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Baked soft pretzel being dipped into beer cheese dip.
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4.98 from 96 votes

Homemade Soft Pretzels

These Homemade Soft Pretzels are so soft and buttery, they're better than any food chain. Not to mention, they are incredibly easy to make!
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 soft pretzels
Calories: 263kcal
Author: Jessica

Ingredients

Pretzel dough

  • 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast 1 standard packet
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 tbs unsalted butter melted
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour + up to ¾ cup more if needed

Baking Soda Bath

  • 2 cups water
  • 2 tbs baking soda

Topping

  • 1 tbs coarse salt for sprinkling on top
  • 6 tbs salted butter melted

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 475°F and line a large baking sheet or two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Combine yeast with warm water and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with hook attachment. Once mixture becomes "frothy" your yeast is ready. Stir in salt and 1 tbs of melted butter.
  • Add flour 1 cup at a time and knead on lowest setting until a dough forms and is no longer very sticky. You may need more or less depending on temperature differences. If you press your finger into the dough and it bounces back, it's ready to knead. Knead dough for 5 minutes or until smooth and pliable.
  • Form dough into a ball by hand. Lightly grease the bowl used previously and place the dough back in to rest for 15 minutes. Cover with a damp towel.
  • In a medium sized pot, boil 2 cups of water with 2 tbs of baking soda. Once the baking soda is mostly dissolved, take mixture off heat and pour into a shallow dish.
  • After 15 minutes, take dough out of the bowl and flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Cut dough into 8 sections (like a pizza). Roll each triangle into a long rope, about 19-20 inches long. Shape dough into pretzel shape and place in baking soda bath for 2 minutes. If the whole pretzel isn't covered by the water, spoon it on top of the areas is doesn't reach. Once the 2 minutes is up, carefully pick pretzel up either by your hand or with the help of a fork or spatula and place on prepared baking sheet. You may have to re-shape slightly.
  • Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse salt while still wet. Repeat these steps until all 8 pretzels are prepared and on the baking sheets.
  • Bake pretzels for 8-9 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately from the oven, brush (heavily) with 6 tbs of melted butter.
  • These homemade soft pretzels are best served hot and fresh out of the oven but will keep for about 2 days stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Pop them in the microwave and they're good as new!

Notes

  1. Make Ahead Instructions: Prepared dough can be made one day in advance. Shape the pretzels and allow them to rest for 10 minutes before popping them into the oven. Prepared dough can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw frozen dough overnight in the refrigerator.
  2. Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked and cooled pretzels for up to 3 months. To reheat, bake (frozen) at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until center is warmed through. You can also microwave for a few minutes until heated through.
  3. Pretzel Bites: When rolling dough into a long rope in step 4, instead of shaping pieces into a large pretzel, cut the dough into 1-2 inch pieces. Follow the rest of the recipe instructions.

Nutrition

Calories: 263kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 26mg | Sodium: 2057mg | Potassium: 62mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 307IU | Vitamin C: 0.003mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 2mg