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
These pretzels are fabulous and easy to make! My family always wants a double batch
I’ve made this twice and both times delicious but the second time half the pretzels didn’t keep their shape. Any advice?
Hi Abby, This is a special dough that doesn’t require a long rise if making pretzels. Most of the rising is in the baking process. I wonder if you let the dough rise for a long time? If so, the pretzels would considerably puff up in the oven, losing most of their shape.
I cannot describe in words how delicious and fluffy these pretzels were. And they only took me around 1 hour to make. Thank you so much for the recipe.
these came out SO tasty! i didn’t have a yeast packet, so i used the measurement and they came out VERY puffy—could it be an issue of too much yeast? anyone have any insight on why they puffed up so much? i would’ve liked them a little slimmer, but they were still absolutely delicious and this recipe was so easy to follow.
Maybe you under-proved the dough? If you don’t let it rise enough, it will raise quite a lot in the oven. The way to test is when the dough is rising, you poke it. If it bounces back, it needs to raise more, if it stays sunken, it’s ready to shape. I usually raise my bread in an oven. Simply pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit for about 20 minutes (while you’re mixing your dough) with a cup of water in a pan or bowl in the bottom. Once it’s pre-heated, turn the oven completely off and then put your prepared dough in the oven for 1-2 hours. Check it after about 1.5 hours with the “Poking method.” Hope this helps!
Thanks for this recipe, the pretzels were delicious. Do you have any tips on rolling out the ropes? It took me forever and they were all different sizes. Maybe I just need more practice. Thanks again.
Hi Meredith, did you have a chance to watch the video on the recipe page? We do a quick shaping tutorial in there that you might find helpful. We’re glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I made these today and my family loved them. They are easy to make and pretty. Thanks for sharing this recipe!!
Made these and they were great. Baked directly on stone with little bit of cornmeal sprinkled on top of stone. No problem with sticking.
Made these for a super bowl snack and they were delicious! The taste and texture was spot on. Mine definitely did not look as pretty as yours, and I didn’t have a slotted spatula, only a slotted spoon, so getting them out of the water was a challenge, but they were totally delicious!
These are great and easy, thank you! Some of the pretzels didn’t hold their shape in the water though – any tips?
Hi Sam! Try to seal the joints of the pretzel a bit tighter next time – that should do the trick.
These were easy and delicious!
I made these for Superbowl Sunday with Sally’s nacho cheese recipe and they were delicious with the perfect amount of chew. Who knew pretzels could be this easy?
These were easy to make and delicious! A good beginner recipe for a yeasted dough with some kneading.
I would use the silicone baking sheets or not make them at all. I’d imagine that parchment paper, even greased, would be a nightmare. I baked them straight on a cookie sheet and they were really difficult to get off, but they didn’t get ruined. If I were making for guests I would make sure I had the mats so that they’d come out perfectly.
My 16 year old and I made these tonight. We did the baking soda water bath and baked on nonstick cooking spray covered parchment. The flavor was great…but they did not brown well. Any suggestions on getting that pretty deep brown color? I will definitely make again…whether they brown or not!
made these for the super bowl and they turned out AMAZING!! my family and i all loved them! i used bread flour instead of all purpose and let them rest for an hour instead of 10 minutes and they were perfect! thanks for another wonderful recipe!!
These pretzels plus queso equals angels singing!!! These are so good and so easy to make! A new family favorite!
I had a hard time rolling it out so any advice on that because I switched to bites and so darn good
Perfect. I made my dough about 5 hours ahead of time and put it in the fridge. It rose up and popped the lid off so I just deflated it back down. Let it come to room temp for just a bit and it’s easier to roll.
I did half without the baking soda bath and doused with butter, cinnamon and sugar.
I did the bath on the other half and the texture is spot on.
I’ve tried a few other pretzel recipes and this one is the winner hands down. Even better than king Arthur’s.
So easy! I’ve followed other pretzel recipes – but these come out just as good without the same hassle. Delicious. Thank you!
Made these and loved them!! They taste just like real German pretzels. Can the recipe be doubled, or would it mess up the rise?
Very good . I still like to let the dou sit for few hours before I use to allow to rise .
Idk if it actually helps or not .
Enjoyable recipe making it for my third time today
These are a family game-day favorite. I make them vegan (substitute vegan butter). I also use this dough for pretzel dogs and pretzel hamburger buns. Very tasty and easy. If there’s any leftover pretzels, they freeze well and warm up easily.
My husband thinks these are the best pretzels he’s ever had, but definitely plan for an hour and a half to make these… not 30 mins like the blog says.
This recipe was perfect and so easy, even for a very novice baker! I definitely noticed that I needed more than 3 1/2 cups of flour. The pretzels came out so delicious!
I made these for the first time yesterday.
Everything went well until it was time to try them and they tasted kinda bitter.
Not sure what happened or what I did wrong.
I threw them all out.
I will try again.
I timed them for 25 seconds. Something I did do was I had the bath boiling for quite a bit of time before I actually put them in the baking Soda bath. Maybe that affects the bath quality.
Something else I noticed yesterday when I took the lid off the container all the salt was gone.
It must have all leached into the pretzels. Good news was they tasted better than the day before.
These were easy to make and very good!
This recipe was so easy to follow! My youngest sister had been begging me to make pretzels, and I finally got around to it! She and my parents really enjoyed them. Me too!
Is there any way to substitute for the butter? My other sister has a dairy allergy, and I’d love to be able to make them for her as well.
Mine came out delicious, but here’s a warning: Don’t add the baking soda to the boiling water! Bring them to boiling together. I learned that the hard way (giant overflowing soda fountain all over my stove!).
So glad you added this comment! I was scrolling through (with water heating) wondering if I should wait or not – it seemed in the video she waited?
Thanks for the help!!
I made this as I was curious about the fast turnaround compared to other pretzel recipes. It was easy peasy until I had to figure out how to form them. I’m getting better, but the first few… hmmm. And one was kind of scrunched before hitting the water, so it ended up being a roll. Now I LOVE pretzel roll bread for sandwiches, so I can play with the recipe. Really delicious and now I have something else to try. I also froze a couple of pretzels after the water bath, so I’m interested in seeing how it will bake after being defrosted. Game changer!
So I defrosted the frozen, unbaked pretzels and just baked them. The looked great, but the only negative was that the bottom middle section was soggy. I baked my pretzels on a pan. Next time I will preheat the pan or bake directly on parchment paper. Still good though…
Can I use Bread flour instead of all purpose flour?
Hi Diane! Yes, you can. No other changes to the recipe needed.
I used parchment paper and sprayed it with cooking spray and they all stuck to the paper so bad I couldnt take them off. I had to cut the bottom of the pretzels off to even try them, they weren’t the best but I think I’ll add more salt to the batter when I try again without parchment paper I would rather they stick to the pan at least I can still eat them.
Hi Lisa! Thank you so much for trying these soft pretzels. For next time– spraying parchment with nonstick spray should work, but we can’t recommend silicone baking mats enough. We use them for everything!