Want to Learn to Bake Your Own Soft Pretzels?
Yes? Follow the recipe below for how to bake soft pretzels in one hour. These are perfect for a crowd. Double or even triple the recipe and you will have a mound of chewy golden soft pretzels to share with your friends or Oktoberfest revelers. I recently made 500+ of these to serve at our local brew fest to rave reviews. So, read on my Bread Baker friends and learn to make your own soft pretzels!
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What’s the Difference Between Soft Pretzels and Hard Pretzels?
Soft pretzels are the kind you find in Germany. Hard pretzels are the ones you find on snack shelves in America. When I lived in Germany, I found giant soft bretzel (German for pretzel) at all the festivals like Oktoberfest or other beer and city festivals. They are ubiquitous.
Soft Pretzels. If you want to make yours similar to the German ones, then make the soft kind and make them BIG! The pretzels you find in Germany equal the size of their steins (think of the beer steins being delivered by the traditionally costumed women at Oktoberfest). The plus side of soft pretzels is that they are crunchy outside, chewy inside and best eaten on the day they are baked.
Hard Pretzels. If you prefer the hard pretzels, you can bake these longer at a lower temperature to dehydrate the liquid from the pretzel. This causes them to become hard pretzels. The hard pretzels store well at room temperature, so if you’re looking for a snacking pretzel to have throughout the week, try the hard ones.
Three Shapes of a Soft Pretzel
This soft dough is very pliable so it’s easy to work into your desired shape. Here I recommend four different shapes depending on how you plan to serve them.
- Traditional knotted pretzel
- Pretzel Sticks
- Pretzel Buns
Traditional Knotted Pretzel
The traditional knotted pretzel is easy to make although it might feel complicated at first. See Pinterest Video or Follow these instructions:
- Cut your dough into 72-75 gram (2.5-2.6 oz) pieces.
- Roll out a long rope from each piece about 16-18 inches long (40-45 cm).
- Grab the two ends of the rope.
- Pull the ends up and away from you and bring them together like you’re making a “heart” shape.
- Cross the two ends of the rope and twist once.
- Press the ends on either bottom side of the “heart” shape.
- Pick the pretzel up by the top of the “heart” to move it.
- Repeat. This recipe makes about 12 traditionally shaped knotted pretzels.
Pretzel Sticks
- Cut your dough into 72-75 gram (2.5-2.6 oz) pieces.
- Roll out a long rope from each piece about 16 inches long (40 cm).
- Cut the rope into 4 pieces about 4 inches (10 cm) each.
- Repeat. This recipe makes about 48 pretzel sticks.
Pretzel Buns
- Cut your dough into 72-75 gram (2.5-2.6 oz) pieces.
- Flatten each piece of dough by pressing gently on it.
- Pull the sides towards the center and pinch together.
- Flip over.
- Tighten the dough ball by dragging and turning it on a flat surface.
- Repeat. This recipe makes 12 pretzel buns.
A Word About Sheet Pans for Baking Soft Pretzels
A half-sized sheet pan works best to bake these pretzels. I tested a solid sheet pan (with parchment paper and silicone baking mat). Six pretzels fit on each half sheet pan. I did find that the pretzels came off the silicone mat just fine. However, they stuck to the parchment paper as I forgot to spray the paper before laying the wet pretzels on it. So, if you are using parchment, spray it liberally to prevent sticking. On the other hand, I highly recommend using a professional perforated baking sheet. I did not need to spray or line these handy baking sheets at all. The air flow allows the bottom of the pretzels (and other breads) to bronze uniformly and keeps them from sticking.
Perforated Baking Sheets are best for baking breads that don’t stick and have crispy bottoms.
Coarse Kosher Salt is used on traditionally made pretzels, the flavor of this salt is the best!
Sharing is Caring
The beauty in baking is sharing your love and hard work with others. So bake up a dozen and share some with a neighbor, coworker or friends. If you want to try another fall inspired recipe, check out Apple Cider Spiced Waffles. Post a photo of your creations to FB, IG or Twitter and tag @christinasbreadbakes. I love to see your homemade bakes! Happy Baking, Bread Bakers!
Pretzels
Ingredients
Pretzel Dough
- 355 grams Warm Water 100°F 1 ½ cups
- 7 grams Yeast 2 ¼ tsp
- 12 grams Sugar 1 T
- 8 grams Salt 1 ½ tsp
- 15 grams Vegetable Oil 1 T
- 475 grams Bread Flour 3.5-4 cups
Baking Soda & Water Bath
- 2.3 Kg Water 10 cups
- 90 grams Baking Soda ½ cup
- 2 T Coarse Kosher Salt – preferred or Coarse Sea Salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a mixer, add yeast, sugar, salt, oil with the warm water. Stir to combine.
