This is one of the easiest ways to prepare homemade soft pretzels and the results are extra delicious. The soft pretzel dough only needs to rest for 10 minutes before shaping. The quick baking soda boil gives the pretzels their traditional flavor. Make sure you watch the video for how to shape pretzels!
Homemade soft pretzels are nothing new around here because this recipe has been a reader favorite for years. This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101 (which has become a New York Times Best Seller!).
The dough requires just 6 ingredients and there’s hardly any rise time, so not only are these easy, they’re pretty quick too. In fact, I remember feeling pleasantly surprised at the ease and speed the first time I made them—it took us only 30 minutes to make 1 batch!
Over the years, I’ve added a smidge of melted butter to the dough for improved flavor. Furthermore, we’ve introduced the baking soda bath. While it sounds strange, this step is what gives pretzels that iconic flavor, chewy texture, helps deepen their golden color in the oven, and locks in the super soft interior. If you get the water boiling ahead of time, it really only adds 5 minutes to the entire process.
We’ve also made them soft pretzel bites, soft pretzel knots (with various toppings), jalapeño cheddar pretzels, and soft pretzel rolls from this simple dough. There’s no wrong way to shape a pretzel, but let’s stick with the classic today. I promise you’ll no longer feel intimidated working with yeast, shaping pretzels, or the baking soda bath.
Even if you have zero skill in the kitchen, you can make these homemade soft pretzels.
Step-by-Step Photos
Let’s chat about the dough. You need the simplest, most basic ingredients possible and I bet each one is in your kitchen right now. Warm water, 1 packet of yeast, brown or regular granulated sugar, melted butter, salt, and flour.
Mix the yeast and sugar in the warm water, let it sit for a minute, then whisk in the butter and salt, then add the flour. You can use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment a big bowl and wooden spoon. Work with what you have in the kitchen. And if you need extra help with kneading, see my full How to Knead Dough video tutorial.
You don’t have to wait to let this dough rise for an extended period of time. Just 10 to 30 minutes does the trick. Don’t have a lot of time on your hands? This recipe is for you. If, however, you want to extend the rise time, you certainly could. Doughs that leave time for bulk fermentation (when the dough rises before shaping), typically have a more enhanced, developed flavor. In fact, some pretzel recipes require an overnight rise in the refrigerator. If you have the time for that, do it! However, I find a brief rise suitable for today’s pretzels, especially if I’m making them with younger bakers.
How to Shape Homemade Soft Pretzels
Now it’s time to shape.
Roll about 1/3 cup (75g) of dough into a long 20- to 22-inch rope.
Twist the ends and bring the ends down. That’s a pretzel!
Now drop the pretzels into the boiling water + baking soda. Let them boil for 20–30 seconds each, then place onto a baking sheet. This pretzel dough makes 12 regular-size soft pretzels, so I use 2 baking sheets. 6 on each.
Sprinkle with coarse salt and bake in a hot oven. That’s it, you’re done.
Make-Ahead Tip
If you are making pretzels in advance, do not top them with coarse salt before baking. The salt draws the moisture out of the pretzels, and once you’ve placed the baked and cooled pretzels in an airtight container or bag, it doesn’t take long before you’ll notice water droplets forming inside and the pretzels become soggy and wrinkled. Yuck!
If you won’t be serving the pretzels the same day you bake them, omit the salt-topping step. Bake as directed, then allow to cool completely before placing them in an airtight container, and store at room temperature. When you are ready to serve them, place the pretzels on a baking sheet and brush them lightly with water, then sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake them in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 5–10 minutes, or until warmed through.
Same goes for freezing homemade soft pretzels: wait to top with salt until you’re ready to serve them. Cool the unsalted baked pretzels completely, then freeze in an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. To reheat, brush frozen pretzels (no need to thaw) with water and sprinkle with coarse salt, then bake at 350°F (177°C) for 20 minutes or until warmed through.
And if you want to kick your soft pretzel status into major high gear, add some spicy nacho cheese sauce.
Print
Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 pretzels
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is one of the easiest ways to prepare homemade soft pretzels for beginners, and the results are extra delicious! The dough is a family recipe and only needs to rest for 10 to 30 minutes before shaping. The quick baking soda boil gives the pretzels their traditional flavor, and I do not recommend skipping it. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water (around 100°F/38°C)
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 and 3/4–4 cups (469–500g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
- coarse salt, for topping
Baking Soda Bath (See Recipe Note)
- 1/2 cup (120g) baking soda
- 9 cups (2.13L) water
Instructions
- Whisk the yeast and sugar into warm water. Cover and allow to sit for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the melted butter and salt. Add 3 cups (375g) of flour. Mix with a wooden spoon (or dough hook attachment if using a stand mixer) until combined. Add 3/4 cup (94g) more flour until the dough is slightly tacky and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If it is still sticky, add up to 1/4 cup more (31g) flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time, as needed. Poke the dough with your finger—if it bounces back, it is ready to knead.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 3 to 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 3 to 5 minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Shape the kneaded dough into a ball. Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rest for 10 to 30 minutes. (Meanwhile, I like to get the water + baking soda boiling as instructed in step 8.)
