Chewy, soft buttery pretzels hot out of your oven sounds good, doesn’t it? Learn How To Make Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels like you get at the mall or ballpark. This recipe is easy to make with basic ingredients and they are golden brown and perfectly salty.
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This is the truth, I am missing baseball this year and I am even sadder to miss going to San Francisco to watch the Giants play ball. After all, Pablo is back!
I am also missing one of my favorite ballpark foods, a hot salty pretzel with butter. Since we couldn’t be at the stadium to buy my snacks, I decided to make my own homemade buttery pretzels.
Just think how much fun it is to serve pretzels for your family’s game night, slumber parties, movie nights, or just to serve for a snack. My kids have fond memories of pretzel baking days, and this is a great recipe to get your kids involved; they like to roll and shape the dough.
Ingredients
This pretzel recipe uses simple ingredients you have in your pantry, so you don’t need anything fancy.
- Flour
- Yeast
- Butter
- Honey
- Salt
- Baking Soda
- Water
- Water
- Egg
- Pretzel Salt
Making pretzels is really easy there are just a few important steps, like letting the dough rise and cooking the pretzels in baking soda water. The best part about making pretzels is shaping the dough.
Let’s make pretzels
It’s easy with this simple dough, and it’s best to use a stand mixer with a dough hook
Step 1. Add the yeast to a mixing bowl with warm water, whisk and let it sit for about 5 minutes until it is frothy.
Step 2. Add the flour, kosher salt, melted butter, and honey to the bowl and mix at low speed using the dough hook until the dry ingredients are mixed in. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then turn the mixer to medium and knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is soft and elastic.
If you don’t have a stand mixer use a large bowl and mix the ingredients into the yeast with a wooden spoon and then knead the dough for about 5 minutes incorporating enough flour to make a smooth and elastic dough.
Step 3. Place the dough into a large, well-oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap for about an hour or until doubled in size.
Step 4. After an hour, punch down the dough, then recover with the plastic wrap and let rise for a half-hour.
Step 5. Make an egg wash by beating one egg with one teaspoon of water. Set aside.
Step 6. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Prepare a 12″ skillet with 6 cups of water and the baking soda, and bring to a rolling boil; this will be used for cooking the pretzels. Line 2 half-sheet baking pans with parchment paper and lightly oil or use a Silpat.
Step 7. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 12 to 14 2-ounce pieces of dough and roll each piece into a 20″ long rope, about 1/2″ thick then form into a pretzel shape. Place the pretzels on the parchment-lined baking sheets or Silpat-lined baking sheets.
Step 8. Place the pretzels in the boiling water with the baking soda for 30 seconds; you can fit about two to three at a time in the water, then remove the pretzels with a slotted spatula or flat strainer, and place them on the baking sheet.
Step 9. Brush each pretzel with the egg wash, then sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
Step 10. Remove the pretzels from the oven and brush with melted butter.
Pretzel FAQ’s
Yes, you do. The scientific name for this is the Maillard reaction. The easy way to explain this is that dipping the dough in an alkaline solution made with baking soda stops the dough from rising as it bakes and the alkaline creates a browned outside crust and chewy pretzel
You will love these other bread recipes
- This Cranberry Bread is the most pinned recipe on the blog
- This Pumpkin Bread is a fall favorite with all the great warming spices
- Skillet Cornbread bakes up golden brown and tender inside. This cornbread is full of veggies and cheese.
- This 3-Ingredient Crescent Roll recipe is a favorite bite-size pastry, perfect for brunches and snacks.
- For the easiest scone recipe, try these Apple Scones that you can make and bake in under one hour.
- We love these golden brown and buttery Garlic Knots to pair with soups and salads.
Pretzel tips and tricks
- How to get the salt to stick to the pretzels – brush each one with an egg wash and sprinkle the salt on top before baking the pretzels. Trust me, the salt will stick!
- Can you freeze pretzels – Yes, you can, hallelujah! Just bake the pretzels as shown, (except DO NOT brush with the egg wash or add salt), and wrap the cooled pretzels in foil, then place in a ziplock bag and freeze.
