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
Loved these so much! I did use the water bath and they came out perfect! I made these with my 4 year old Granddaughter and not only were they easy to make , they gave her a great chance to create shapes with dough!. It only took 10 minutes to bake in a convection oven and a great twist was to brush with melted butter and dipped some of them in cinnamon and sugar. Great Recipe, will def be using often!! Thank you!
Did you put melted butter & cinnamon on the pretzels as it bakes?
LOVE Your Recipes Can You Please Send Me The Pretzel Recipes In Metric Weight As My Students Are Taught To Measure All Ingredients By Weight Not By Volume.
Thank You So Much It Would Be Awesome If You Could Have That Option On All Your Recipes As We Found It To Be More Accurate And Consistent Than By Volume
Again Thanks For Your Help And Looking Forward To Your Reply.
Matt
P.S. My Students Are Residents In A Local Homeless Shelter Where We Teach Them How To Cook And Bake.
And We Find This Improves Their Overall Moral And Self Worth
God Bless
best recipe ever we made these and they tasted AWSOME!!!!
Such an easy and wonderful recipe. Thank you, Sally. Delcious!
We loved this recipe. My first time making pretzels and planning on making more this week since they were eaten so fast! I enjoyed them salted and they loved dipping them in melted Nutella. My cooker runs really hot so even after trying to lower the temp to suit I will slightly lower again with a minute or two extra… or cover with foil!
So today I finally grew a pair and delved into making these pretzels that has been in my ‘to do’ list for quite some time.
I found the overall process rather easy, although, the dough was a mission to roll out into the long lengths. I found the dough very elasticity and rebounded as I drew it out in the requested 20-22″ lengths. It’s not like rolling gnocchi!
At any rate, I successfully produced my first ever batch of pretzels. I’m sure that this will be a request by family and friends going forward, along with my cream puffs, butter tarts and other delicious treats.
Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe with us!! Cheers from Sudbury Ontario.
I also found the making of the lengths to be the hardest part of the recipe. What I’ve learned to do, after trial and error, is roll them all out about 15 inches (like playdough snakes) then start back at the first one again. They lose their elasticity in the time it takes me to get them all to the shorter length then it’s easier to get the length needed.
I was wondering if you can use a hand mixer instead of a stand mixture for the dough
Hi Ella, the dough can tend to get stuck in the beaters of a hand mixer, so we’d recommend using a wooden spoon instead.
Loved making pretzels for the first time. Your recipe was so easy to follow. I had a problem that is not the fault of the recipe. The pretzels stuck to the parchment paper and had to be cut off. Could my oven be too hot? Perhaps my oven temp is off and I need an oven thermometer to get an an accurate reading.
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!
THE DOUGH WAS ABSOLUTLEY AMAZING. IT WAS SO FLUFFY AND FUN TO WORK WITH. unfortunately, the pretzels tasted a bit bland and had a hint of yeast in the flavor. The pretzels also were cooked thoroughly yet were still not that brown. nonetheless, good recipe.
Will bread flour work in a pinch instead of all purpose?
Hi Amy, You can definitely use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour in this pretzel recipe. Same amount with no other changes to the recipe. Bread flour yields even chewier pretzels.
Thank you! Can’t wait to make them.
Can I make the dough ahead of time?
Hi Chris, see recipe notes for make ahead instructions.
I currently only have margarine available. Will that work in place of the butter? (I prefer butter, but my local store has apparently had a run on it)
Hi Melanie, margarine has a different composition than butter and we don’t recommend swapping the two. Best to wait until you have access to butter to make these pretzels!
Making these for the first time and can’t wait to taste them! Question: if I want to make the cinnamon/sugar pretzels, do I skip the baking soda bath? (Notes say to skip the butter but I wasn’t fully clear if I also skip the baking soda bath). Please advise. Thank you!
Hi Yossi, you will still want to do the baking soda bath if making a cinnamon/sugar version. Hope you love them!
Thank you!!
Hi! Looking to make these to go with a cheese soup for Christmas. I would love to make them ahead of time and freeze them as described in the recipe, then heat them on Christmas. Does it taste as good and fresh using this method? Or am I going to lose the softness when freezing? Thanks in advance!
Hi Jackie, they really do freeze quite well. Let us know if you give it a try and we hope they’re a hit!
This recipe was amazing! I unfortunately over boiled a couple but they still taste great! I did half of them sweet (melted butter, stirred in brown sugar and cinnamon then brushed on top) and half salted, so good…..
Thank you so much for your quick reply. I am ordering silicone mats today as even after spraying the parchment paper my pretzels stuck.
Making this recipe tomorrow. Would you be able to swap flour for almond flour at the same ratioS?
Hi Laura, I don’t recommend that. This isn’t a great recipe to make that swap.
Delicious and easy recipe! Any ideas for what flour would be best to use to make these gluten free? Would love to give out as home-baked gifts this holiday and have several gluten-free friends that would benefit. Thank you!
Hi HP, so glad these are a favorite for you! We haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flour, so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you decide to give it a try! And here are all our naturally gluten free recipes if you’re interested: https://route-span.live/category/special-diet/gluten-free/%3C/p%3E
I would love to know how these would turn out GF. Making for family white elephant gift!
What’s the best way to store these if making 12-24 hours ahead of time? Like for a work potluck?
Hi Katherine, you can store them in an air tight container at room temperature. They may lose a bit of softness during that time (they’re best enjoyed right away!) but you can reheat them in the microwave for a few seconds.
Highly recommend this recipe. My 10yr old daughter and I made them for the first time and it was super simple! They turned out delicious! We left some unsalted and ended up brushing butter on them when they came out of the oven and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. So good!
I’m a 38 year old guy with absolutely no baking experience. I followed the recipe and now can whip these out from start to finish in under an hour. So easy! Whole family loves them! I’ve made pretzels, pretzel sticks, balls, buns. All so good! These will forever be my pot luck contribution
Can I serve this at Room temp? Will it be too thick?
Hi Charyssa, Are you asking about the cheese sauce? It will thicken up at room temperature so if it becomes too thick for dipping you can re-heat it.
Very easy and quick! They turned out great. Crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside❤️
Just took them out of the oven and tasted them. Beeeeeeeeyouuuuuuteeeful!!! What an excellent recipe, easy to follow, requires only basic ingredients you’ll have if you do a fair amount of baking (or even if you don’t). The taste is classic pretzel taste. That golden salty “nuttiness” combined with a somewhat crunchy exterior and a soft, chewy interior. Now I need to make some queso dip for them!
Love this recipe husband ate 3 right out of the oven I put everything bagel on half and sesame seeds on the other half
OMG, these were so easy to make, quick and absolutely DELICIOUS. Hubby and kids devoured them hot out of the oven. Will make these again, and again, and again and again 🙂 THANK YOU, brilliant recipe 🙂
Love this recipe. A lot of my family has celiac so i just replaced flour with namaste gf flour and they turned out great. Thank you
What temperature do I bake the pretzels at?
Hi Rayhan, 400°F (204°C). Enjoy!
Delicious! Soft, fluffy, came out so well. Now I’d love to try a yeastier chewier version!!
This is the first time I have made soft pretzels and they were PERFECT! The recipe was easy to follow and didn’t take long from start to finish. They are delicious and better than I expected. I will be making these often! Thank you!
Delicious and easy! Great recipe!