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. 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 do it every time now. It’s worth it!
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. We’ve also jazzed them up as crab pretzels. There’s no wrong way to shape a pretzel, but let’s stick with tradition 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 guarantee each one is in your kitchen right now. Warm water, 1 packet yeast, melted butter, brown or regular granulated sugar, salt, and flour.
Let the yeast foam in the warm water for a few minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix. You can use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, a hand mixer, or—like you’ll notice in the video below the recipe—no mixer at all. 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.
Guess what? You don’t have to wait to let this dough rise. YES! Well, we’ll let it rest for 10 minutes while you get the baking soda + water boiling on the stove but that’s it. Don’t have any patience? This is the recipe for you. By the way, did you know that some pretzel recipes call for rising overnight? They’re remarkable pretzels but I’m satisfied with this ultra quick dough!
How to Shape Homemade Soft Pretzels
Now it’s time to shape.
Roll 1/3 cup of dough into a long 20-22 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 salt and bake in a hot oven. That’s it, you’re done.
And if you want to kick your soft pretzel status into major high gear, add some spicy nacho cheese sauce.
PrintEasy 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 and the results are extra delicious! The dough is a family recipe and 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!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water (lukewarm– no need to take temperature but around 100°F (38°C) is great)
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cool
- 3 and 3/4-4 cups (469-500g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
- coarse salt or coarse sea salt for sprinkling
Baking Soda Bath (See Recipe Note)
- 1/2 cup (120g) baking soda
- 9 cups (2.13L) water
Instructions
- Whisk the yeast into warm water. Allow to sit for 1 minute. Whisk in salt, brown sugar, and melted butter. Slowly add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix with a wooden spoon (or dough hook attached to stand mixer) until dough is thick. Add 3/4 cup more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. If it is still sticky, add 1/4 – 1/2 cup more, 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 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full 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 minutes. (Meanwhile, I like to get the water + baking soda boiling as instructed in step 6.)
- 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 1/3 cup sections (about 75g each).
- Roll the dough into a 20-22 inch rope. Form a circle with the dough by bringing the two 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 more 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. Sprinkle each with coarse sea salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels. If desired, you can cover and refrigerate the boiled/unbaked pretzels for up to 24 hours before baking in step 7.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm with spicy nacho cheese sauce.
- Cover and store leftover pretzels at room temperature for up to 3 days. They lose a little softness over time. To reheat, microwave for a few seconds, or bake at 350°F (177°C) for 5 minutes.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked and cooled pretzels freeze well for up to 3 months. To reheat, bake frozen pretzels 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 before the baking soda bath and baking.
- 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 6): 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 7. Meanwhile, melt 4 Tablespoons (60g) of unsalted or salted butter (your choice). 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 are best served that day because due to the melted butter topping, they become soggy after a few hours.
- Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
I need to make about 100-120 soft pretzels for a wedding cocktail hour. Any tips on making that many? Can the recipe be doubled, or is it better to make ten separate batches? Can they be made a few days in advance without sacrificing flavor and texture, and if so what is the best way to store them? Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I’m the mother of the bride so the less I have to do the day of, the better!
Hi Ann, for best results, we recommend making separate batches. See recipe Notes for make ahead instructions. We hope they’re a hit!
We love this recipe, this is the second time I made these. I can’t figure out how to get the pretzel shape and instead cut them into pretzel bits and my family enjoys the pretzel bits. I also made a mustard dip and they taste excellent with or without the dip. The recipe makes a lot of pretzel bits and I will be making them again soon since they were gone so quickly. Thank you!
Turned out like store bought ones, family adores them! Thank you
This recipe turned into the biggest disaster with super sticky dough! Also, I had to lengthen my cooking time as after 15 minutes they were still raw.. cooked for around 30min only for a terrible consistency inside, doughy. Oh well!
Hi Stephanie, there are quite a few factors that can do into the consistency of dough, down to even the weather and humidity in the air. If you wish to try these again, there’s nothing wrong with adding a bit more flour to help the dough come together into a workable consistency. Thanks for giving these a try!
Can I put the frozen, shaped pretzels right into the baking soda bath? If not is there a particular reason?
Hi Lexine, yes, you can place the shaped, frozen pretzels right into the baking soda bath.
these were delish & so easy!!! can’t wait to make again- however my pretzels came out a bit dense as oppose to airy & fluffy- what did i do wrong??
Hi Shayne, soft pretzels are supposed to be pretty dense, it doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong! Did yours look like the photos?
Great recipe, very tasty! We had to put it a lot more flour than the recipe stated to get the dough to a kneedable state. Is there any reason why we would need to do this? Thanks!
Hi Charlie, there are quite a few different factors that can go into the consistency of dough, even down to the temperature and humidity in your kitchen. Not a problem to add a bit more flour as needed to bring it to a kneadable consistency. We’re glad they were a hit!
I loved it. It was easy to make and shape. I will definitely make it again.
I love all of your recipes! This pretzel recipe was soo good, In one day my children and husband (who doesn’t really like pretzels) ate the whole batch! Thank you so much for providing families and individuals with delicious recipes, because we all know if it is on your website it must be amazing.
