Soft Pretzels
January 31, 2011 | Print | E-mail | Filed under bread
Earlier this month, my baking buddy Becky and I decided that it had been far too long since we’d gotten together to make something fun. We decided on pretzels, and I thought they would be perfect to post this week for Super Bowl weekend. There are so many different varieties you can make – salted/garlic salted, cinnamon-sugar, Parmesean, jalapeño – whatever your heart desires! And, instead of using all of the dough to make normal-sized pretzels, you can also form it into small balls for pretzels bites or sticks for dipping…just serve with some marinara sauce or even some of this pepperoni pizza dip!
Recipe adapted from here.
- 1 cup warm water (110 degrees)
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 3/4 cups flour
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the soda bath:
- 6 cups water
- 3 Tbsp baking soda
For the topping:
- 1 egg beaten with 1 Tbsp water
- Coarse sea salt
In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let stand 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix together the yeast mixture, melted butter, brown sugar, salt, and 2 3/4 cups of the flour. Knead about 8 minutes or until the dough is soft, smooth, and somewhat sticky. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and let rise one hour or until doubled.
Punch down the dough and then divide it into 12 equal pieces. Cover them with plastic wrap and let them rest 15 minutes.
Roll each piece into 20″ ropes, and then form them into pretzel shapes.
Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise for a half hour. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. In a large pot, bring the water and baking soda to a boil. Add the pretzels to the boiling water for 1 minute, pressing down on them with a spatula to cover them with water. Place on a cooling rack. Once cooled, place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle generously with the sea salt or other desired toppings.
Bake 12-15 minutes or until dark brown.
January 31st, 2011 at 11:59 am
I’ve wanted to try making soft pretzels forever! They look perfect.
January 31st, 2011 at 12:00 pm
What a fun game day recipe, these look great!!
January 31st, 2011 at 12:01 pm
Yum! Those look sooo good!
January 31st, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Soft pretzels are one of my favorite foods…these look AMAZING!!
January 31st, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Homemade pretzels are fun to make and eat:)
January 31st, 2011 at 12:23 pm
I JUST pulled up a recipe today for pretzels… I would love to make these too!!! You are so smart.
January 31st, 2011 at 12:37 pm
I made soft pretzels over the weekend! Could not get over how tasty they were
January 31st, 2011 at 1:30 pm
I have been trying to find a soft pretzel recipe for awhile I love to snack on them. Awesome. Going to try this out.
January 31st, 2011 at 2:22 pm
Okay, so I haven’t ever made soft pretzels, but I’m loving that I have a recipe to refer to now!
January 31st, 2011 at 3:22 pm
What a fun project/food to make with your kids. I love a good soft pretzel.
January 31st, 2011 at 3:31 pm
Yum! I was just talking about making soft pretzels earlier today… Now, I am totally craving them! Putting them on the “menu” this week.
January 31st, 2011 at 3:46 pm
ooo I’ve been wanting to make soft pretzels for over a week now!! I just don’t because I know I’ll eat them all LOL
January 31st, 2011 at 4:19 pm
Your pretzels look fabulous! Kiddo & I made them a few years ago…..you are inspiring me to get back to them again. Nothing beats a homemade soft pretzel!
Love your pictures, too!
January 31st, 2011 at 5:13 pm
Um hello! Why didn’t I ask for these WITH my marmalade? Match made in Heaven.
January 31st, 2011 at 5:49 pm
I LOVE homemade soft pretzels, these look incredible and they also remind me that I need to make some asap!
January 31st, 2011 at 6:30 pm
I have wanted to make soft pretzels for such a long time. Dipped in mustard, there isn’t a better snack.
January 31st, 2011 at 9:02 pm
I think that my girls and I would have a ball making these! A must do a.s.a.p.!
January 31st, 2011 at 9:13 pm
Whoa, homemade pretzels?! I never would have thought of making them. That’s awesome.
January 31st, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Seriously? YUM! I bet these would be tons of fun to make with kids, too.
January 31st, 2011 at 10:46 pm
These sound so delicious! Would it be possible to use any amount of whole wheat flour instead? For example: 2 cups WW flour and 3/4 cups flour? Would they still turn out as well? I don’t think I have ever had a WW pretzel, but I am super curious!
February 1st, 2011 at 7:56 am
I made pretzels before and it was so much fun! I want to try and again and maybe make pretzel bites this time.
February 1st, 2011 at 8:46 am
I love soft pretzels and your tutorial makes them look so easy to make!!! I can’t wait to try your recipe.
February 1st, 2011 at 8:53 am
I adore soft pretzels! There are so many cool ingredients you can add to them!
February 1st, 2011 at 9:49 am
I love homemade soft pretzels, they’re one of my favorite foods! Yours look sooo good and are calling my name.
February 1st, 2011 at 10:16 am
I love to spend time with my friends while being productive! Looks great, Tracy!!
February 1st, 2011 at 6:16 pm
Soft pretzels are so addicting. Can’t get enough of them!
February 1st, 2011 at 9:15 pm
soft pretzels are just the best. thank you for sharing this post.
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:46 am
They look so golden and delicious, and i could go on and on about the varieties i could serve that with!
February 2nd, 2011 at 10:36 am
I love making homemade pretzels. Yum!
February 17th, 2011 at 7:48 am
Thanks for this – I live in Japan where it’s impossible to find a good pretzel. For the previous commenter, I used 2 cups WW and 3/4 white. They’re still baking, but I’m pretty sure they came out really well!