Soft Homemade Pretzels
Chewy golden pretzels with a soft center, glossy crust, and coarse salt.
- Measurements grams + cups
- Cuisine German-American
Why You'll Like This Recipe
- The baking soda bath is what makes them taste like pretzels rather than bread — it takes thirty seconds each.
- One rise, and the shaping is more forgiving than it looks.
- Best eaten within an hour of baking, which is rarely a problem.
Recipe
Soft Homemade Pretzels
Chewy soft pretzels with a glossy crust and coarse salt.
Ingredients
Ingredients scaled. The method below still refers to the original quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1. Mix the warm water, brown sugar, yeast, and melted butter in a large bowl.
- Step 2. Add the flour and salt and mix until a dough forms. Knead for 7-9 minutes until smooth.
- Step 3. Cover the dough and let it rise for 45-60 minutes, until puffy and nearly doubled.
- Step 4. Preheat the oven to 220 C / 425 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Step 5. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Roll each into a long rope and shape into a pretzel.
- Step 6. Bring the 2 L water to a gentle boil. Carefully add the baking soda.
- Step 7. Boil each pretzel for about 20-30 seconds, then lift out and place on the baking sheet.
- Step 8. Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse salt, and bake for 12-15 minutes until deep golden brown.
Notes
- Add the baking soda to the water gradually. It foams up considerably when it hits boiling water, and a whole quarter-cup at once will overflow the pot.
- Roll each rope longer and thinner than feels right — about 60 cm. Short thick ropes give doughy pretzels with no definition.
- Boil in batches of two. More than that and the water temperature drops.
Soft Homemade Pretzels — Simple Table Recipes · https://simpletablerecipes.com/recipes/soft-homemade-pretzels/
Ingredient Notes
- Baking soda for the boiling water
- This is the entire trick. The alkaline bath raises the surface pH, which accelerates browning in the oven and produces the distinctive pretzel flavour and mahogany colour. Skip it and you have bread rolls tied in knots.
- Coarse pretzel salt
- Coarse salt sits on the surface without dissolving. Table salt disappears into the crust and makes the whole pretzel taste salty rather than giving the contrast you want. Flaky sea salt is a reasonable substitute.
- Egg wash
- Brushed on after boiling, not before. It gives the glossy finish and helps the salt stick.
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl or stand mixer
- Large pot
- 2 baking sheets
- Parchment paper
- Slotted spoon
- Pastry brush
Substitutions
- Coarse pretzel salt
- Flaky sea salt works. For cinnamon sugar pretzels, skip the salt and brush with melted butter and cinnamon sugar straight out of the oven instead.
- Baking soda
- Food-grade lye gives the most authentic result but needs gloves and real care. Baking soda is the safe home version and gets most of the way there. Baking soda baked on a tray at 150 C for an hour becomes more alkaline and closes the gap further.
Storage & Freezing
Storing: Best within a few hours of baking. They soften and lose their crust overnight — refresh in a hot oven for 5 minutes.
Freezing: Freeze cooled pretzels for up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen at 180 C / 350 F for about 10 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you boil pretzels in baking soda?
The alkaline bath changes the surface chemistry of the dough. It speeds up browning in the oven, which is where the deep mahogany colour and the characteristic pretzel flavour come from. Without it you get pale, bread-flavoured knots.
How long should I boil pretzels?
Twenty to thirty seconds is enough. Longer gives a stronger flavour and a chewier skin, but past about a minute the outside turns slippery and can taste faintly soapy.
Can I make soft pretzels without boiling them?
You can bake them straight, but they will not be pretzels in any meaningful sense — no colour, no flavour, no glossy crust. The boil is the step that defines the recipe.
How do you shape a pretzel?
Roll a rope about 60 cm long, form a wide U, cross the ends over each other twice, then fold them down onto the bottom of the U and press to seal. Longer, thinner ropes give better definition than short thick ones.
Why did my pretzels turn out pale?
Either the boil was skipped or too short, or the egg wash was left off. Both contribute to colour, and the oven should be fully at 220 C / 425 F before they go in.
Can I use table salt instead of pretzel salt?
It is not a good swap. Table salt dissolves into the crust and makes the pretzel taste uniformly salty. Coarse pretzel salt or flaky sea salt stays as distinct crystals, which is the contrast you actually want.
Did you make this?
Let other people know how it went. One tap, nothing to fill in.
Thanks — that helps.