- Add flour. Mix on low speed with dough hook 2-3 minutes, until a ragged dough is formed.
- Switch to speed two and continue to mix until a soft dough is formed, 3-4 minutes. If needed, add a tablespoon more of flour until dough does not stick to fingers when touched.
- Dump dough onto work surface. Gently knead into a ball.
- Set aside for ten minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.
- Bring 10 cups of water plus 1/2 cup baking soda to a boil.
- Prepare a baking sheet lined with a silicon baking mat or parchment paper.HINT: If using parchment paper, spray it VERY well with oil otherwise your pretzels will stick when baked. I prefer the professional perforated baking sheets as bread cooks more evenly on the bottom and does not stick when the air flows through the holes. You can also use a baking sheet without a mat or parchment, just spray it very well with oil.
- Divide dough into twelve pieces, 72-75 grams each (2.5-2.6 oz).
- Form pretzel dough into desired shape (see instructions in blog post).
- Once pretzels, pretzel sticks or pretzel buns are formed, place them on a tray and allow to rise in a warm place until puffy (about 10-15 minutes).
- Once the baking soda and water bath is boiling, add pretzels, pretzel sticks or pretzel buns to water, about 2-3 at a time (place them in the water face up). DO NOT TURN THEM OVER. Boil for 30 seconds (no longer or they will taste metallic).
- Remove with a slotted spoon and place face up onto baking sheet. While still wet, sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
- Repeat until all pretzels, pretzel sticks or buns are on a sheet pan.
- Bake pretzels and pretzel sticks 12-15 minutes until golden brown, rotating pans as needed to achieve an even golden-brown color. Bake buns 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove and cool. Serve.
I am going to try this recipe soon. I did not realize pretzels had such simple ingredients. Soft pretzels are my favorite.
Hi Gina! Soft pretzels are the best! I hope you get a chance to make and share some, happy baking.
I’m anxious to try your recipe, but I’m new to mountain living and haven’t learned how to adapt recipes to prevent my baked goods from collapsing in the center. Will your pretzel recipe work up here in the stratosphere!
Hi Linda – Absolutely!! I live at 6,400 feet and this recipe works great. FYI, I only need to add a bit of extra yeast in particularly heavy dough recipes full of eggs, butter & sugar (like cinnamon rolls) but for regular breads I keep the yeast the same. I do live in a very dry climate (high desert) so I do adjust the water – I typically need 10-15% more water to hydrate doughs properly. I hope that helps! Happy baking.
Pretzels looks so good, a perfect light snack for tea time.
Hi Ayesha – Yes, they make perfect tea time snacks! With some fruit and a cheese sauce for dipping both, they make a great pick me up.
Over 500 in one go! Wow! German pretzels are the yummiest! Thanks for clear instruction on how to make them at home; I will give it a shot since I have big little fans in the family:)
Hi Mihaela – You are welcome for the clear instructions on making these at home. No one ever thinks to make their own pretzels, but they really are so easy and will please your big little fans (they may even enjoy helping)! Have fun.
Oh, absolutely! They love to get covered in flour and especially taste as many as possible for approval:)))
pretzels! definitely my fave, glad to bump with your recipe to try, since this is something I really miss the last time I was in Europe. Thanks for this
Hi Jean – There’s something about pretzels that are just “happy,” right? Maybe it’s the shape, but any way they are memorable and stick in our minds. Happy pretzel baking!
Your recipe and tutorial made it so easy to make soft pretzels. I love soft pretzels and this is something that my daughter enjoyed making too – and of course she really enjoyed eating them!
Hi Dawn – Mother-Daughter baking is the best, I am glad you both found the step-by-step instructions easy to follow!
I LOVE that this pretzel recipe can be made in an hour!! This is such a game-changer for football season. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Hi Emily! Thanks for stopping by and happy football season with these yummy pretzels!
I love pretzels but have never tried making them.. I’m definitely going to try them soon.. thanks for sharing all the little details that we need to make perfect pretzels
Hi Shilpa! You’re welcome, I always try to include the small details in my recipes so everyone can find success – enjoy baking these fun pretzels!
Love pretzels and thank you so much for such in-depth descriptions on how to make them. I definitely will give it a go and have some.
Thank you for sharing
Hi Giangi – Thanks for the visit! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe for soft pretzels.
This recipe is amazing! I’ve been meaning to try to try making pretzels but hadn’t looked for a recipe. This one showed up on my Instagram so I’m going to pin it for later! I can’t wait to make these and see if they pass the husband taste test 🤣.
Hi Linda, I am glad you found my recipe. Enjoy making them for your husband, my family loves them!