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
Very very good!
I’ve made these 3 times and all times the batch doesn’t last more than 48 hours! They are so quick to make but taste like the pretzels from the mall. If you want the signature “Auntie Annes” taste brush some melted butter on top when the pretzels come out of the oven. If your family goes as crazy as mine did over these pretzels I highly recommend making a double batch and freezing half. A great snack that. an be heated up when you want it 🙂
Excellent recipe Sally! BTW- try using “00” flour. Beyond soft!!
Your recipes are always so easy to follow and taste wonderful, and these pretzels are no exception! My little cousin has been begging to make these for days and was not disappointed ☺️
I accidentally glossed over the part about spraying the parchment (even though it’s non-stick parchment) — my goodness. That is not a good step to skip. I’ve never had anything stick so angrily to baking parchment before. LOL. Apart from that, though, a pretty solid recipe!
These were amazing! I honestly was shocked and impressed with how they turned out for our first ever pretzel making attempt – the process was lots of fun with my little sous chef. Excited to try more and happy to find this treasure trove of recipes.
my pretzels aren’t browning like the ones in the picture
Hi Lauren! Did you do the optional baking soda step? The quick baking soda boil gives the pretzels their traditional flavor and lovely browned color. Otherwise they may just need a few minutes in the oven. Thanks for giving these a try!
Delicious and so easy to make! Thank you, Sally and Team, for this amazing recipe!
So good, fast and easy to make! Delicious!
These were so great. I made them with my five year old. We did half salted and half cinnamon sugar and we were very impressed with ourselves!
Thank you!
I just made these. It was my first time making any pretzels. I had originally planned to do sourdough pretzels, but I didn’t have milk ( dry or regular). So, I decided to try these. So easy and SO delicious! I will definitely be making them again. Ao perfect.
These did not come out at all. I’m so disappointed after spending 2 hours in the kitchen making these pretzels and your nacho cheese dip. The pretzels came out doughy and undercooked even after doubling the time in the oven. The taste was just terrible even though I followed all the Instructions (including step 6). The cheese sauce was also sought tasting. I don’t consider myself a bad cook/baker, but if I had made these for friends, they would have thought I’d never been in a kitchen before. Exhausted and frustrated 🙁
Hey Sally, do you have any recommendations on a vegan substitute for the melted butter?
Could I just use vegetable oil, or should I get something that’s solid at room temperature? Could shortening work or would it taste funny
—
that said, these are delicious, I’ve made them twice. The baking soda bath is a must.
One time, I did the baking soda bath and put them in the fridge overnight. it seems to negate the bath, as they didn’t come out as nicely browned. Next time I’d either refrigerate the dough in a ball, or just bake them and freeze them.
Hi D L, we’re not trained in baking with vegan substitutes so unfortunately we can’t give you a confident answer on a good vegan substitute here. If you decide to give anything a try, we’d love to know how it goes. Glad to hear you enjoy these pretzels!
I used vegan butter and they came out beautifully!
My friend has also made them and omitted the butter entirely and they were fine.
Next time I might try substituting with vegetable oil since it’s a small amount, so perhaps it being liquid and not solid won’t be too much of an issue.
I made these last night and oh my goodness. Delicious!! I sliced one down the middle and put in the toaster and had plain with butter. Extremely more-ish. I plan on filling my freezer!!
Can this recipe be doubled or increased easily or will the ingredients need adjusted? Thank you. I love these pretzels!
Hi Sam! Yes, simply double all of the ingredients. We would let the dough rest for closer to 20-25 minutes in step 2 since there’s more volume.
I was wondering if using wholemeal flour to substitute some of the plain flour would wreck the pretzel’s taste. Sadly, I do not have enough of the ordinary.
Hi John, Using all whole grain flour will result in dense pretzels. But using just a portion (half or less) may go OK. Hope you love them!
Been my go to recipe and love it. What about adding pepperoni? My kid wants to add it. Would you lay on top before baking and maybe add garlic butter.
These are the best soft pretzels ever! Thanks for the great recipes!
These are so good!
Me and a group of friends have been meeting up over Zoom to bake something every other week since last April and every new food idea we come up with for the next session, we end up finding one of your recipes for it. Your recipes have never let us down! These pretzels in particular, are, amazing.
Thank you for sharing this recipe, oh my! they bring back memories. They are wonderful. If you don’t make these for your family, grandkids, friends your missing out . Try some with fresh garlic.
Just made these! They are delicious. Great job on this recipe! 🙂
I fallowed the resipe exactly. But I forgot to spray the parchment. (Don’t make that mistake.) But these are absolutely delightful. Thank you
Hi! If I use my kitchenaid mixer, do I still need to knead the dough before shaping? Thank you!
Hi Sam, yes, we do still recommend kneading by hand (step 2) before shaping. Hope you enjoy the pretzels!
Thanks for sharing your recipe. Wondering why the pretzels are hard and chewy. Maybe I overcooked it?
Hi Dee, it sounds like your pretzels may be slightly over baked. Also, be sure to spoon and level (or measure by weight) your flour — adding too much can make the final pretzels a bit tougher than intended. Both easy fixes for next time! Thanks so much for giving these pretzels a try.
Thanks Trina. I have watched the video and I do always spoon and level the flour. I was careful to add only enough to be pliable. It looks easy in the video to roll out to 20″-22″ length. Next time I wondered if chilling the divided dough would help or any other suggestions? Thank you.
Hi Cathy, one other tip that should help is covering the ropes with a clean towel for a few minutes. Then, when you go back to roll them again, they should be much easier to roll out. Let us know if you give this a try!
I love this recipe but I am terrible when it comes to rolling them out. The dough
springs back and I never can get to a long enough rope. They end up looking
like pretzel knots and they taste great, just wonder why I am so unskilled in
the end appearance result of a pretzel that has open spaces inbetween the
knotted dough. Can anyone give me a clue as to why I can’t roll these out like
they are supposed to be into long ropes? Thanks in advance!
Hi Cathy! Have you watched the video in the post above? That may help. It’s definitely something that takes practice, but make sure you’re spoon and leveling your flour when measuring as too much flour in your dough could make it tough.
Hi Sally, thank you for this easy recipe. What’s the best way to keep them fresh if I need to bake a lot of these for an event? Thank you.
Hi Ann, the best way to store made pretzels is in an air tight container or ziplock bag. They should stay fresh for up to three days, although they do lose some of their softness. Or, you can make them ahead and freeze them for two months — see recipe notes for more details. Hope they’re a hit at your event!
Made them with my wife , we had an amazing experience
Have ya ever had a Philly Soft Pretzel?
I’m from the North, above ‘Philly’/ Philadelphia. These are very very close to it and as close to heaven in a pretzel I have had in a long time. Love these a bunch. Thank you!
Love this recipe. Better/easier than the one I tried before. Taking them to a get together we attend weekly.