Easy, Super Soft Homemade Pretzels
My first successful homemade pretzel venture came from Jessica’s Homemade Soft Pretzel on SprinkleSomeSugar.com. Since finding success with those pretzels, I have tried several other recipes and adapted them to create my own. I found a few simple tweaks really helped these pretzels rise to perfection. (And, fun fact: they’re Bavarian approved by my sister who lives in Southern Germany!)
I hate trying to scroll through recipe blog posts that are covered with ads, so you get the recipe right off the bat, right at the top of the post! If you want to print it, here is the PDF:
Now for the details.
These easy, super soft, homemade pretzels will take about an hour from start to finish - maybe a little less if you’re a more efficient baker than I am. Our house is busy and I’m easily distracted!
Supplies:
A medium sized, microwave safe bowl
A stand mixer with hook attachment
A lightly greased medium to large sized bowl (you’re going to want one big enough for the dough to about double in size)
A damp towel or plastic wrap
A clean , smooth surface - for rolling the dough
A medium sized pot
A lightly greased baking sheet
Ingredients:
Pretzel Dough
4.5 tsp active dry yeast (or two packets)
1.5 cups warm water
3/4 cup warm milk
3 Tbsp butter (melted or room temp)
2 tsp honey
2 tsp salt
6 cups all purpose or bread flour
Baking Soda Bath
1 Tbsp baking soda per 1 cup water
Topping
coarse salt
melted butter (approx 5 Tbsp)
Directions
Combine water, milk and honey in a medium sized, microwave safe bowl. Microwave in 30 second increments until it feels bathtub warm. (If it’s too hot to the touch, it’s too hot for your yeast!) Once the mixture is warm, sprinkle yeast on the surface and let sit for 10 minutes, until yeast is growing and frothy.
Add salt and 5 cups of flour to the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the hook attachment. Mix on low, gently adding the yeast mixture. Add the sixth cup of flour gradually until dough forms and is not sticky.* Continue to knead for 5 minutes.
Test your dough - if you can poke it with your finger and make an indentation that slowly bounces back without sticking to your skin, you’ve nailed it.
Lightly grease a medium to large sized bowl. Place the ball of dough in the bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let it rest for 15 minutes.
In a medium sized pot, bring water and baking soda to a gentle boil. I typically do 8-10 cups of water, so that would be 8-10 Tablespoons of baking soda.
Once boiling, lower heat to medium/medium low, and preheat oven to 450°F.
After dough has rested and risen (it should have about doubled in size), divide into 16 pieces, and shape the pretzels.
Have fun with the shapes! The classic pretzel shape is always good, but you can also make hamburger buns, Mickey Mouse heads, birds, braided breadsticks, and more.
Dip pretzels into the pot for a soda bath in small batches. Let simmer about 30 seconds. Then, using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer to a lightly greased baking sheet.
Sprinkle with coarse salt while still wet. If they dry out too fast, you can always spritz them with a little water.
Bake 9-11 minutes, until golden brown.
Once they’re out of the oven and your house smells like heaven, brush with melted butter and enjoy!
*Note: The climate I live in is quite dry and warm, plus Utah is a high elevation state. Depending on your climate, weather, elevation, etc, you may need to add more or less flour to get the right consistency. Do the finger press test described in step 2!
These pretzels are best served fresh out of the oven, but if you do have leftovers, just store them in a gallon zip-lock freezer bag or other airtight container.
The rest of my family is just fine to eat these pretzels plain, but I have to have a dip or other spread with my pretzels!
I recommend a cheese dip, like this one from TheBlackPeppercorn.com. You could also try:
Cream cheese
A fancy mustard
Extra butter
Honey mustard sauce
Whatever you choose to pair your pretzels with, you can’t go wrong.
If you’re still reading this, here’s the backstory of why I got into making pretzels:
I’ve always been a semi-fan of soft pretzels. I’ve tried soft pretzels from several places and they’re always okay, but nothing that knocked my socks off. I am, however, a complete sucker for fresh bread. There is nothing like hot, fresh bread. When I finally got into making my own bread, I started getting curious about whether I could try something more complex, like pretzels. Maybe they’d be better homemade, too!
It wasn’t until my sister got married that I finally decided to pull the trigger.
My brother-in-law is from Bavaria, in Southern Germany. When he and my sister came to the States to visit in the early days of their marriage, I thought I’d try making soft pretzels for them.
The pretzels were a huge hit and now that I’ve created a recipe I absolutely love, I can join the ranks of “official pretzel super-fans” - as long as they’re the soft, homemade kind.
Thank you, Holly and Markus! You’ve created a monster ;)
Look how cute these little bird pretzels turned out!!
Let me know what you think of this recipe and what kind of dip you love with them in the comments!
