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May 30, 2014

Perfect Soft Pretzels

These Perfect Soft Pretzels are so chewy and delicious! Made with just a handful of basic ingredients, you’ll want to make homemade soft pretzels all the time!

These Perfect Soft Pretzels are so chewy and delicious! Made with just a handful of basic ingredients, you'll want to make homemade soft pretzels all the time!

How to make Homemade Soft Pretzels

I don’t know about you, but we LOVE pretzels! And while we have nothing against crunchy pretzels… they just don’t compare to chewy and delicious soft pretzels. So today I’m teaching you exactly how to make them with this easy recipe! It uses basic ingredients and a foolproof method! I just know you’re going to love them!

Today I'm teaching you exactly how to male Perfect Soft Pretzels from scratch! You won't believe how easy it is!

More Soft Pretzel Recipes:

  • Bacon and Cheddar Stuffed Jalapeno Soft Pretzels
  • Heart Shaped Chocolate Dipped Soft Pretzels
  • Ham, Swiss, and Jalapeno Stuffed Pretzels
  • Mozzarella Stuffed Rosemary and Parmesan Soft Pretzels

Today I'm teaching you exactly how to male Perfect Soft Pretzels from scratch! You won't believe how easy it is!

These Perfect Soft Pretzels are so chewy and delicious! Made with just a handful of basic ingredients, you'll want to make homemade soft pretzels all the time!

3 votes

Print

Perfect Soft Pretzels

Prep 30 mins

Cook 25 mins

Inactive 1 hour

Total 1 hour, 55 mins

Author bakerbynature

Yield 8 Soft Pretzels

These Perfect Soft Pretzels are so chewy and delicious! Made with just a handful of basic ingredients, you'll want to make homemade soft pretzels all the time!

Ingredients

For the Dough:

  • 1 1/2 cups very warm water (115 degrees fahrenheit)
  • (1) Package Rapid Rise Yeast
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 1/4 cups bread flour
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft

Cooking Liquid:

  • 8 cups water
  • Scant 1 cup baking soda

Egg Wash:

  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

For the Dough:

  1. In a medium bowl combine the water, yeast, sugar, and salt; let sit for 5-8 minutes, or until foamy.
  2. In the body of a stand mixer using the hook attachment add the flour, butter, and foam mixture and beat on medium speed for 12 minutes, allowing the hook to knead the dough.
  3. Cover the dough with a warm, moist towel, and let rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
  4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
  5. In a large, wide pot combine water and baking soda and bring to a boil.
  6. While the water is coming to a boil, roll out your pretzels!
  7. Divide the dough into 8 pieces, trying to make them as equal as possible. Roll each piece out into a long rope (about 16 inches) and then shape into a U. Fold each end of the U over each other to achieve the perfect pretzel shape. Press the ends together, pinching the dough together well.
  8. One at a time, place pretzels into boiling water and cook for 25 seconds before removing with a slotted spatula and transferring to the prepared baking sheet.
  9. Brush the tops and sides of each pretzel with the egg wash. Add salt here if you like.
  10. Place pan in the oven to bake for 13-15 minutes.
  11. Transfer pretzels to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Courses Dinner

Cuisine American

 

977 Shares

Filed Under: Appetizers, Snacks Tagged With: Perfect, Soft Pretzels

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Baby June says

    May 30, 2014 at 5:24 pm

    Those look awesome! I love soft pretzels, but when I tried making them at home they didn’t look nearly as good πŸ™‚ Will have to try again I guess! πŸ˜›

    Reply
  2. Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says

    May 30, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    They’re so pretttyyyy!!!

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      May 31, 2014 at 2:41 pm

      YOU’RE so pretty!

      Reply
  3. Kathryn says

    May 30, 2014 at 8:13 pm

    These are total pretzel perfection!

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      May 31, 2014 at 2:40 pm

      Thank you, girl! We thought so too πŸ˜‰

      Reply
  4. Medeja says

    May 31, 2014 at 11:49 am

    Your pretzels really look perfect! I wish I knew how to make them like that πŸ™‚

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      May 31, 2014 at 2:41 pm

      Just follow the directions and I promise you can πŸ™‚ xo

      Reply
      • Kathy says

        January 24, 2017 at 3:50 am

        Doing them tonight! The dough is Delicious.. I added more sugar to dough!

        Reply
  5. Laura (Tutti Dolci) says

    May 31, 2014 at 10:32 pm

    These are gorgeous and they certainly look perfect!

    Reply
  6. Millie l Add A Little says

    June 1, 2014 at 5:37 am

    Loooove soft pretzels! I’ve only made them once and they turned out slightly tough, but these look so soft and fluffy and delicious!

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      June 1, 2014 at 1:32 pm

      The key is to keep the rope thickish and not to over boil // over bake πŸ™‚ I know you can do it!

      Reply
      • Lydia says

        July 26, 2017 at 5:23 pm

        What do you mean by Scant baking soda?

        Reply
  7. marcie says

    June 1, 2014 at 2:27 pm

    These definitely look like the perfect soft pretzel — a must try!

    Reply
  8. Joyce says

    February 27, 2015 at 5:29 pm

    What temperature did you cook them at in the oven?

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      February 27, 2015 at 5:32 pm

      Hi Joyce. As noted in the method, you’ll preheat your oven to 450 degrees (F), then bake them at that temperature πŸ™‚

      Reply
  9. Eleanor says

    March 23, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    Could these be done with whole wheat flour?

