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!
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
Perfect Soft Pretzels
Prep
Cook
Inactive
Total
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:
- In a medium bowl combine the water, yeast, sugar, and salt; let sit for 5-8 minutes, or until foamy.
- 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.
- Cover the dough with a warm, moist towel, and let rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees (F). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large, wide pot combine water and baking soda and bring to a boil.
- While the water is coming to a boil, roll out your pretzels!
- 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.
- 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.
- Brush the tops and sides of each pretzel with the egg wash. Add salt here if you like.
- Place pan in the oven to bake for 13-15 minutes.
- Transfer pretzels to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Courses Dinner
Cuisine American
Baby June says
May 30, 2014 at 5:24 pmThose look awesome! I love soft pretzels, but when I tried making them at home they didn’t look nearly as good 🙂 Will have to try again I guess! 😛
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
May 30, 2014 at 7:36 pmThey’re so pretttyyyy!!!
bakerbynature says
May 31, 2014 at 2:41 pmYOU’RE so pretty!
Kathryn says
May 30, 2014 at 8:13 pmThese are total pretzel perfection!
bakerbynature says
May 31, 2014 at 2:40 pmThank you, girl! We thought so too 😉
Medeja says
May 31, 2014 at 11:49 amYour pretzels really look perfect! I wish I knew how to make them like that 🙂
bakerbynature says
May 31, 2014 at 2:41 pmJust follow the directions and I promise you can 🙂 xo
Kathy says
January 24, 2017 at 3:50 amDoing them tonight! The dough is Delicious.. I added more sugar to dough!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
May 31, 2014 at 10:32 pmThese are gorgeous and they certainly look perfect!
Millie l Add A Little says
June 1, 2014 at 5:37 amLoooove soft pretzels! I’ve only made them once and they turned out slightly tough, but these look so soft and fluffy and delicious!
bakerbynature says
June 1, 2014 at 1:32 pmThe key is to keep the rope thickish and not to over boil // over bake 🙂 I know you can do it!
Lydia says
July 26, 2017 at 5:23 pmWhat do you mean by Scant baking soda?
marcie says
June 1, 2014 at 2:27 pmThese definitely look like the perfect soft pretzel — a must try!
Joyce says
February 27, 2015 at 5:29 pmWhat temperature did you cook them at in the oven?
bakerbynature says
February 27, 2015 at 5:32 pmHi Joyce. As noted in the method, you’ll preheat your oven to 450 degrees (F), then bake them at that temperature 🙂
Eleanor says
March 23, 2015 at 8:56 pmCould these be done with whole wheat flour?
bakerbynature says
March 23, 2015 at 10:49 pmHi 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 🙂 xo
KC says
March 29, 2015 at 12:37 amThank you for the recipe! I made some this afternoon, and they were delicious!! 🙂
Ed S says
April 24, 2015 at 2:12 pmWhen 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.
bakerbynature says
April 24, 2015 at 3:07 pmHi Ed. I’ll have to try letting my pretzel dough rise next time and see how it turns out 🙂 Thanks for the tip!
Aline Spear says
April 24, 2015 at 11:50 pmI 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.
bakerbynature says
April 27, 2015 at 3:30 pmHi 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 🙂 xo
Quinn says
April 25, 2015 at 8:11 pmI don’t have a standing mixer (and, therefore, no dough hook). Can this be achieved using normal hand kneading?
bakerbynature says
April 25, 2015 at 8:39 pmHi 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.
Alannah McLean says
April 26, 2015 at 6:34 pmJust 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!
bakerbynature says
April 26, 2015 at 11:10 pmHi Alannah. Thanks for pointing that out! I’m going to fix that now. Enjoy your pretzels 🙂
Abby E. says
April 26, 2015 at 10:49 pmI 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.
bakerbynature says
April 26, 2015 at 11:10 pmHi 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 🙂
Liz says
February 21, 2016 at 7:59 pmA 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…
Scott says
December 27, 2016 at 5:16 amCan you clarify how much baking Soda to use. I cup?
Jess says
December 27, 2016 at 5:25 pmThese 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.
AMORE says
December 29, 2016 at 5:37 pmHow much baking soda are you using? 1 cup is too much. Someone Please?
bakerbynature says
December 29, 2016 at 6:21 pm1 cup is the correct amount and what I use.
Ariana says
May 25, 2017 at 7:29 pmGreat 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.
bakerbynature says
May 26, 2017 at 12:43 pmSo glad they were a hit, Ariana! And thanks for letting us know you made them by hand!