Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels
- Snack
- Serves 12 pretzels
- Toddler friendly
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water, about 100F
- 2 1/4 tsp (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 TB brown sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 TB unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 3 3/4-4 cups (469-500g) all-purpose flour, plus more for hands and work surface
- Coarse salt or coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
- 1/2 cup (120g) baking soda
- 9 cups (2,160ml) water
Instructions
- Whisk the yeast into the warm water and let sit for 1 minute. Whisk in the salt, brown sugar, and melted butter. Slowly add 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing with a wooden spoon or dough hook until thick. Add 3/4 cup more flour until the dough is no longer sticky (add up to 1/4-1/2 cup more if needed). It's ready to knead when it bounces back to a finger poke.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface, knead for 3 minutes, and shape into a ball. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
- Cut the dough into 1/3 cup sections. Roll each into a 20-22 inch rope, bring the ends together at the top to form a circle, twist the ends together, then bring them back down and press to form a pretzel shape.
- Bring the baking soda and 9 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Drop 1-2 pretzels in for 20-30 seconds (no longer, or they'll taste metallic), lift out with a slotted spatula, let excess water drip off, and place on the prepared sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt. Repeat with the remaining pretzels.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm, or with spicy nacho cheese sauce.
Note
Baked and cooled pretzels freeze well for 2-3 months. For cinnamon sugar pretzels, skip the salt topping, and after baking brush with melted butter and dip in a cinnamon-sugar mix.