Homemade Soft Pretzels

Soft pretzels, hot out of the oven. I ate two.

This is a really good recipe. They don't taste like the pretzels you can buy at the mall. You know the place. (Psst! They're better!)


The recipe makes 8 big pretzels. Next time I'll make make them smaller, or maybe make pretzel sticks or pretzel nuggets. And I want to chop up some canned jalapeños and add it to the dough. These were brushed with melted butter when they came out of the oven and they didn't fare well overnight. They were kind of soggy and the salt melted away. Next time I'll have a few friends over so there won't be leftovers. Or, I could eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That would work.

There are some suggestions for topping variations on the recipe page.

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Homemade Soft Pretzels (adapted from here)

Pretzel Dough

10-12 ounces flour (about 2-1/2 cups)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp yeast

1 cup warm water (110°F to 115°F)

Topping

1/2 cup warm water

2 T baking soda

Kosher salt

3 T butter, melted

In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup water and 2 tablespoons baking soda. Bring to a simmer and stir to dissolve baking soda. Remove from heat and let cool.

Place flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and mix well. Change to dough hook and knead for 5 minutes or until dough is soft and smooth and no longer sticky. Put dough into a greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500°F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray, or alternatively, line a baking sheet with parchment.

Remove dough from bowl to a pastry mat. Divide dough into 8 pieces and let rest for 3 minutes. Roll each piece of dough into a long rope and shape into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel into the soda wash and place onto the greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with Kosher salt, then let rest for 10 minutes. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the pretzels are golden brown. Remove pan from oven and brush pretzels with melted butter.