Best Homemade Soft Pretzels

A recipe for truly the best Homemade Soft Pretzels. Perfectly chewy on the outside thanks to a baking soda wash and soft on the inside just like mall pretzels!

Was I the only one who used to make a beeline for Auntie Anne’s pretzels as soon as we got to the mall? No costume jewelry at Claire’s or Bath & Body works shower gels for me. Just pretzels please. Now that I do most of my shopping online, these babies help me get my fix.

These are seriously the best homemade soft pretzels that I have ever made. Similar to bagels, they get boiled in a baking soda bath for a few seconds to give the exterior that delightful chewiness just like the pretzels we used to get in the mall. It’s funny how such a small step can make all the difference.

Big shout out to my girlfriends Holly and Rachael for helping out with these delicious treats! Baking with girlfriend is wayyy more fun than baking alone – and not just because you have help with the dishes. With our busy schedules, these get togethers just don’t happen enough.

I mean look at that. Perfectly chewy on the outside with a soft doughy center. Om nom nom. So easy to make and they turn out perfectly every time.

In addition to being addicting and delicious, this pretzel recipe is also really flexible. I love the classic twists like you find in the mall, but you can also form the dough into pretzel bites or sticks. Perfect for portion control or upcoming Superbowl parties!

We mixed together some mustard and honey for a dipping sauce, but you can eat them with whatever you’d like. I’m a sucker for the old classic of melting some butter and rolling them in cinnamon sugar.

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The Best Homemade Soft Pretzels

★★★★★

5 from 5 reviews

A recipe for truly the best Homemade Soft Pretzels. Perfectly chewy on the outside thanks to a baking soda wash and soft on the inside just like mall pretzels!

• Author: Kelly Egan
• Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 18 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 33 minutes
• Yield: 8 preztels
• Category: Snack

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
• Canola or olive oil, to grease bowl
• 3 quarts water
• 2/3 cups baking soda
• 1 whole egg, beaten
• Coarse sea salt to sprinkle on top

Instructions

1. Add the water, sugar, yeast and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add the salt and 4 1/2 cups of flour to the mixture and mix on low until combined. Increase the speed to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough appears too wet.
3. Place dough on a flat surface and knead into a ball.
4. Coat a large bowl with canola oil, add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until dough doubles in size.
5. Bring the water to a boil in a large pot.
6. Remove dough from the bowl and divide into 8 equal pieces. On a flat surface or between your hands, roll each piece into a long rope. Form the rope into a pretzel shape by twisting the ends together.*
7. Slowly add the baking soda to the boiling water. Boil the pretzels 2 at a time for 30 seconds, using a slotted spoon to take them in and out of the water.
8. Place the pretzels on a baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg wash. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Bake at 425° Fahrenheit for 15 to 18 minutes, or until golden. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire baking rack.
9. Serve pretzels with the dip or sauce of your choice, or roll in melted butter and then cinnamon sugar. Feel free to skip the twisting step and cut them into pretzel bites instead!

Notes

*or cut them up into bite sized pieces at this step to make pretzel bites!

P.S. – This is an updated version of a post originally published in January 2014. I’m having so much fun going back through these posts and reshooting them! I hope you enjoy a look at some of the photos from the original blog post below.

P.P. S. Just in case you thought blogging was a glamorous business, here is a fun behind-the-scenes from the original post that Rachael snapped. Nothing really has changed, I’m still pretty much that ridiculous when it comes to getting the perfect shot! 🙂