Valentina's Corner
The BEST homemade Soft Pretzel Recipe. Crispy on the outside and chewy and soft on the inside, these pretzels are perfection! Serve these pretzels with your favorite dipping sauce for the ultimate appetizer or snack!
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Soft PRETZEL recipe-
This homemade pretzel dough recipe is truly amazing! The dough is so easy to work with and gives you soft, chewy and delicious homemade pretzels. Making homemade pretzels is so much easier than you think, you have to give this recipe a try.
| The secret ingredient that gives pretzels their taste is the water bath with baking soda. Without it, they would taste like bread. |
INGREDIENTS NEEDED-
You can make homemade soft pretzels with ingredients you most likely already have in the kitchen! All you need is:
- FLOUR– Measure out the flour then sift it, we love this large sieve.
- WARM WATER– The water should be about 110°F.
- YEAST– The yeast is what causes the dough to rise. You want to make sure you are using active dry yeast for this recipe.
- SALT– Brings flavor to the pretzel dough.
- SUGAR– Gives you that hint of sweetness.
- BUTTER– Melted butter will give you that smooth buttery texture to the dough.
- WATER BATH– Water and baking soda are what you need for the water bath. That is what gives the pretzels the crispy and crunchy exterior while keeping that soft and fluffy interior. It also gives them their unique flavor.
- EGG WASH– All you need is an egg and water for the egg wash.
- COARSE SALT– Top the pretzels with coarse salt for extra flavor.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE PRETZELS-
Follow along these simple steps to make the BEST batch of this homemade chewy soft pretzel recipe.
- PREP BAKING SHEET– Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a large 17-inch baking sheet with parchment paper.
- FLOUR– In a large bowl, or kitchen aid bowl attachment, add flour and salt.
- LIQUIDS– In a separate bowl, combine the warm water, melted butter, yeast and sugar and allow the yeast to activate for about 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into the flour and knead by hand or mix with the kitchen aid hook attachment until well combined.
- RISE DOUGH– Cover the dough and allow it to rise for an hour.
- WATER BATH– In a large pot, add the water and bring to a boil. Add in the baking soda and mix.
- SHAPE PRETZELS– Divide the dough into 12 parts and roll out each piece into about a 20-inch rope and twist into a pretzel. Repeat with all 12 pieces.
- BATHE PRETZELS– With a large strainer spatula, add two to three pretzels into the water bath for 30 seconds. Remove and place onto the baking sheet. Repeat with all the pretzels.
- EGG WASH– Brush the tops of the pretzels with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse salt.
- BAKE– Bake the pretzels at 450°F for 14-16 minutes, until golden and crispy.
- ENJOY- Enjoy pretzels with your favorite dipping sauce.
HOW TO SHAPE PRETZELS-
- Roll-out– Roll out each piece into a 20-inch rope. For a thicker pretzel, roll out to about 16-18 inch ropes.
- Create a U– Create a U shape with the rope.
- Cross-over– Cross the end and twist one time or two times.
- Shape– Fold the twisted ends over to create a pretzel.
DIFFERENT soft pretzel recipe OPTIONS-
What I love about this homemade soft pretzel recipe is that you can make this pretzel dough into several different types of pretzels.
- PRETZEL BITES– Once the pretzel dough is ready to be shaped just divide the dough into 40 pieces and shape it into small pretzel bites. Then continue with the same process just adjust the baking time to about 12-14 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
- CINNAMON PRETZELS– Prepare the pretzels according to instructions, just don’t top with egg wash and salt. After baking, brush with melted butter and dip into sugar and cinnamon mixture for the cinnamon sweet pretzels.
- DIFFERENT TOPPINGS– You can use other options instead of coarse salt. Try everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, or even just leave them plain.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS-
Yes! Prepare the dough and freeze for up to 3 months, just thaw the dough overnight in the fridge.
You can prepare the pretzel dough and cover it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up a day in advance.
You can opt out of the water bath and just top with the egg wash, but the water bath is what gives it that chewy and crispy exterior while still keeping that soft and fluffy interior. The baking soda in the water is what gives the pretzels their unique taste.
If you like pretzels, make an extra batch and freeze! They are perfect for freezing! Just add to an airtight freeze bag and freeze for up to a month.
Yes! Check out our pretzel dog recipe!
I hope you loved this recipe for homemade pretzels as much as our family does.
More breads to try:
Soft Pretzel Recipe
Ingredients
Pretzel dough-
- 1 ½ cups warm water, 110°F
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 4 cups all purpose flour, measured then sifted
Water bath-
- 8 cups water
- 1/3 cup baking soda
Topping-
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp water
- coarse salt optional
Instructions
Prepare Pretzel dough-
- In a bowl, or kitchen aid bowl attachment add the sifted flour and salt and mix.
- In a separate bowl, add the warm water, yeast, sugar, melted butter and mix. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes, allowing the yeast to activate. Pour the mixture into the flour.
- With a kitchen aid hook attachment or by hand, knead the dough until well incorporated.
- Cover the dough and allow it to rise for 1 hour.
Shape pretzels-
- In a large pot bring the water and baking soda to a boil.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once the dough has risen, flour workspace and add the dough onto the work space. Divide the dough into 12 equal parts.
- Roll out each piece into a 20 inch rope. Create a U shape, twist the ends twice and fold over creating a pretzel shape. Repeat will all 12 pretzels.
- Using a large strainer spatula, add 2-3 pretzels into the water bath for 30 seconds and remove and add the baking sheet. Repeat with all the pretzels.
- In a small bowl, combine the egg with water and using a pastry brush, brush the pretzels with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Bake the pretzels at 450°F for 14-16 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
- Enjoy pretzels with your favorite dipping sauce.