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
a couple of notes, i only had salted butter and i also try to limit my use of salt in everything i eat, so i removed a little more than half the salt and sprinkled a little less on the top of the pretzels. I also use the weight, when measuring the flour rather than 3 and 3/4 to 4 cups
What about cooking at 5000’ elevation?
Hi Will, I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I live just outside of Denver. I’m at about 5600′ elevation and we made this recipe as instructed, but right at the end when the dough was no longer sticky/springing back: I added an extra little sprinkle of flour (around a tbsp) and as soon as that was incorporated I stopped kneeding and let it rest the 10 min. They turned out great!
I have made SO many of Sally’s recipes as instructed and they always turn out excellent despite my altitude!
The directions were easy to follow. The baking Soda bath was a little messy. Rolling the dough to make the pretzel was a little difficult but once I had the countertop floured it was a breeze. I’m enjoying yeast bread recipes. Previously I was making breads in a bread machine adding all of the ingredients and pressing GO. I used our KitchenAid mixer with a dough hook for the pretzels, but I’m thinking of making a French bread baguette next. Using instant yeast and taking the time to activate the yeast in warm water is new, but easily manageable
Perfect recipe! I didn’t finish typing on my last comment. I had to run to the store to get more flour so it definitely sat out longer than 10 minutes but they came out amazing. I cooked my first batch for 15 minutes but they were a little crispier the second batch I did for 14 minutes and they were perfect!
Perfect recipe!
Why cant we use salted butter?
Hi Jill, if you use salted butter you can try cutting the added salt in half.
I love this recipe for pretzel dough I used it to make pretzel dogs !!! Out of this world
Hello and thank you for the fantastic recipe! It was my first time making them and thankfully your page was one of the top that appeared in a search. Hopefully next time I’ll try your queso when I purchase some cheese, but this go-around it was a vegan one (which turned out pretty tasty anyways).
My first time trying to make pretzels. I’m 53. If I had to break my streak, this was the best (and easiest) way to do it. Thank you!
This recipe is really good and it us my second time using it. Can I make the dough and cook the pretzels as and when I want them?
Hi Emily, yes, you can–see the Notes section below the recipe for freezing instructions.
Is it possible to freeze the dough prior to cooking?
Had a craving for soft pretzels so tried this, and was quick and easy (minus the fact it took a moment to figure out how to make the classic pretzels shape, figured it out after 3 of them), but was great and easy. I’ll definitely make more tomorrow but try adding more kosher salt or seasoning. Happy regardless, thanks for having this!
I substituted everything seasonings for the kosher salt on top – absolutely wonderful recipe
These are so delicious and so easy. I was intimidated by the boiling but it’s super easy. Thanks for the detailed instructions! These freeze well after baking.
Delicious recipe! I used vegan soy free butter since we have a dairy allergy. They came out perfect. I used bread flour since that is what I had. It was my son’s first time having a pretzel as he can’t have one at a restaurant due to cross contamination. Plus I think these ingredients are better.
I have made this recipe a few times and loved it. Can M make the dough beforehand and finish them the next day?
You bet! See recipe Notes for details.
Great recipe! Soft pretzels are my favorite. These are so much better than the frozen pretzels I get from the grocery store. Thanks for the detailed recipe.
I use this recipe everytime I make pretzels, I love it.
These were perfect! My family loved them. When they came out, I brushed a little melted butter on them. I’m making more today, just going to do pretzel bites this time!
So good! I used the dough setting on my bread machine to knead and pulled it out before it could rise. The dough was perfect.
I loved this recipe and it turned out perfect! My friends are gluten free, would this recipe turn out using gluten free flour or other types of flour? Or would there need to be adjustments?
Hi Nikki, we haven’t tested a gluten free version of these pretzels, but let us know if you do any experimenting.
The dough for this recipe turned out perfect, easy to roll and shape BUT by the time I got done shaping they all were stuck to my silicone mat and I got them all stretched out putting them in the baking soda bath. What did I do wrong? (By the way, despite the funky shape they tasted amazing!
Hi MaeMae, thank you so much for trying these soft pretzels! Is your kitchen particularly warm? Or was this a humid day? It sounds like the dough became sticky as it sat at room temperature. Regardless, a little extra flour always helps. The dough can be a little soft, but use enough flour so you can shape the pretzels and not have them stick to the mat. Hope this helps for next time.
This was so easy and delicious! A keeper for sure.
I love the recipe but I always need drastically more flour than the recipe calls for, or else it always stays sticky.
Biggest waste of time and materials I’ve ever had the displeasure of trying. Following the directions to the letter, at no point did the dough stop being sticky, and while trying to get it to stop being sticky it wound up overworked and unusable. Not sure how anyone here managed to get this nonsense to work but I won’t be wasting my time and energy on it again. This was my first introduction to one of Sally’s recipes and I’m not sure I’ll be trying more of them in the future. What a disappointment.
You probably had a flour with too low protein content. I have this trouble with flour from Aldi. If you ever care to try again, try using a name brand flour. I had no issues with Walmart brand.
Really great recipe. Sally’s site is the best for clear directions with lots of (tested) options to adjust, modify, store, etc.
J sounds like you did something wrong. Sally’s website is the absolute best for recipes! I bake almost daily and I go here before anywhere else. Believe me I’ve been to many! If you want a solid well tested recipe come here.
I love those recipe. They are delicious and super easy. I double the recipe so I can freeze some. No more buying frozen dough pretzels.
What an easy recipe. I helped my grandkids make them over Christmas. They loved the whole process, and the rest of the family ate them as fast as we could bake them!
Wowsa!! I love Sally’s recipes, and this one did not disappoint! My husband has been asking me to make pretzels for him for ages, and I have always been so intimidated by the idea of finding and using lye! So I was so excited to see an alternative that was so much easier (just baking soda!) and they turned out GREAT! I could not believe how fast we were able to make them also! I am so excited to have this recipe at the ready for whenever I need to whip some up! They turned out so puffy and had a beautiful texture!
Great easy pretzels, I never make pretzels because most recipes take so long this was super easy and delicious!
Everytime I make these I forget to add the butter but even without it it’s the easiest and best recipe I ever followed. Thankyou for this amazing recipe 🙂
I found this recipe disappointing, especially because I used premium flour, thinking they’d be great. Is there not some rising time missing, maybe after rolling the dough out into ropes, or even just after forming the pretzels? If I ever attempt this recipe again, I’m definitely going to make sure a second rise is in there, because when I dropped these in the boiling water, they just got lumpy. Not hard – I was careful not to overwork or put too much flour in the dough – just…lumpy. Not attractive. I went ahead and sprinkled on the salt and put them in the oven. They did brown up nicely, and were quite tender and delicious, but to my horror, after covering and putting them away overnight, I woke up to find them shriveled up! Is there no way to safely store these even just overnight? I had planned to chocolate dip a few of them in the morning, but that plan is dashed now. I don’t want to waste these, and hope at least the toaster oven might perk them up a bit, but this really was a disappointment, and I don’t see any similar problems in the comments, which is why I’m posting mine. I do wonder if some solid second rising time would’ve created a nicer appearance and stopped the shrivel after they cooled.