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      March 23, 2015 at 10:49 pm

      Hi Eleanor. I’ve never tried, but I imagine you could sub in at least half of the flour with whole wheat and get pretty decent results. If you use all whole-wheat I think they’ll come out pretty dense. Please let me know how they come out if you decide to experiment with the whole wheat flour πŸ™‚ xo

      Reply
  10. KC says

    March 29, 2015 at 12:37 am

    Thank you for the recipe! I made some this afternoon, and they were delicious!! πŸ™‚

    Reply
  11. Ed S says

    April 24, 2015 at 2:12 pm

    When I make soft pretzels I find that it is good to let them rise again after you form the dough into the pretzel shape, for about 15-20 minutes. Your recipe has a couple of things I want to try next time. Thanks for the ideas.

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      April 24, 2015 at 3:07 pm

      Hi Ed. I’ll have to try letting my pretzel dough rise next time and see how it turns out πŸ™‚ Thanks for the tip!

      Reply
  12. Aline Spear says

    April 24, 2015 at 11:50 pm

    I just made these as a surprise for my boyfriend, pretzels are his favorite food! And this is by far the best recipe I have come across! It’s tasty and I used my food processor for 45 seconds and the dough came out just right. I’m looking forward to trying your other recipes.

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      April 27, 2015 at 3:30 pm

      Hi Aline. I’m so happy these were a hit! Thank you for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed this recipe. And what a nice girlfriend you are πŸ™‚ xo

      Reply
  13. Quinn says

    April 25, 2015 at 8:11 pm

    I don’t have a standing mixer (and, therefore, no dough hook). Can this be achieved using normal hand kneading?

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      April 25, 2015 at 8:39 pm

      Hi Quinn. I’ve honestly never tried, but my guess is yes. That said, you will need to have your muscles ready – the dough needs a LOT of kneading. About 15 minutes by hand.

      Reply
  14. Alannah McLean says

    April 26, 2015 at 6:34 pm

    Just a note, you never put in the directions to mix the egg and water for the egg wash. Some people might not know to do that. (: Mine are cooling right now can’t wait to eat them with my cheese dip!

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      April 26, 2015 at 11:10 pm

      Hi Alannah. Thanks for pointing that out! I’m going to fix that now. Enjoy your pretzels πŸ™‚

      Reply
  15. Abby E. says

    April 26, 2015 at 10:49 pm

    I do not have one of those expensive mixers. Just a hand mixer. How can I do step 3? I went and got ingredients for this recipe, but should have read the steps more thoroughly.

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      April 26, 2015 at 11:10 pm

      Hi Abby. Although a hand mixer will not be able to knead the dough, you can do it by hand. That said, it will take about 15 minutes, so have your elbow grease ready πŸ™‚

      Reply
  16. Liz says

    February 21, 2016 at 7:59 pm

    A hand mixer even with the dough hooks doesn’t work, on my 3rd try, kneaded by hand this time, I really wanted to make these, dough is rising…

    Reply
  17. Scott says

    December 27, 2016 at 5:16 am

    Can you clarify how much baking Soda to use. I cup?

    Reply
  18. Jess says

    December 27, 2016 at 5:25 pm

    These are amazing. I used a bread machine for the dough and they turned out great. I made one into a test bun and am now eating my lunch on it! Delicious.

    Reply
    • Kim Euna says

      July 12, 2020 at 10:55 pm

      Hi. The recipe is amazing. I’ve tried it once but the ones that i made tasted bitter at some parts of the pretzels. Do you know where i might do wrong?

      Reply
  19. AMORE says

    December 29, 2016 at 5:37 pm

    How much baking soda are you using? 1 cup is too much. Someone Please?

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      December 29, 2016 at 6:21 pm

      1 cup is the correct amount and what I use.

      Reply
  20. Ariana says

    May 25, 2017 at 7:29 pm

    Great soft pretzels! I used 1 cup white flour and 3 1/2 cups white whole wheat. I kneaded the dough by hand and it was not hard at all.

    Reply
    • bakerbynature says

      May 26, 2017 at 12:43 pm

      So glad they were a hit, Ariana! And thanks for letting us know you made them by hand!

      Reply
  21. Marie says

    July 11, 2019 at 3:38 am

    I’m not a great cook, but I was able to make these and they turned out fabulously! I did make the water too hot the first time so I had to try again making sure to check the temperature.

    Reply
  22. Melissa says

    December 7, 2019 at 2:48 am

    Love this recipe! So easy to follow and they turn out great! I actually stuffed them with pepperjack cheese and they are the best!

    Reply
  23. Nina says

    April 7, 2020 at 4:24 pm

    Hi,
    (1) Package Rapid Rise Yeast what will the equivalent be in measurement? As i have a pack of 500g yeast.. really would like to give this a try.

    Thanksss πŸ™‚

    Reply

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Meet Ashley

Hey! I’m Ashley, a creative spirit with a major sweet tooth. Most days you can find me in my happy place: the kitchen. If I’m not there, I’m probably snapping photos of food, planning a party… or dreaming about my next trip to Paris (AKA my favorite place in the entire world). I’m a story teller, recipe developer, and photographer who firmly believes that a homemade life is a happy life. Learn More.

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