This is one of the easiest ways to prepare homemade soft pretzels and the results are extra delicious. The soft pretzel dough only needs to rest for 10 minutes before shaping. The quick baking soda boil gives the pretzels their traditional flavor. Make sure you watch the video for how to shape pretzels!
Homemade soft pretzels are nothing new around here because this recipe has been a reader favorite for years. This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101 (which has become a New York Times Best Seller!).
The dough requires just 6 ingredients and there’s hardly any rise time, so not only are these easy, they’re pretty quick too. In fact, I remember feeling pleasantly surprised at the ease and speed the first time I made them—it took us only 30 minutes to make 1 batch!
Over the years, I’ve added a smidge of melted butter to the dough for improved flavor. Furthermore, we’ve introduced the baking soda bath. While it sounds strange, this step is what gives pretzels that iconic flavor, chewy texture, helps deepen their golden color in the oven, and locks in the super soft interior. If you get the water boiling ahead of time, it really only adds 5 minutes to the entire process.
We’ve also made them soft pretzel bites, soft pretzel knots (with various toppings), jalapeño cheddar pretzels, and soft pretzel rolls from this simple dough. There’s no wrong way to shape a pretzel, but let’s stick with the classic today. I promise you’ll no longer feel intimidated working with yeast, shaping pretzels, or the baking soda bath.
Even if you have zero skill in the kitchen, you can make these homemade soft pretzels.
Step-by-Step Photos
Let’s chat about the dough. You need the simplest, most basic ingredients possible and I bet each one is in your kitchen right now. Warm water, 1 packet of yeast, brown or regular granulated sugar, melted butter, salt, and flour.
Mix the yeast and sugar in the warm water, let it sit for a minute, then whisk in the butter and salt, then add the flour. You can use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment a big bowl and wooden spoon. Work with what you have in the kitchen. And if you need extra help with kneading, see my full How to Knead Dough video tutorial.
You don’t have to wait to let this dough rise for an extended period of time. Just 10 to 30 minutes does the trick. Don’t have a lot of time on your hands? This recipe is for you. If, however, you want to extend the rise time, you certainly could. Doughs that leave time for bulk fermentation (when the dough rises before shaping), typically have a more enhanced, developed flavor. In fact, some pretzel recipes require an overnight rise in the refrigerator. If you have the time for that, do it! However, I find a brief rise suitable for today’s pretzels, especially if I’m making them with younger bakers.
How to Shape Homemade Soft Pretzels
Now it’s time to shape.
Roll about 1/3 cup (75g) of dough into a long 20- to 22-inch rope.
Twist the ends and bring the ends down. That’s a pretzel!
Now drop the pretzels into the boiling water + baking soda. Let them boil for 20–30 seconds each, then place onto a baking sheet. This pretzel dough makes 12 regular-size soft pretzels, so I use 2 baking sheets. 6 on each.
Sprinkle with coarse salt and bake in a hot oven. That’s it, you’re done.
Make-Ahead Tip
If you are making pretzels in advance, do not top them with coarse salt before baking. The salt draws the moisture out of the pretzels, and once you’ve placed the baked and cooled pretzels in an airtight container or bag, it doesn’t take long before you’ll notice water droplets forming inside and the pretzels become soggy and wrinkled. Yuck!
If you won’t be serving the pretzels the same day you bake them, omit the salt-topping step. Bake as directed, then allow to cool completely before placing them in an airtight container, and store at room temperature. When you are ready to serve them, place the pretzels on a baking sheet and brush them lightly with water, then sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake them in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 5–10 minutes, or until warmed through.
Same goes for freezing homemade soft pretzels: wait to top with salt until you’re ready to serve them. Cool the unsalted baked pretzels completely, then freeze in an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. To reheat, brush frozen pretzels (no need to thaw) with water and sprinkle with coarse salt, then bake at 350°F (177°C) for 20 minutes or until warmed through.
And if you want to kick your soft pretzel status into major high gear, add some spicy nacho cheese sauce.
Print
Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 pretzels
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is one of the easiest ways to prepare homemade soft pretzels for beginners, and the results are extra delicious! The dough is a family recipe and only needs to rest for 10 to 30 minutes before shaping. The quick baking soda boil gives the pretzels their traditional flavor, and I do not recommend skipping it. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water (around 100°F/38°C)
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 and 3/4–4 cups (469–500g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
- coarse salt, for topping
Baking Soda Bath (See Recipe Note)
- 1/2 cup (120g) baking soda
- 9 cups (2.13L) water
Instructions
- Whisk the yeast and sugar into warm water. Cover and allow to sit for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the melted butter and salt. Add 3 cups (375g) of flour. Mix with a wooden spoon (or dough hook attachment if using a stand mixer) until combined. Add 3/4 cup (94g) more flour until the dough is slightly tacky and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If it is still sticky, add up to 1/4 cup more (31g) flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, as needed. Poke the dough with your finger—if it bounces back, it is ready to knead.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 3 to 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 3 to 5 minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Shape the kneaded dough into a ball. Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rest for 10 to 30 minutes. (Meanwhile, I like to get the water + baking soda boiling as instructed in step 8.)
