This is definitely my favorite recipe for homemade pretzels. They're giant with chewy brown skins and soft fluffy centers, and they taste infinitely better than store bought. If you aren't into trying different types of mustard, you will be after making these because they are even better with a side of spicy mustard. Or you can change up the salt and use Everything Bagel seasoning for a flavor twist.
Small Batch Recipe and Great for Beginners
Pretzel making takes some practice, and this recipe is very good for that because the dough is so easy to work. It's a smaller batch recipe that yields about 6 medium to large size pretzels. Feel free to double. Or double it anyway if you want to get some more practice in. But if you are new to pretzel making a smaller batch might be more manageable for now. Just remember (again) that pretzel making takes practice. Here's one of my earlier masterpieces, which I was very proud of it at the time. Now my pretzels look more like the one in the first photo.
Bob's Artisan Flour & Butter
One big reason my pretzel making skills improved was that I discovered artisan flour, also known as high gluten flour. The extra gluten makes the dough stronger and less likely to break when rolling out your ropes. They should be so strong you can swing them around or jump rope with. Well, maybe not that. But having a smooth, strong, high gluten dough makes it much easier to make nicely shaped pretzels. You can order the special flour online for sure, but I'm starting to see it at more regular grocery stores. I use Bob's Red Mill.
More Pretzel Ingredient Notes
Some notes on ingredients.
- I use regular instant yeast or SAF gold label. I really like the SAF
- The sugar adds a tiny bit of sweetness, but also contributes to browning and chewiness so don't leave it out.
- For the salt in the dough, I use Morton kosher which measures like table salt. For the salt on the outside, I use pretzel salt. Since I don't always make pretzels fresh, we do buy frozen sometimes. We then save the little salt packets from the frozen packs and use them for the fresh.
- The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of butter, but I think the pretzels taste even better when made with 1 tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of oil. For my last batch I used Orville Redenbacher buttery flavored topping oil (which is soybean oil) and I think the pretzels had the best flavor ever.
- I use exactly ¾ cup of 120 degree water which is just right with 308 grams of Bob's artisan flour. If you are using a different brand or type of flour, you may need a little more or less water. For instance, if you use all-purpose flour might not absorb as much water, therefore you might need to add a little more flour after adding the water. The dough should not be sticky, but it shouldn't be dry either. It should be a strong, smooth dough.
Recipe
The Best Homemade Pretzels
Equipment
Ingredients
- 308 grams all-purpose flour or Artisan bread flour 2 ¼ cups plus more if needed
- 1 ⅛ teaspoon instant yeast
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter (or use 1 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil)
- ¾ cup very warm water (120 degrees F)** A little warmer than usual to activate the instant yeast. If using active dry, water should be only around 105 to 110F.
Boiling Solution
- 5 cups water
- ⅓ cup baking soda
- 1 beaten egg mixed with a little water
- Pretzel salt or Maldon sea salt
Instructions
- Weigh your flour and combine the flour, yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the melted butter (or butter and oil), then stir in the water to make a soft dough. You can use the paddle attachment or just stir with a heavy-duty scraper or spoon.
- Attach dough hook and knead until dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit in warm spot in the kitchen until doubled (45 minutes to an hour).
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a half-sheet pan with parchment paper and lightly brush with the vegetable oil. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured surface and pat it into a rectangle somewhere around 6x10 inches. Using a knife, slice lengthwise to make 6 10-inch strips. If you want to make 8 pretzels, make a 4x10 rectangle and cut into 4 10-inch strips.
- Move all of the dough strips out of the way and work one strip at a time so you'll have plenty of room for rolling your pretzels. Pretend you work at the mall. Roll each strip of dough into a rope that's somewhere around 20 to 24 inches. Or make smaller or larger pretzels. It's up to you, but you need to be able to easily roll the strips into long ropes. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other, make a twist, and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
- Bring the water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in a large pot.
- Place the pretzels into the boiling water, one at a time, and boil each for about 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula and letting water drip off. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg mixture and sprinkle with your choice of salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
Anna says
Pam, thanks for the constructive criticism. You are exactly right, and I will go in and add more details for rookie bakers. Yeast bread making, especially pretzels, can be difficult and even with the best instructions it still takes practice. I wish I could do a YouTube video, but I'm not a very skilled camera person. What I will do is add your notes and some more tips. As for the pot, a 3 or 4 quart pot should be fine. I will also add some tips on getting the pretzels to hold together, but I sometimes have the same problem you do with them falling apart. For the salt, you can use whatever you want but I use kosher or coarse salt or pretzel salt. You can order pretzel salt on-line or you can buy storebought Super Pretzels and just save the packets from the storebought. I sometimes do that because when we don't have homemade pretzels around (which is most of the time), my husband buys the frozen ones and eats them without the salt, leaving me with the packets. Thanks again for your help, and I'll add more details next time I make these.
Pam says
I’m a beginner, working with bread, other than no-knead foccacia and tortillas. That said, I would’ve appreciated some “rookie” directions, such as what size pot, specifically? I used a 4 quart saucepan. Also, I probably should’ve rested the dough a bit longer, as it was very elastic and difficult to roll out and hold at 24”. Once I got the length, next issue was getting the pretzel “tails” to stick to the bottom of the pretzel. Mind fell apart as soon as it touched the boiling water. I then switched to pretzel bites, which were easier for me to handle. They’re in the oven now, so will see if the effort was worth it. Yours look amazing! Finally, is there a reason the salt has to be Kosher, or would any coarse sale work? Thanks for your time responding, if you can, as I don’t give up easily and would like to try this again.
AJ says
This is a GREAT snack idea for Superbowl weekend. Just pair 'em with a little queso for dipping...
Sweets at Vicky's says
Hi Anna!
I can almost imagine dipping the pretzel into a thick almond caramel concoction. with lemonade on the side of course!
LilSis says
These look great! I've never tried making pretzels, but I'm sure my son would love them.
Clara Curtis says
I'm so glad that they turned out so well! They look great!
Memoria says
I would have never known that you've had problems making pretzels because these look perfect. Wow!!
Anna says
Carol, the success with the pretzels makes me want to make bagels. I used to make them years ago, but haven't in a while. Also, I'm not loyal to any particular bagel recipe so if anyone has a great one, let me know. I guess I should see if Alton Brown has one.
Carol says
Funny that my husband and I were just talking about making homemade pretzels today! I will probably make these this week. Right now I have bagels in the oven. Thanks Hannah!
Steph says
those pretzels look great! I am not a master bread maker either - I will have to try these.
shelly (cookies and cups) says
I agree with you ~ Alton's recipe is the best!!
Kerstin says
Mmm, these look fabulous! I just saved the recipe!
Louise says
Great looking soft pretzel. I can almost smell it. 🙂