Homemade Soft Pretzels
These homemade soft pretzels are the best of the best, with a chewy texture on the outside and an incredibly soft inside that melts in your mouth. They're a fun snack to make with kids. Plus, you can bake up huge pretzels, regular-size, soft pretzel bites, or even make pretzel dogs with this dough. They're perfect for afternoon snacks, movie nights, game days, or just because!
The Best Homemade Pretzels!
I am a bona fide soft pretzel addict. Whether it’s mall pretzels, a sporting event, or at a restaurant that's offering Oktoberfest specials, there's absolutely no question that I'm going to get a soft pretzel.
There's something so satisfying about that distinctive chewy exterior paired with the warm, soft interior of a pretzel that makes them irresistible. It's a snack food that transcends seasons. Whether you're enjoying a baseball game on a warm summer evening, partaking in Oktoberfest festivities during the fall, catching a hockey game in the dead of winter, or enjoying everything that's in bloom during springtime, soft pretzels are where it's at!
This is my third iteration of a soft pretzel recipe. My first attempt was nearly 15 years ago, and then I moved on to another recipe a few months later. I finally settled on this fabulous version from Alton Brown about 10 years ago, and it's the only one I've been making since. I've found that this recipe produces the softest, chewiest, most traditional-tasting soft pretzels that I've made to date.
Key Ingredients
This homemade soft pretzel recipe is broken down into four parts - the pretzel dough, the baking soda water bath, the egg wash, and the salt garnish. That may seem like a lot, but they're truly each so simple, and I'd bet you have most or all of these ingredients on hand at this very moment!
- For the Soft Pretzel Dough: You'll need warm water, light brown sugar, kosher salt, active-dry or instant yeast, all-purpose flour, and melted unsalted butter.
- For the Baking Soda Solution: You'll need just baking soda and water.
- For the Egg Wash: You need an egg yolk and water.
- For the Topping: You'll just need coarse salt to sprinkle on your baked pretzels.
Step-By-Step Instructions
It might not seem like it at first glance, but homemade soft pretzels are a relatively easy process and don't take very long as far as kitchen projects go. You'll be rewarded with some of the most AMAZING pretzels!
Step #1: Mix the Dough – Combine water, sugar, and salt; then add yeast. Once this mixture is combined, we'll let it sit for a few minutes until it "blooms" (i.e. the yeast starts to wake up and get foamy). Next, add flour and butter. This is all you need to make the dough!
Step #2: Knead the Dough – Knead the dough with a stand mixer and dough hook until it's soft, pillowy, and just slightly tacky. You can also knead by hand; it will take longer, and you’ll need some elbow grease!
Step #3: Dough Rise – Cover the bowl and place in a warm, draft-free spot until dough is doubled in size; usually 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Step #4: Prepare the Baking Soda Bath – Combine water and baking soda in a large pot, and bring to a boil.
Step #5: Shape the Pretzels – See the photos below and the video for step-by-step shaping details. It goes quickly once you get the hang of it if you've never done it before! You want to achieve that classic pretzel twist shape, so work slowly, careful not to tear the dough.
Step #6: Baking Soda Bath – The pretzels only need to be in the water bath for about 30 seconds, otherwise, they will take on too much of the baking soda taste. A quick dip, then remove with a slotted spatula. This is what “sets” the outside of the dough and achieves that characteristic soft pretzel flavor and chewy texture.
Step #7: Egg Wash and Salt – Brush the pretzels with an egg wash (or melted butter if you want more of a buttery flavor) and sprinkle with salt or whatever other toppings you might like.
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Step #8: Bake! – Less than 15 minutes in the oven, or until golden brown (or however done you prefer your pretzels!), let them cool for a few minutes, then dig in!
Serving Suggestions
These are wonderful served as a snack or appetizer with some tangy mustard (yellow, whole grain, or spicy brown would be delicious) or homemade cheese sauce, and some other of my favorite party dips, like:
- Buffalo Chicken Dip
- Homemade French Onion Dip
- Cream Cheese Fruit Dip
- Easy Spinach Dip
- Dill Pickle Dip
- Harry & David Dip
Pretzel Variations
Once you have this basic recipe down, you can use it to make all sorts of adaptations, including:
- Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzels
- Cheddar-Jalapeno Pretzels
- Pizza Pretzels
- Garlic Butter Pretzels
- Chocolate Chip Pretzels
- Nutella-Stuffed Pretzels
- Hot Dog Mummies (Kids will love this for Halloween! Wrap the risen dough around cooked hotdogs, and bake until golden brown. Top with salt and make a face using your favorite condiments!)
- I have also used this recipe to make pretzel bites, as well (recipe includes a spicy cheese dipping sauce, too!).
There are so many savory and sweet flavor options, and they’re all delicious!
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating Instructions
- Storage: Keep these homemade soft pretzels in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing Instructions: Wrap the baked and cooled pretzels individually in plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn. Then place in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or reheat from frozen following the instructions below.
