Whole Wheat Pretzels
This Whole Wheat Pretzels recipe is made with 100% whole wheat flour! The soft pretzels are fluffy and delicious, and coated with cinnamon sugar. They may also be enjoyed plain, or with other coatings and dips.
Every time I post a bread recipe on Fifteen Spatulas, I almost inevitably get at least one person asking me this:
“Can I make this bread with whole wheat flour instead of white?”
Oh how this question would pain me, because I would have to break the bad news.
You see, you can’t just swap all purpose flour and whole wheat flour whenever you want, and expect the same results.
The reason it doesn’t work is because whole wheat flour has significantly less protein than white flour and bread flour, which means less gluten-developing ability. Which is why even for my Homemade Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns, we use a mix of both flours.
For recipes like Whole Wheat Pancakes or The Very Best Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies made with whole wheat, it doesn’t matter since we don’t want to develop gluten.
But with bread, gluten is practically everything.
It’s why we spend 10 minutes working that dough, so we can develop a big strong web of gluten-rich dough that can hold in the gas bubbles that the yeast make, and give the dough rise.
Translation: Without gluten, bread would be heavy and dense, instead of light and fluffy. The yeast would be producing its gas bubbles, but there would be nothing to catch and hold those gas bubbles in.
One of the most popular recipes on Fifteen Spatulas (and one of my personal LOVES) is Hot Buttered Fluffy Pretzels, and well, apparently today is my happy day because now if someone asks me, “Joanne, can I use whole wheat flour instead of white flour for this recipe?” I can say….YES!!!! Thanks to some super magical yeast =)
This super magical yeast I used is this Platinum Superior Baking Yeast. It has dough enhancers that strengthen the dough, and give the bread more rise and oven spring.
The minute I got my hands on some of this yeast, I knew I had to test out the Hot Buttered Fluffy Pretzels…made with 100% Whole Wheat Flour.
It turned out to be a total kitchen success. I discovered that I was able to make the soft baked pretzels entirely out of whole wheat flour.
Step by Step Overview:
These homemade pretzels are made in virtually the same way as my plain pretzels, but let’s walk through the process.
First make the dough by kneading together whole wheat flour, water, yeast, salt, and sugar.
I do this in the bowl of a stand mixer using the dough hook attachment, though you can also make it by hand.
Let the dough rise for a half hour or so in a warm place, and it should have some nice yeast bubbles inside, in between all the bits of whole grain.
Divide the soft dough into eight equal pieces, then roll each one into a long rope on a clean work surface.
Take each single rope and shape into pretzels (see this post for more photos). There should be no stickiness on your hands with this dough!
Dunk each of the whole grain pretzels into a baking soda wash, which is just warm water with baking soda mixed in.
Place each tied up piece of dough onto a baking sheet (I now prefer to line with parchment paper), and let rise for 10 minutes. It should puff up considerably. Then sprinkle on sea salt, if desired:
This time for the whole wheat version, I decided to make them cinnamon sugar pretzels.
It’s not that I don’t like the hot buttered ones…it’s just I’m crazy for cinnamon sugar tossed ANYTHING. Long ago when I’d go to the mall and get lured into the perpetually long line at Auntie Anne’s, I always got the cinnamon sugar one. Because that darned cinnamon smell in the air is what got me every time.
After baking the sheet pan in a 450 F oven for 9 or 10 minutes, until each pretzel is golden brown and puffed, toss each pretzel in cinnamon sugar after brushing with butter, so the cinnamon sugar mixture sticks to the buttered dough.
You can also stay savory by adding other coatings like sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or Everything Bagel Seasoning. Or you can dip into Nacho Cheese Sauce or a beer cheese dip of your choice.
Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!
Whole Wheat Pretzels
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 12.5 oz whole wheat flour, by weight (2.5 cups, measured)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 packet Platinum Red Star Yeast
- 1 cup very warm water 120-125 degrees F
For the Soda Wash:
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp baking soda
For the topping:
- vegetable oil for greasing the sheet pan
- coarse sea salt for sprinkling
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup sugar
Instructions
- Combine all the dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, and mix with the paddle attachment until somewhat combined (or just mix by hand with a wooden spoon). Change to the dough hook and knead on medium low for 10 minutes. The dough shouldn’t be sticky, just slightly tacky to the touch. Place the dough in a ziploc bag and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and lightly grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil. You could also do parchment paper if you can find one that’s rated high enough (most parchment papers I’ve seen only go up to 420 degrees F).