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Silicone baking mats are highly recommended over parchment paper. If using parchment paper, lightly spray with nonstick spray or grease with butter. Set aside.
- With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into 75g sections, which is about 1/3 cup of dough each.
- Roll the dough into a 20–22-inch rope. Form a circle with the dough by bringing the 2 ends together at the top of the circle. Twist the ends together. Bring the twisted ends back down towards yourself and press them down to form a pretzel shape.
- Bring baking soda and 9 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Drop 1–2 pretzels into the boiling water for 20–30 seconds. Any longer than that and your pretzels will have a metallic taste. Using a slotted spatula, lift the pretzel out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off. Place pretzel onto prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pretzels. If desired, cover the boiled, unbaked pretzels with lightly oiled plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking (step 9).
- Sprinkle the tops of the pretzels with coarse salt. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until dark golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and, if desired, serve warm with spicy nacho cheese sauce.
- Cover and store leftover pretzels at room temperature for up to 3 days. See Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions in recipe Notes below for more storage info. To reheat, microwave for a few seconds, or bake at 350°F (177°C) for 5 minutes.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: If planning to freeze fully baked pretzels, do not top them with coarse salt before baking. Cool completely, then freeze in an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. To reheat, brush frozen pretzels (no need to thaw) with water and sprinkle with coarse salt, then bake at 350°F (177°C) for 20 minutes or until warmed through, or microwave frozen pretzels until warm. The prepared pretzel dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to one day or frozen in an airtight container for 2–3 months. Thaw frozen dough in the refrigerator overnight. Refrigerated dough can be shaped into pretzels while still cold, but allow some extra time, about 1 hour, for the pretzels to puff up at room temperature before continuing with the baking soda bath and baking. You can also freeze the boiled, unbaked pretzels and here’s how: after boiling the pretzels in step 8, place them on a lightly greased parchment paper- or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet. Freeze the pretzels for about 1 hour, then transfer them to an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top bag (squeeze out as much air as possible from the bag before sealing) and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, brush frozen pretzels (no need to thaw) with water and sprinkle with coarse salt, then bake at 400°F (204°C) for 15–20 minutes or until dark golden brown.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Stand Mixer or Glass Mixing Bowl | Wooden Spoon | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Pizza Cutter | Large Pot (such as a Dutch oven)
- Baking Soda Bath (Step 8): The baking soda bath is strongly recommended because it helps create that chewy texture and distinctive pretzel flavor. If skipping, brush the shaped and unbaked pretzels with a mixture of 1 beaten egg + 1 Tablespoon of dairy or nondairy milk. This is known as an egg wash. Sprinkle the brushed pretzels with salt. The egg wash will help the salt stick. If you don’t have an egg, simply brush with 2 Tablespoons of dairy or nondairy milk.
- Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels: Skip the coarse salt topping (and skip the egg wash, see note above, if you aren’t doing the baking soda bath step). Bake as directed in step 9. Meanwhile, melt 4 Tablespoons (56g) of unsalted or salted butter. Brush the baked and warm pretzels with melted butter, then dip the tops into a mix of cinnamon and sugar. I usually use 3/4 cup (150g) of granulated sugar and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Cinnamon-sugar pretzels taste best the day they’re made because the melted butter topping causes them to become soggy after a few hours.
- Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
Reader Comments and Reviews
For a moment there you scared me because I was like who deep fries a prezel? lol I only thought this because Of th image in the video before you press play.. I remember making Homemade prezels when in school for baking class . I am 45 years old now and long since forgot the recipe. I forgot much of the great recipes I learned because most of my life was spent homeless. So now I am not an settled in a fairly decant apartment . I been looking for things to bake.
Hello! I’ve tried this recipe a few times and it’s amazing
Question~ can I make the dough ahead of time and leave it in the fridge maybe overnight? Then shape the next day and bake
Recipe is easy and pretzels are very tasty. I have made these at least six times over the past few months, as they have been a favorite of everyone. My only problem is storage – storing them in an air tight container but the salt kind of melts – what have ai done wrong. How can I store them so they will keep that right out of the oven look and keep the salt.
Are you storing them before they cool completely? That will cause the container to become humid and the salt will absorb the mositure. I bake mine without salt. I brush them with butter and add salt after they come out of the oven, but only the ones I intend to eat right away. You could also use a little water instead of butter. Pretzels stale pretty quickly so it is recommended to freeze them once cooled.
Leave them out for 12ish hours till they’re slightly dry. Then put them in a air tight container and they’ll redistribute the moisture and should be good to go.
So simple and delicious! My 10-year-old made this all by herself and they turned out great. Our family devoured them and we will definitely be making them again.
