Soft Pretzels
These are the absolute best Homemade Soft Pretzels! They’re fluffy and buttery, baked up just like the ones you get at the mall, but made from scratch with no preservatives. The dough is very easy to make, and even kids can easily work with this recipe. Make this whole recipe in one hour!
Once you try these homemade soft pretzels, you will never bother with those mall pretzels ever again.
I used to love Auntie Anne’s and Wetzel’s Pretzels, and waited in some pretty long lines upon smelling that darned cinnamon sugar and butter wafting over from like 100 feet away, but these are SO much better.
Plus, it only costs a buck or two to make a WHOLE TRAY instead of just getting one kind of pretzel. Not to mention there aren’t any artificial ingredients or preservatives when you make them yourself. And all the ingredients are the simple ones that you’d expect, like flour, yeast, water, and salt.
Tips for Best Results
Use instant rise yeast – At the grocery store you can buy “active dry yeast” or “instant rise yeast” (sometimes also called “quick rise yeast”). They are the same price, and I always recommend the instant rise, which is what we’ll use here.
Make sure the yeast is fresh – Yeast does expire, so make sure those packets haven’t been hanging out in your pantry for too long. Check the date, and try to use newer yeast.
Be patient – This entire recipe, even with rise time, should generally take an hour, which is really fast for bread. However, if your kitchen is cold and the dough has not doubled in size during the 30 minute rise, give it another 15 minutes.
I love prepping a fresh batch of these easy homemade soft pretzels on football game-watching days, along with a fresh pan of Buffalo Chicken Dip and Baked Chicken Wings. So good!
More Flavor Options
The default here is to simply brush with butter, and enjoy these soft pretzels “plain” with butter and salt. However, here are a few more flavor ideas.
Cinnamon Sugar – In my 100% Whole Wheat Version of these pretzels, I share a cinnamon sugar coating that is wonderful.
Garlic Parmesan – Use the sauce from my Garlic Parmesan Wings for brushing the outside, for an extra flavorful garlic parmesan butter.
Buffalo – When the pretzels come hot out of the oven, brush with Buffalo Wing Sauce and serve with Blue Cheese Dip.
Orange Honey Butter – When hot out of the oven, brush the pretzels with Homemade Orange Honey Butter.
Step by Step Overview:
I have a full video on how to make the pretzels, as well as a quick visual photo overview.
Start by making a simple yeasted dough, made with flour, water, instant yeast, salt, and sugar, then shape it into a ball.
You can make the dough in the bowl of a stand mixer, using the dough hook attachment, or you can make it by hand!
Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes in a warm place, to let the dough rise and double in size.
The yeast will work its magic and create these gorgeous bubbles that will give us the rise and fluffy texture we want.
Make-ahead option
If you wish, you may keep the risen dough in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Make sure to cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap.
When ready to bake, simply proceed with the recipe as usual, cutting and rolling the pretzels.
Divide up the dough into 8 equal pieces, then roll each one into a long rope.
Shape the thin ropes into pretzels by looping the rope through the hole above.
The ends of the rope should end up on the bottom. See the video as needed.
Dip each pretzel into a baking soda bath, which is simply warm water with baking soda. This provides flavor, and will also brown the baked pretzels, much like an egg wash makes baked goods golden brown on the outside.
Then finally, sprinkle each pretzel with coarse sea salt or pretzel salt, and send them into the oven on a prepared baking sheet that’s either greased, covered with parchment paper, or covered with a silicone mat.
Let the Excess Water Drip Off
Let the excess water drip off the pretzels before putting each piece of dough on to a large baking sheet. You don’t want the pretzels to be too wet, or they may stick to the tray, even if it’s greased.
You may also place the pretzels on parchment paper or a silicone mat to ensure this isn’t an issue whatsoever.
Bake the pretzels until golden and puffed, then brush with melted butter while hot, or any other sauces or coatings you’d like.
See the box toward the beginning of the post for flavor ideas, but I think the best soft pretzels simply have butter and a good coarse salt, with cinnamon sugar being a close second. I love getting to appreciate their flavor and chewy texture.
How to Serve
These are great hot out of the oven, either with plain butter and salt or one of the flavor options I suggested above.
You can also try serving with Homemade Nacho Cheese Sauce, marinara sauce, honey mustard, or even Basil Pesto.
For something sweet, try the icing on my Overnight Cinnamon Rolls or homemade Caramel Sauce.
More Snacks that Pair Well
If you’d like to make a nice spread of homemade snacks with these pretzels, I recommend Buffalo Garlic Knots, Homemade Corn Dogs, and Jumbo Garlic Knots.
Bacon Wrapped Jalapeños, Homemade Mozzarella Sticks, and Homemade French Fries are also fantastic.
Tips and FAQ
Let cool completely, then keep at room temperature for 1 day, in the fridge for 1 week, or in the freezer for 2 months.
Yes, in an airtight container for up to 2 months. Let them cool first before freezing.
Warm in a 300F oven for 5 minutes. Add an extra 3 minutes if reheating straight from frozen.
Yes, keep the risen dough in the fridge for up to 24 hours.
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!
Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 2.25 tsp instant or "quick rise" yeast
- 1 cup warm water 110 degrees F
- 1 tsp sugar
- 12.5 oz all purpose flour, by weight (2.5 cups, if measuring)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
For the Topping:
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- oil for greasing the sheet pan
- coarse sea salt for sprinkling
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Combine the yeast, warm water, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer*, and let sit for 10 minutes until foamy. This indicates the yeast is alive and working. Add the flour and salt. Mix with the dough hook by hand for a few seconds to roughly combine, then fit the hook and bowl on the mixer and knead on medium low for 5 minutes. The dough should feel soft and smooth, not sticky to the touch.
- Cover the dough and let rise for 30 minutes, until doubled in size. If your kitchen is cool, you made need closer to 45 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450F, and lightly grease a baking sheet with oil. You may also use parchment paper or a silicone mat to prevent sticking.
- Place the dough onto a lightly oiled countertop. Divide the dough into 8 pieces (just cut it with a knife or bench scraper).
- 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 10 minutes until the pretzels are golden brown. Brush the pretzels with the melted butter while they are hot out of the oven. Enjoy while they are hot, and keep in mind these don’t taste as amazing the next day. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
Post updated in December 2017. Originally published 2011.
450 Comments on “Soft Pretzels”
Mine turned out awesome!
I was strolling through the comments, and I see a question that doesn’t appear to be answered (although, I often miss these things!). I am not proud of this, but I know next to nothing about making bread, so I am also curious – Is there any reason you have the dough rise in a ziploc bag instead of in the bowl? Does sealing the bag make a difference?
btw – I love the pictures & the way you explain the details!! 🙂
Hi Dawn, Someone else asked this before and I think I’ve answered this, but there are over 200 comments so no problem if you missed it. I always try to put doughs in ziploc bags because it keeps it from drying out, more so than if you just put a towel on top. I had one person report that the first time she made these she didn’t let it rise in a ziploc bag and it wasn’t as good as when she did, though I personally have never made it without letting it rise in a ziploc. Hope that helps!
First let make it clear I am in no way a cook but have made these several times and they were so good. When I first made them I didn’t have any zip lock bags so I sprayed waxed paper with Pam and wrapped it around the dough and had no problems, I have done it that way every time and they always come out good 🙂
I reviewd previously, but noticed everyone’s comments on the plastic bag. I have made these several times now and I just put my dough in an oiled bowl, with plastic wrap over it and it comes out perfect. By the way, my son keeps hounding me for these. Ha Ha
Cool, good to know your results, thanks for sharing!
Totally awesome, thanks for sharing your method with us all!
I just made these tonight. They were AMAZING. All I had was the dry active yeast, but they still turned out wonderful! I will be making these over and over again. Thanks for sharing.
Thank for this recipe, it was so easy! I’ve always been intimidated by yeast, but thanks to you my fear is over! The pretzels were amazing, everyone loved them! 8 is the perfect amount, not to many, not to few, just perfect 🙂 thank you for this site!
After looking at these for 3 months now, I finally made them today. Wow, is all I can say!!! They are easy, hardley any waiting and delicious!!! I have never had a soft pretzel and I probably won’t try any other because you can’t beat these. Thanks so much for the wonderful blog and recipes. I follow you almost everyday.
I only have salted butter will that make too big of difference?
Nah, salted butter will work just fine. You can just add less salt sprinkled on top.
Just made those after finding the recipe on Pinterest. They are delicious. Easy recipe and easy to follow instructions. Am going to try your peanut butter cups next!
That’s great, so glad you enjoyed the pretzels so much!
I made these last night with my grandchild. They are great. Made half cinnamon, half salt. They are wonderful. Thank you
Colleen, that is wonderful you spent some time in the kitchen with your grandchild. Glad you enjoyed the pretzels!
These were easy and Amazing! I only had kosher salt so I used 1 tsp kosher salt instead of sea salt and they turned out great!
I made this recipe a little bit ago and they were super tasty but a lot fluffier than the ones in the picture. I’m wondering if i needed to roll them thinner or do something else..
You must have some super mighty yeast! haha. Or maybe you developed a really strong gluten web for some really great rising. Yes, you could try rolling them thinner next time. Glad you enjoyed them!
I made these after looking over several pretzel recipes and these just seemed so much simpler than all the others. I am so glad that I made these first, they were so good. I made them last night for a New years eve party and they were a huge hit! Thank you so much for this great recipe, this one is a keeper in my house.
That’s great, Stephanie! So glad they were a hit!
I’m wondering if you have ever doubled the recipe? I made these for my family and they were fab but went way too quick. I’ll give it a try but thought I’d see if anybody else had already…? Thanks thanks for the fantastic recipe!!
I have never tried it, and I’m not sure if anyone else here has tried (I was hoping someone would say they have). If you try it, please let us all know.
These are amazing! I got a stand mixer for Xmas and this was the first thing I tried and they are SOOOOOO GOOD!!! Thanks for the post. I can’t wait to use more recipes with my new loved tool!!!
Woohoo! That’s great Amy. Enjoy your stand mixer!
could one use the frozen bread dough for this recipe?
Hi Christina, I suggest you make the pretzels from scratch, don’t worry, you can do it!
These turned out to be a big mess and had to toss it in the trash!
Then you screwed it up.
Haha awesome response! 🙂
This Recipe looks really good but i don’t have a Stand Mixer, could I do it by hand?
Isabele, many have made this by hand and have reported successful results.