- Remove the dough from the bag and place onto a clean countertop. Divide the dough into 8 pieces (just cut it with a knife).
- Whisk to combine the warm water and baking soda and heat in the microwave for 1 minute. FYI it’s not going to dissolve completely, and that’s okay.
- Roll each of the eight pieces into a long rope, and shape each one into a pretzel (see the step-by-step photos on the blog post to see how to do this).
- Dip each pretzel into the soda wash and place onto the greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, then let them rest for 10 minutes.
- Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until the pretzels are golden brown, and prep the cinnamon sugar by whisking the sugar and cinnamon together. Brush the pretzels with the melted butter while they are hot out of the oven, then toss in the cinnamon sugar. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
434 Comments on “Whole Wheat Pretzels”
Mine were burnt and rock hard on the bottom:( is it possible to let them sit before baking for too long?
What type of pan are you using? Try looking into an airbake pan. Different cookie sheets can give vastly different results. The dough is consistent here, so the only cause of burning and hardness on the bottom is the oven heating too aggressively from below, which can be mitigated by a different pan.
I was looking for a WW pretzel recipe and found yours and am about to try it. I do have to suggest though that you check the science behind your explanation of why WW flour can’t be substituted for recipes developed with white flours. I am no expert but just a nerd about cooking science.
WW flour actually has a HIGHER not lower protein percent than white flour. I’ve seen several explanations about the qualities of WW flour that make it not rise as easily but it’s definitely not because of low protein. Ive read that WW flour absorbs more liquid and results in a stiffer /drier dough. Softer white flour has more starch and this takes up space between the gluten strands allowing for some air pockets. All these different qualities allow for easier rise of white flour. Ive read this can be overcome adding more liquid to WW dough, and/or by a rest or a second rise of a WW flour recipe.
Thanks for figuring out this WW recipe tweak for us!
Just wanted to know, can i make these into bites and if so how much should i reduce the cooking time??
Only half way done and already amazing!! Great recipe!
I made these and they are great! I used regular yeast and did a soak before, as well as adding vital wheat gluten. I put an everything bagel topping They are great! Question–how would you recommend freezing these? Or are they not good frozen?
I too want to use regular yeast. Could you give more specific instructions as to what you did differently? Thank you.
If you let the WW flour and the liquid ingredients soak for a few hours or up to overnight before adding the rest of the ingredients, you’ll find it softens quite a bit. Then, add in everything else and follow the recipe. With WW flour, you need to provide some extra gluten to aid the grains to bind. WW flour is higher in gluten but the bonds are different. The broad suggestion is 1.5 tsp per cup of WW flour. I hope that helps!
These look great! I’m curious to know if you have tried boiling them in the baking soda water, rather than just dip them in a wash?
Thanks!
I haven’t, but if you’re careful that would probably work fine and may give it a more bagel-like texture.
Quick question, isn’t 12.5 ounces of flour 1.5 cups rather than 2.5 cups??
That’s liquid measurement. It’s different for dry.
These look yummy! If I don’t have a dough hook can I make the dough in my bread machine?
My favorite bread of all-time is my mother’s home-made white bread.
Must one use the platinum yeast or is it just better with it.
i can’t wait to make the hot.buttery pretzels!! Have company coming & will try them out then!! My favorite dough to make is either pizza dough or sweet dough for homemade cinnamon rolls!! (My moms recipe)
Your recipe says that you use 12.5 ounces of flour, but then it says 2.5 cups… 12.5 ounces is only 1.5 cups though. How much flour is needed for this recipe?
My favorite bread is Cinnamon Swirl. I used to make this bread once a week for my family when I was 16 years old. I was the bread maker to save money since my dad was the only one that worked in a family of eight.
I love making homemade whole wheat bread, always have, to share with friends. Must admit, though, that I will be trying your whole wheat pretzel recipe to share with friends! I sure appreciate your discovery of the platinum Red Star yeast!
Hope you enjoy, Cheryl!
LOVE the little Hawaiian rolls…warm with honey-butter, as cheeseburger or pulled pork sliders, chicken salad sandwiches, or all by themselves!