- To reheat, let it thaw for about 10 minutes, then place the foil-wrapped pretzel on a baking sheet, and reheat at 400 degrees F. for about 5 – 8 minutes. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with salt if desired, and enjoy!
- Note: If you prebake the pretzels with salt, freeze them, and then rebake them, the pretzels will become soggy from the salt. So, add the salt after you reheat the pretzels,
- How to store homemade pretzels – Pretzels are best eaten the same day they are made for the best flavor and the perfect chewiness; however, eating a whole batch of pretzels is not always possible, so….you can freeze the leftover pretzels like shown above, or place the pretzels in a paper bag for a day or two.
- How to reheat pretzels – Try this for the best taste: wrap the pretzel in foil and reheat at 400 degrees F for about 5 minutes.
Don’t forget the dough hook for your mixer. This one fits my 5-quart Kitchenaid mixer. Make sure to check the model number that fits yours.
Don't forget the dough hook for your mixer. This one fits my 5-quart Kitchenaid mixer. Make sure to check the model number that matches yours.
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Soft Buttery Homemade Pretzels
Ingredients
- 2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 cup Water, 110°F
- 3 cups Bread flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted
- 6 cups water this is for boiling the pretzels
- 3 tablespoon Baking soda this goes in with the water for boiling the pretzels
- 1 Egg, beaten
- 2 tablespoon Pretzel salt
- 4 tablespoon Butter, melted for brushing on top
Instructions
- For this recipe, a stand mixer with a dough hook is best to use. In the mixing bowl add the yeast and warm water, mix slightly and let sit until foamy.
- Add the flour, salt, honey, and melted butter to the bowl and knead on low speed until combined then, knead on medium speed until a smooth dough, elastic ball of dough forms. This takes about 5-6 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the bowl and place it in a well-oiled large bowl. (You can clean the one you just used and oil it.) Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough, cover again with the plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F and prepare a 12" skillet for cooking the pretzels with 6 cups of water and the baking soda, bring to a rolling boil. Line 2 baking half-sheet pans with lightly oiled parchment paper, or use a Silpat.
- Make an egg wash by beating the egg with a teaspoon of water, set aside.
- Meanwhile, turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and divide it into 12-14 pieces weighing 2 ounces. You can also make the pretzels any size you like.
- Roll each piece of dough into a 20" x ½" wide rope and then make a u-shape with the rope then cross the ropes near the bottom, and fold back onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Press the end to seal. You may need to brush the ends of the dough with water to help make the dough stick. Place the pretzels on the baking sheets until all the pretzels are shaped.
- Place each pretzel in the boiling water with the baking soda for 30 seconds, then remove with a slotted spatula or large flat strainer and set back on the baking sheets. I put two pretzels in the water at a time
- Brush each pretzel with the egg wash and sprinkle with the pretzel salt.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the pretzels are nice and brown.
- Remove from the oven and generously brush with melted butter then transfer to a cooling rack.
Notes
- To reheat, let thaw for about 10 minutes place the foil-wrapped pretzel on a baking sheet, and reheat at 400 degrees F. oven for about 5 – 8 minutes. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with salt if desired and enjoy!
- Note: if you prebake the pretzels with salt then freeze and then rebake, the pretzels will become soggy from the salt. So, add the salt after you reheat the pretzels.
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Nutrition
Thank you for stopping by the One Hot Oven blog. Please leave a comment to say Hello or just let me know what you are baking these days, I always love hearing from fellow bakers. Have any questions or just want to chat about the recipe? My contact information is on my about page, and I’ll be happy to help.
About Jere’
From learning to cook on a farm in Indiana to culinary school in California, my passion for food is never-ending. Turning on my oven to bake something for friends and family is my happy place, and I am glad to be here at One Hot Oven sharing both sweet and savory recipes with all my baking friends.
I just love a good idea for sleepover baking – that is, I have teens over for a sleepover and make them bake! Oh, coffee is so good when there are others in the kitchen, and I can enjoy it in peace while tasting what others bake!
Both of my daughters grew up baking, and when they had sleepovers they loved having their friends help in the kitchen. And you are right about the coffee.