This recipe got us through the middle of quarantine. I brushed them with melted butter after taking them out of the oven. Also made some without salt and brushed them with butter and then cinnamon and sugar after removing from the oven. Amazing!
I tried this tonight, exactly as the recipe said, but the pretzels came out very dry and rock hard. Too bad…
Oh also my grandma can’t have yeast so do you have any ideas of what we could use instead of yeast ?
I loved this recipe ! My pretzels turned golden brown on the 12 minute mark , I got them out and let them cool for 5 minutes before I ate them which made them crunchier. One thing I do recommend is maybe adding 4 and a half cups of flour because the dough was pretty sticky at first, another suggestion I have is using more than 1/3 of dough because the bigger the better !! Overall I loved this recipe and would give it a 10/10
Hi Sally! I’m new to your site and have made a few things so far and love it all. Question: I had a hard time creating the pretzel shapes. The dough would shrink on me soon as I was working with it. Any suggestions?
Absolutely wonderful recipe! They pretzels were easy to make an so delicious. They also stayed fresh for a few days in a plastic bag on the counter. Love them!
I tried this recipe and the look was on, but it was so salty! I only used the teaspoon recommended in the recipe, but is it possible the baking soda is what I tasted?
This was amazing!!!
We made them from your cookbook, they were honestly the best pretzels ever! Even our mom who usually buys them from the box admitted that they tasted so much better!
First time ever making pretzels. Wow! These were so delicious with the cheese sauce. Thanks
I did this with my almost 5 year old! It was fun and we loved the finished project! They didn’t turn out perfect but I’m attributing that to user error and they were definitely delicious. Thank you for another great recipe!
I made these tonight and they came out wonderfully! Thank you for this awesome recipe–I felt so fancy making homemade pretzels!
I made this recipe exactly as listed and it turned out PERFECT! It was my first time attempting to make pretzels and my whole family loved them. Another win for Sally’s Baking Addiction!
Absolutely delicious and easy to make. Highly recommend this recipe.
Did this couple weeks ago and made pretzel bits…came out really good the grandkids ate them up up like popcorn. Question…have you ever used bread flour to make these?
Hi John, You can definitely use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour in this pretzel recipe. Same amount. Bread flour yields even chewier pretzels.
Can we add garlic and herbs to the same recipe to give it more taste or is it not possible ?
Yes you can definitely add herbs to the dough. Enjoy!
followed the steps to the tea and came out perfect. couldn’t believe how easy this recipe was!
I was amazing. I am 11 and we had a big group of family coming over so I made a big Bach of these and everyone loved them ❤️❤️
Taking baking requests for the weekend after an early snowfall – my husband requested pretzels. I immediately went to your website to search for a recipe. I made these with your beer cheese recipe – both were so good. Had to sprinkle with kosher salt, otherwise I followed the recipe (including baking soda bath). They came together quickly. My husband said they were “the real deal”. Luckily, I only baked half a batch (he would have eaten them all) and making the other half for game day tomorrow! Thanks, Sally.
Could I add a little chopped olives and cheese on top instead of salt before baking? Would this change the time or anything?
Definitely! Lower the oven rack to prevent the cheese from burning OR bake the pretzels for a few minutes before adding the cheese & olives.
Thank you Sally, they turned out perfect, my nephew loved them!
This was a fun afternoon project with a 6 and 8yr old. They loved the roll out process and shaping the pretzels. EVERYONE loved the finished product! We did cook them just a little longer than your range (17mins). We made these on Friday night and are making another batch for the Packer game today! Thanks for this easy recipe.
My baking soda bath started to bubble up when I added the pretzel, it almost came out the pot! Is this normal? Or did I mess up somewhere?
Hi Cainhurst, it’s possible the pot was too small or the heat was too high. Reducing the stove heat helps bring the water back down.
found myself very frustrated trying to get the salt to stick to the pretzels and am surprised no one had the same issue. what should I do about this?
Hi Camille – I made these on Friday and again today. On Friday I followed the recipe – I did the baking soda bath and then kind of smooshed some salt on. Her recipe says to only do the egg wash if you skip the bath. Today, I did the baking soda bath AND the egg wash as well. The salt stuck much better AND my pretzels got darker and looked like restaurant-quality! I will always do baking soda bath and egg wash from now on. (I also added a little time, maybe my oven doesn’t run as hot. 18 mins was PERFECT!)
Sally! You are my favorite I have tried so many of your recipes and you have made cooking so non- intimidating and my husband has loved all the new things I’m making for dinners and desserts. So thankful for your website and your creativity!
God bless you and your family!
Great recipe! Can I arrest the process after the baking soda bath then refrigerate the pretzels and bake the next day?
Definitely! Cover lightly and refrigerate. No need to bring to room temperature before baking.
I had a craving for soft pretzels and saw this recipe. Very easy to make and my family loves them. They probably won’t last the day.