Best Homemade Soft Pretzels

These delicious soft pretzels are a snap to make, and so much tastier than the ones at the mall. Take a bite of a homemade pretzel, fresh out of the oven, and you’ll never go back.

The kids have entered a new stage in life, that I’m going to call The Always Hungry Phase. Even my rib-sticking Oatmeal-Cinnamon Waffles don’t fill them up like they used to.

(I can see my mom now, frowning through the computer screen. Yes Mom, I am feeding your grandkids. Don’t worry.)

These soft pretzels are delicious, filling, and you know exactly what’s in them. They have a little bit of crunch, and a soft, tender interior that tastes great with homemade cheese sauce, grainy mustard, and even spaghetti sauce. Yum!

Tools Used to Make Homemade Soft Pretzels

Here are the tools I recommend to make this recipe quickly and easily:

KitchenAid mixer: to knead the dough for you

Bench scraper: also called a pastry cutter; used to divide the dough

Spider: for putting the shaped pretzels into the boiling water

Half-sheet baking pans: please don’t use nonstick cookie sheets (here’s why)

Pretzel salt: it’s different from table salt and won’t melt when baked. You can substitute with kosher salt if necessary.

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More homemade recipes your family will love:

Incredible Orange Chicken

Caramel Corn without Corn Syrup

Perfect Copycat Rice-a-Roni

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How to Make Homemade Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, melted (half a stick)

2/3 cup baking soda

1 egg

Instructions:

Combine the water, sugar, kosher salt, and yeast in the bowl of your mixer. Swish with a fork to combine and let it sit for a few minutes.

Our house is pretty cold, so it’s hard to get yeast breads to rise in winter. If this is true for you also, turn your oven on to 200 degrees F and set the timer for 10 minutes—after that, turn the oven off. This will give your dough a nice, warm place to rise.

Sift the flour into a separate bowl. Once the yeast mixture has a few bubbles on top, add the flour and butter to the mixer bowl and mix on low with the dough hook until everything is combined. Then change to medium and knead for 4-5 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Is your oven off? If it’s been on longer than 10 minutes, shut it off and leave the door open for a bit.

Grab an ovenproof bowl and spray it with nonstick spray. Put the dough in, cover the bowl with a damp towel, and place in the oven to rise. After about an hour, it will double in size and look like this.

Bring it out of the oven and plop it on a clean, dry counter. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces using your bench scraper.

Pretzel Shaping Instructions

Roll each piece into a long rope. Reeeeeeally long…much longer than you think you’ll need. You’ll see why it needs to be so long when we twist it into a pretzel shape.

Start your pretzel by making a U with your dough rope.

Then cross the ends over each other…

cross them over twice more…

and stick the ends down with a dab of water. Shazam! You have a pretzel.

Fire up the oven again, this time to 450 degrees F. Fill a large pan half-full with water and bring to a boil and add the baking soda. Do this carefully–it will really fizz up.

Using your spider, slip the pretzels into the boiling water one at a time. Cook each one for 30 seconds, and then put them on a parchment-lined baking pan.

Make an egg wash by mixing one egg and a tablespoon of water. Once all of your pretzels are on the cookie sheet, brush them with the egg wash and sprinkle with pretzel salt.

Bake until dark golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. Then place on a wire rack for a few minutes until they’ve cooled down enough to eat!

Best Homemade Soft Pretzels

Yield: 8 pretzels

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

These delicious soft pretzels are a snap to make, and so much tastier than the ones at the mall. Take a bite of a homemade pretzel, fresh out of the oven, and you'll never go back.

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
• 4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2/3 cup baking soda
• 1 egg

Instructions

1. Combine the water, sugar, kosher salt, and yeast in the bowl of your mixer. Swish with a fork to combine and let it sit for a few minutes.
2. Our house is pretty cold, so it’s hard to get yeast breads to rise in winter. If this is true for you also, turn your oven on to 200 degrees F and set the timer for 10 minutes—after that, turn the oven off. This will give your dough a nice, warm place to rise.
3. Sift the flour into a separate bowl. Once the yeast mixture has a few bubbles on top, add the flour and butter to the mixer bowl and mix on low with the dough hook until everything is combined. Then change to medium and knead for 4-5 minutes, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
4. Is your oven off? If it’s been on longer than 10 minutes, shut it off and leave the door open for a bit.
5. Grab an ovenproof bowl and spray it with nonstick spray. Put the dough in, cover the bowl with a damp towel, and place in the oven to rise. After about an hour, it will double in size and look like this.
6. Bring it out of the oven and plop it on a clean, dry counter. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces using your bench scraper.

Pretzel Shaping Instructions

1. Roll each piece into a long rope. Reeeeeeally long...much longer than you think you'll need. You'll see why it needs to be so long when we twist it into a pretzel shape.
2. Start your pretzel by making a U with your dough rope. Cross the ends over each other, then cross them twice more, and stick the ends down with a dab of water. Shazam! You have a pretzel.
3. Fire up the oven again, this time to 450 degrees F. Fill a large pan half-full with water and bring to a boil and add the baking soda. Do this carefully--it will really fizz up.
4. Using your spider, slip the pretzels into the boiling water one at a time. Cook each one for 30 seconds, and then put them on a parchment-lined baking pan.
5. Make an egg wash by mixing one egg and a tablespoon of water. Once all of your pretzels are on the cookie sheet, brush them with the egg wash and sprinkle with pretzel salt.
6. Bake until dark golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. Then place on a wire rack for a few minutes until they’ve cooled down enough to eat!

Notes

These soft pretzels are delicious, filling, and you know exactly what's in them. They have a little bit of crunch, and a soft, tender interior that tastes great with homemade cheese sauce, grainy mustard, and even spaghetti sauce. Yum!

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

• 
  Norpro Stainless Steel Bench Scraper
• 
  Stainless Steel Spider Strainer with Natural Bamboo Handle
• 
  Hoosier Hill Farm Coarse Pretzel Salt, 2 lbs

What will you serve with your pretzels?