These were great! I seasoned half recipe w/ salt and the other half with cinnamon and sugar. I preferred the salt one better. My granddaughter asked “where’s the cheese sauce” Ok. Next time! I have to work on the shaping as mine looks more like buns but still were yummy!
Thanks for the recipe!
This was AMAZING. I followed it exactly and it came out perfectly, as good as any pretzel I’ve ever eaten!!!
Such a delicious and EASY recipe!
I have made this so many times and everytime, they never last. My family devours them. Also made pretzels dogs using this recipe. Such a hit! Just wrapped the pretzel dough around a hot dog (cheddar dogs, even better!) and then dipped in baking soda bath and baked. Sally’s is my go to site for recipes and this one did not disappoint. Thanks for sharing!!
Came out perfect at 7900 ft high altitude without changing anything. Super soft & crispy shell outside. Delicious
Love all your recipes. You are my baking go to guru!!!
Any suggestions on how to alter the recipe if I use less dough per pretzel to make smaller pretzels? Any alterations in soda water bath timing? Bake time would obviously be less.
Hi Sherry, you can slightly shorten the baking soda bath (depending on how small you make them—we only do about 10-15 seconds for these pretzel bites) and yes, you’ll want to shorten the bake time as well. Hope you enjoy the pretzels!
These are perfect. I’ve made so many different flavors. Sea salt, garlic salt, sesame seasoning, pizza chesse and next I’m going to try drizzled choc with a dash of sea salt. All of your recipes are amazing. You are definitely my go to site for recipes. Thanks for all you do
What can be used in place of the baking soda for the bath?
Hi SD, if you don’t have baking soda, you can skip the bath but the pretzels will lose their signature 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.
This is a delicious recipe! My comment for future recipes is to put the oven degrees. “Hot oven” could mean anything to me.
Maybe you didn’t “jump to the recipe “. The actual recipe tells you the ingredients and method, including the oven temperature.
The best pretzel ever. Can the dough be doubled? I’ve bought the frozen ones for years. Never again. I make at least one to two dozen a week. My husband Mark and I like those be
Hi Mary Lee, for best results, we recommend making separate batches rather than doubling.
Love this recipe! I will definitely try it again.
My first three came out exactly as pictured, but for my later batches, the pretzels stretched when I tried to move them from the counter to the baking soda bath and then didn’t rise as much. Still tasty.
I’m wondering if they stretched from sitting out in the warm kitchen too long. And if they didn’t rise b/c they were so stretched or because I rolled them out a little more aggressively than the first batch.
Hi, I’m wondering if I can use this recipe, but make the pretzels half size?(for a total of 24 pretzels) Making them for my child’s first birthday party and don’t need them to be too big 🙂
Hi Kate, You can make smaller pretzels if you wish. We are unsure of the exact bake time you will need but keep your eye on them and bake until golden brown.
These were top-notch! The flavor and texture far exceeded my expectations. his is the fourth recipe of yours that I’ve tried, and each one was easy to follow with results that had people’s mouths watering in anticipation for second and third helpings. I’ll need to double this recipe next time to keep up with demand…thank you!
These pretzels were so good and I can’t wait to make them again. Delicious!
The pretzels were delicious and soft. The best I’ve ever had. Will be making these each weekend.
This recipe turned out perfect for me. I followed all the instructions as mentioned in the recipe and it turned into soft chewy delicious pretzels! This is going into my family recipe book 😉
I LOVE THIS RECIPE; THIS IS THE PERFECT SAVORY SNACK. I MADE THESE AS A WAY TO CALM DOWN AFTER SCHOOL AND THE TWO HOURS OF WORK WAS TOTALLY WORK EVERY BITE.
Is the dough supposed to double or rise?
Hi Milly, the dough won’t double but just slightly rise.
I have made this recipe before and they didn’t last an afternoon. I was wondering if I wanted to make pretzel bites I would use the same recipe but just not do the twisting part. Would it still work?
Hi Lydia, yes, here is our pretzel bites method!
I loved this recipe so much! It was so delicious and easy. I did both a normal salted pretzel and a cinnamon and sugar one. The baking soda water definitely was the way to go. The whole family loved them.
Can I use whole wheat flour in this recipe? I am afraid to substitute but I also am trying to increase the fiber in our diets. Thank you!
Hi Laura, we wouldn’t swap for all whole wheat flour. You could try swapping half of the flour for whole wheat flour, but the pretzels still may taste a bit heavy and dense.
Could I use oat flour?
Hi Marie, We would stick with all purpose flour for best results, it would take some testing to use a flour with different baking properties.
I loved this recipe! The pretzels were a big hit at a get together I attended. I had issues getting to dough to roll out to over 20 inches. I ended up with pretzel buns more or less. Do you have any to get the dough to roll out?
Hi AH, if you find the dough is shrinking back, stop and cover it with a clean towel and allow it to rest for a few minutes. This will relax the gluten and they should roll out much easier after that. So glad you enjoyed the pretzels!
This recipe was easy and the pretzels turned GREAT!!! Do you happen to have the nutrition info??
Hi Jennifer, we’re so glad you loved the pretzels! We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076