- Reheating Instructions: Place the pretzels in a 350-degree oven or toaster oven for about 15 minutes, or until heated through. Alternately, you can also microwave until heated through.
Recipe Notes
You don't have to be an expert at baking with yeast to turn out some fantastic soft pretzels. Before long, you'll be twisting and shaping dough like a pro. If you've been nervous about working with yeast in the past, this recipe is a fabulous place to start, as it's basic, easy, and incredibly forgiving.
A few quick tips to help you make some ah-mazing pretzels!
- Yeast – Both instant and active dry yeasts can be used in this recipe. Even if I use instant, I still like to let the yeast sit with the water, sugar, and salt before moving on to the remainder of the recipe.
- Mixing Method – The dough can be made using a stand mixer or by hand, I have done both successfully.
- Size and Number of Pretzels – This recipe makes eight large pretzels. If you want slightly smaller pretzels, you can easily divide the dough into 12 portions instead. Check for doneness a couple of minutes early.
- Egg Wash – The egg wash on the pretzels gives them a little shine, and I find it softens the exterior a bit. For a more traditional taste, omit the egg wash and just use salt when the pretzels come out of the water bath. For more of an Auntie Anne's buttery flavor, brush the pretzels with melted butter when they come out of the water bath and again when they come out of the oven.
Watch the Recipe Video:
If you make this soft pretzel recipe and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Homemade Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
For the Pretzel Dough
- 1½ cups (360 ml) warm water
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry or instant yeast, 1 packet
- 4½ cups (585 g) all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, melted
For the Baking Soda Water Bath
- 10 cups water
- ⅔ cup baking soda
For the Egg Wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
For Topping
- Coarse salt, for sprinkling
Instructions
- Combine the water, sugar, and salt in a mixing bowl until the sugar and salt have dissolved, then sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to foam.
- Add the flour and butter. Use the dough hook attachment to mix on low speed until all of the ingredients are combined. Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 4 to 5 minutes. (Alternately, you can mix the dough with a wooden spoon until it comes together, then need by hand for 5 to 10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and just slightly tacky.)
- Place the dough in a clean, oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough has doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats; set aside.
- Combine the water and baking soda in a large, wide pot (a Dutch oven works perfectly for this). Bring the mixture to a boil.
- In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other twice and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Gently lower the pretzels into the boiling water, 2 at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large, flat spatula. Place the boiled pretzels back on the baking sheet, brush the top of each pretzel with the egg wash or melted butter (see notes) and sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Bake until dark golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving. Soft pretzels are best eaten fresh, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Yeast – Both instant and active dry yeasts can be used in this recipe. Even if I use instant, I still like to let the yeast sit with the water, sugar, and salt before moving on to the remainder of the recipe.
- Mixing Method – The dough can be made using a stand mixer or by hand, I have done both successfully.
- Size and Number of Pretzels – This recipe makes eight large pretzels. If you want slightly smaller pretzels, you can easily divide the dough into 12 portions instead. Check for doneness a couple of minutes early.
- Egg Wash – The egg wash on the pretzels gives them a little shine, and I find it softens the exterior a bit. For a more traditional taste, omit the egg wash and just use salt when the pretzels come out of the water bath. For more of an Auntie Anne's buttery flavor, brush the pretzels with melted butter when they come out of the water bath and again when they come out of the oven.
- Storage: Keep these homemade soft pretzels in an airtight container or plastic bag at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Freezing Instructions: Wrap the baked and cooled pretzels individually in plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn. Then place in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or reheat from frozen following the instructions below.
- Reheating Instructions: Place the pretzels in a 350-degree oven or toaster oven for about 15 minutes, or until heated through. Alternately, you can also microwave until heated through.
- Pretzel Bites: I have also used this recipe to make pretzel bites (recipe includes a spicy cheese dipping sauce, too!).
- Pretzel Dogs: I also use this same base recipe to make pretzel dogs – perfect for summer or to make with the kids!
- Recipe adapted from Alton Brown
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published in January 2013.
Photography by Dee Frances.
So anxious to try this recipe. I love pretzels!!!!!
Michelle can you make these without a stand mixer? I don’t think my hand mixer would hold up so I would have to do it by hand. They look amazing and would love to try.
Can you freeze after the baking soda bath and bake at a later date?
OMG! These were amazing! EXACTLY like what you can buy at Auntie Ann’s if you brush them with butter! We made our own honey mustard sauce for dipping and the experience was insane! Who knew you could do this so easily and quickly! And forming the pretzels felt like being in art class! Highly recommend! Note: I halved the recipe and made 4 large perfect pretzels. I also halved the water & baking soda mixture. Perfect for 2-4 people, depending how much you want to eat ;)
Delicious
Made your pretzels and loved them. Excellent and easy recipe
Hi Michelle! Do you think this recipe might be made with whole wheat flour? I am thinking to make it a bit healthier for diabetics or anyone wanting to eat whole grains. Thank you!
I don’t have a mixer w/dough hook. Can this be kneaded by hand?
Perfect every time. Best pretzel recipe there is
Can i use this recipe to make crisp bread sticks
Hi Ron, I’ve never tried that; if you do, let me know how they turn out!
