (but no heat).

Step 4: Shape the Pretzels

After proofing, gently deflate the dough, remove it from the bowl and divide it into 8 pieces.

I find it best to weigh the dough for the most accurate results, so my dough weighed 795g (28oz) and was separated to roughly 100g each (3.5oz).

Roll each piece into a rope around 60-65cm long (23-25 inches). Now It’s time to shape the pretzel.

Form each rope into a U shape on your kitchen counter and twist the two ends together a few inches from the top. Twist them a second time. Bring those twisted ends back towards the bottom of the U and press them down well to form the pretzel shape (refer to images/video).

Alternatively, you can roll out the entire dough to the rope length and cut it into 1 inch (2.5 cm) ‘strips’ – this will save you time rolling as you just need to then roll back and forth a couple of times to smooth the edges.

Keep any prepared pretzels under a slightly damp kitchen towel to stop the dough from drying out.

Step 5: Poach the pretzels

Meanwhile, as you shape the pretzels, get the baking soda bath prepared. Heat the water and sugar in a large pot – bringing it to a boil, then add the baking soda.

When you add the baking soda to the boiling water, it will react and bubble up madly – I use a high-side pan, so this isn’t an issue. However, you could also bring the baking soda and water to a boil together to avoid this. I’ve tried both methods, and they seem to work fine either way.

Poach each pretzel for 10 seconds on each side – carefully lowering them/lifting them from the water with a spatula, slotted spoon, or similar tool.

Be careful not to let them poach for longer than 20 seconds, though, or it can impact the flavor negatively.

Step 6: Bake them

After removing them from the poaching liquid, shake away excess liquid, and transfer the pretzels to a non-stick or parchment-lined baking tray (or silicone baking mat).

For a shinier coating, feel free to brush with a little egg white or milk (dairy-free is fine too) and sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake in a preheated oven for 12-15 minutes at 425ºF/220°C fan assisted (475ºF/240°C without fan). Keep an eye on them, so they don’t over-brown.

When they come out of the oven, feel free to brush them with a little melted butter for a closer “Auntie Anne’s” flavor.

How To Serve

There are tons of ways to enjoy your homemade soft pretzels, including eating them as is or with any of the following suggestions.

• Butter: enjoy the soft pretzels right out of the oven with a bit of butter or herby compound butter (or possibly even avocado butter).
• Condiments: to dip into mustard or ketchup or your favorite dips.
• Cheese: serve with melted queso, cream cheese, this labneh dip, etc. 
• Sweet: for a sweet treat, feel free to dip the homemade soft pretzels into chocolate dip (Nutella) or serve with the nut/seed butter of your choice and sliced bananas. 

Let me know in the comments what your favorite ways of enjoying these baked pretzels are!

How To Make Ahead and Store

Make ahead: the prepared pretzel dough can be stored in a covered bowl in the refrigerator for up to a day or wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw the dough in the refrigerator overnight and then allow it to come to room temperature and rise a little before continuing with the shaping and poaching. 

Store: allow the bagels to cool entirely before transferring to an airtight container or bag and storing for 2-3 days. Feel free to reheat the soft pretzels in the microwave (in 20-second spurts until warmed) or in the oven until warmed through. 

Freeze: the baked and cooled bagels can be frozen for up to two months. To reheat, bake the pretzels from frozen for 20-ish minutes at 350ºF/180ºC or until warmed through.

FAQs

Other Recipe Notes

• Make sure not to poach the pretzels for any longer than 20 seconds in the baking soda bath; otherwise, they can take on too much of a metallic flavor and become unpleasant. Not to mention it will also affect the pretzel crust and oven rising. 
• If you’re topping them with flaky salt, it’s best to allow them to sit out for 10-12 hours before storing – this will slightly dry them out before they are put away. Otherwise, I’ve found that the flaky salt can ‘melt’ into the pretzels.
• The water from the baking soda mixture can cause the soft pretzels to stick to the pan – so shake off any excess water and liberally spray/oil the pan or use a silicone baking mat.

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If you try this soft pretzels recipe, I’d love to hear your thoughts/questions below. Also, I’d appreciate a recipe card rating below, and feel free to tag me in your recipe recreations on Instagram @Alphafoodie!