Homemade German Soft Pretzels
These Homemade German Soft Pretzels are fluffy and warm with the perfect salty finish. All you need is a little patience and confidence, and you can recreate this ballpark favorite at home!
Equipment
- Pastry Brush (optional)
- Pizza Cutter (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast 2 ¼ tsp = 1 packet
- 2 teaspoons salt + coarse salt for topping
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour + extra to flour surface for kneading
- 1 ½ cups bread flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ⅔ cup baking soda
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, add warm water (no need for boiling, you can just use warm water from the sink or microwave room temperature water for 45 seconds), sugar, and yeast and whisk to combine. Cover with a clean kitchen towel to sit for 5 minutes until foamy.1 ½ cups warm water, 1 tablespoon light brown sugar, 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
- In a microwave-safe bowl, heat butter in 20-second intervals until completely melted. Add your melted butter to a large mixing bowl with both flours and salt.2 teaspoons salt + coarse salt for topping, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 3 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour, 1 ½ cups bread flour
- Add the foamy yeast to the flour mixture and use clean hands to work the dough together until combined. It may be a bit sticky and crumbly, but that’s okay!
- Add flour to a clean surface and turn dough out onto the floured surface. Knead for 6-8 minutes until dough forms.
- Pour olive oil on the sides and bottom of a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, add a little olive oil on top, and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rise at room temperature for 1 hour until it doubles in size.2 tablespoons olive oil
- Start your “pretzel bath” by boiling 10 cups of water with your baking soda. It’s also time to preheat your oven to 450°F.⅔ cup baking soda
- Use a floured rolling pin to roll your dough out into a rectangular shape, roughly 9 x 12 inches.
- Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to slice your dough longways, so you're left with 8 roughly even-sized strips.
- Roll each piece against the table with your hands, until they are cylindrical and about 20 inches long.
- Now it’s time to shape your pretzels. See above for detailed instructions.
- By now, your pretzel bath should be boiling. Give it a couple of stirs to make sure the baking soda is completely integrated into the water.
- Slowly lower a pretzel into the bath using a large sieve. Keep pretzel in the bath for 3 minutes, remove, and set aside to dry. Repeat for all of your pretzels. You can do 1 or 2 at a time, but no more than 2.
- Make your egg wash by whisking egg. Once all your pretzels are dry, line them up on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, brush with egg wash, and crack on course salt.1 large egg
- Bake your pretzels for 14-16 minutes until golden brown and a little crispy on the outside. Serve with mustard or beer cheese. Yum!
Notes
- The pretzel bath technique is really what makes these pretzels, so you can shape them however you want, use another dough recipe, or even use store-bought dough. Just make sure if your shape is smaller, you bake them for less time.
- These will keep well for up to ten days in the fridge. Just reheat in the oven at 425 for 5 minutes directly on the oven rack.
- To freeze them, allow them to cool completely and either wrap with saran wrap or put in individual freezer bags. To reheat, you can either pull them out of the freezer and allow to defrost in the fridge up to 24 hours before, or you can put frozen pretzels directly into the oven on oven rack and bake at 425 for 10 minutes.
- You can use all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour. I love both ways! The whole wheat flour produces a darker, more hearty pretzel as pictured above. All-purpose flour will yield a lighter and airier pretzel.