Can I use table salt or sea salt if I don’t have Kosher salt?
Yes, but reduce the amount to 1.5 teaspoons.
I made this pretzel dough, and used it to make pretzel dogs. I just took the dough and cut one portion in half and rolled it out with rolling pin and then wrapped around Hebrew National. all beef hotdogs mostly because we had no buns and we were out of canned biscuits _which is what I usually use to wrap around hotdogs in a pinch. So the baked hot dogs with the pretzel wrap turned out nice and tasty, but the actual pretzels I made turned out looking horrible, though they tasted good. I had a very hard time rolling the dough into ropes as long as the recipe called for. So they didn’t hold their shape at all!! Though the pretzels looked disfigured, they tasted yummy! And the pretzel dogs were a hit with the hubby and kids!! THANKS
Use one third cup baking soda to ten cups water i love this recipe i know it by heart i use a egg wash with no water
The only recipe I use for my soft pretzels. They come out perfect!
I’m a beginner baker (at 73!) and just tried these pretzels for the first time. They are truly great, and I’ll make them again for sure. One question, though. My pretzels stuck severely to the parchment paper, and I had to discard some of the pretzel in separating. I did not use any spray oils in the pan or on the paper. Suggestions?? Thanks… Peter
It might be your parchment paper some paper can’t take the high heat
It happened to me
These are awesome. WAY better than the ones you get at the stands. You don’t even need mustard or cheese.
Wow!! These are absolutely incredible! No joke, best pretzels I have ever eaten in my life. And the recipe was so easy to follow. Thank you for consistently putting out such good recipes. I so appreciate you and your blog. <3 (Also, in case it helps someone in the future, I used bread flour and skipped the egg wash but followed the rest of the recipe exactly, and they came out great.)
I made these today but modified slightly with some garlic butter as well as making them smaller. They were soooo good. Easy to make too.
Have you ever used whole wheat all purpose flour? That’s all I had today so I’m trying it out. I’m a little nervous
Hi Kristine, I never have, let me know how it turns out for you!
Has anyone made this in a braided loaf
Third time making your recipe during the quarantine. Always a winner. Easy to follow and they come out perfectly! Fun for adults and kids to make. Thanks! We’ve done your beer cheese dip, a honey mustard dip, and a nacho cheese dip. All delish!
These were so good! And pretty easy to make. Can’t wait to make them again. Only thing is that they were a little difficult to roll out – any suggestions to make that easier next time?
Made my first pretzels using this recipe, I wanted to make them sweet so I added a tiny bit more sugar but that still wasn’t enough to make them sweet. In the end mine tasted more bready but they were still pretty good. This recipe makes a LOT of pretzels if not doing them so big, I think I made around 20!
I never comment on recipes but I just had to say these were amazing!! My parents told me it’s the best thing I’ve ever made! I’ve had a fair share of pretzels in my life (including authentic ones in Germany) and these may be the best I’ve ever had! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!!
Just finished my first attempt. They are delish. The one problem I ran into was while rolling them out. They kept shrinking up. Is there a suggestion you have to resolve this problem?
Let the dough rest 5 minutes just before rolling,
This recipe is so good!! What do you think about making them into pretzel rolls?
I have a major phobia of all things dough, but with all our time at home, decided we should try this receipe. It was great! It worked perfectly, the kids and even my husband had such a fun time shaping the pretzels, and they were RIDICULOUSLY good! thanks so much!
These turned out beautifully. I decorated with Easter sprinkles so they are salty with a trace of sweetness. Thank you for a keeper recipe. ❤️
Just perfect! I LOVE anything by Alton Brown (his sugar cookie recipe technique is the best ever…using powdered sugar to roll out, and then spatula to pan so shapes don’t fall apart!). I notice the Auntie Anne’s technique is to dip the pretzels in warm water/soda rather than boiling. I tried that and the pretzels were not as brown. I also saw a German recipe that called for freezing the pretzels before simmering. Such varied methods! In any event, my family has been absolutely in love with my efforts in pretzel making since our first try a week ago!
Just made these soft pretzels. Delicious! Dough was a little sticky when rolling, so I just sprinkled a tiny bit of flour on my work surface. Will make again! Will post a picture on Instagram.
My dough had small, hard chunks in it. I don’t know why. Are you supposed to actually mix in the yeast, or just let it sit on top?
Love this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing. First time I made them I took them to work to share. This time they’re for a work pal’s party- she requested I make them again! BTW, I live at 6,000 feet and didn’t change the recipe at all.
How would these differ without the baking soda bath?
Just made my first batch Friday with our 8 and 10 yr old granddaughters and had a great time with it all. Today I made a second batch, this time doing the bites. Have a question. Both times the water/baking soda turned brown before I finished boiling all of them. I continued, but it was a bit disconcerting. The first batch of boiling water also got very foamy before i finished. With the 2nd batch today the water did not get foamy, but still turned brown. What do you think might be going on? Made your dip Friday – LOVE the combo!!