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Silicone baking mats are highly recommended over parchment paper. If using parchment paper, lightly spray with nonstick spray or grease with butter. Set aside.
- With a sharp knife or pizza cutter, cut dough into 75g sections, which is about 1/3 cup of dough each.
- Roll the dough into a 20–22-inch rope. Form a circle with the dough by bringing the 2 ends together at the top of the circle. Twist the ends together. Bring the twisted ends back down towards yourself and press them down to form a pretzel shape.
- Bring baking soda and 9 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Drop 1–2 pretzels into the boiling water for 20–30 seconds. Any longer than that and your pretzels will have a metallic taste. Using a slotted spatula, lift the pretzel out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off. Place pretzel onto prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pretzels. If desired, cover the boiled, unbaked pretzels with lightly oiled plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking (step 9).
- Sprinkle the tops of the pretzels with coarse salt. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until dark golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and, if desired, serve warm with spicy nacho cheese sauce.
- Cover and store leftover pretzels at room temperature for up to 3 days. See Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions in recipe Notes below for more storage info. To reheat, microwave for a few seconds, or bake at 350°F (177°C) for 5 minutes.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: If planning to freeze fully baked pretzels, do not top them with coarse salt before baking. Cool completely, then freeze in an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. To reheat, brush frozen pretzels (no need to thaw) with water and sprinkle with coarse salt, then bake at 350°F (177°C) for 20 minutes or until warmed through, or microwave frozen pretzels until warm. The prepared pretzel dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to one day or frozen in an airtight container for 2–3 months. Thaw frozen dough in the refrigerator overnight. Refrigerated dough can be shaped into pretzels while still cold, but allow some extra time, about 1 hour, for the pretzels to puff up at room temperature before continuing with the baking soda bath and baking. You can also freeze the boiled, unbaked pretzels and here’s how: after boiling the pretzels in step 8, place them on a lightly greased parchment paper- or silicone baking mat-lined baking sheet. Freeze the pretzels for about 1 hour, then transfer them to an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top bag (squeeze out as much air as possible from the bag before sealing) and freeze for up to 3 months. To bake, brush frozen pretzels (no need to thaw) with water and sprinkle with coarse salt, then bake at 400°F (204°C) for 15–20 minutes or until dark golden brown.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Stand Mixer or Glass Mixing Bowl | Wooden Spoon | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Pizza Cutter | Large Pot (such as a Dutch oven)
- Baking Soda Bath (Step 8): The baking soda bath is strongly recommended because it helps create that chewy texture and distinctive pretzel flavor. If skipping, brush the shaped and unbaked pretzels with a mixture of 1 beaten egg + 1 Tablespoon of dairy or nondairy milk. This is known as an egg wash. Sprinkle the brushed pretzels with salt. The egg wash will help the salt stick. If you don’t have an egg, simply brush with 2 Tablespoons of dairy or nondairy milk.
- Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels: Skip the coarse salt topping (and skip the egg wash, see note above, if you aren’t doing the baking soda bath step). Bake as directed in step 9. Meanwhile, melt 4 Tablespoons (56g) of unsalted or salted butter. Brush the baked and warm pretzels with melted butter, then dip the tops into a mix of cinnamon and sugar. I usually use 3/4 cup (150g) of granulated sugar and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Cinnamon-sugar pretzels taste best the day they’re made because the melted butter topping causes them to become soggy after a few hours.
- Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
Reader Comments and Reviews
The pretzels were delicious. It took a lot longer than the recipe calls for but it was worth it. We added cheese, cinnamon sugar and crispy onions to some of the pretzels. I’m definitely going to be making this recipe again.
I work in humanitarian aid and somehow have managed to get myself in a spot where I bake different treats with about 10-15 young kids, often ones they have never tried before. We’ve been doing it for almost a year, different baked good every weekend, but its been getting harder to do simply because the kids LOVE this recipe so much!
We’ve made the recipe twice as a group, once salty and once with cinnamon sugar, both double batches. However, I have made it 4 other times for them as a substitute for cake on their birthday. I personally love it for the fact it had been about a year since I’ve had a good soft pretzels and despite being a novice baker, they come perfect everytime. Can’t recommend a better pretzel recipe!
I love baking this recipe with my dad. My friends and family all love these pretzels. They are so fun and easy to make and they are AMAZING! Thanks Sally! ❤️
Do we need a egg wash? Will the salty ones still come out shiny without egg wash?
Hi Leslie, it’s not necessary here, but you could also add an egg wash in addition to the boiling step if you wish. See recipe Notes for details.
I love this recipe! It’s so wonderfully explained the pretzels turned out so good even though I am a rookie. I made it multiple times and it’s a family favourite!
I’ve never been able to successfully make pretzels before. They were always too tough. Then I found Sally’s recipe!
The first time I made them I ate them all before I could share with anyone, so I had to make them a second time, and they were even better. So, of course, as soon as we ran out I had to make it a third time.
This recipe is quick, delicious, and even better than the mall pretzels.
Plus, if you bring homemade pretzels to the party or potluck, it’s unlikely you’ll overlap with any other guest!
I have made this recipe five times total so far and look forward to making it 100 times more.
So easy, quick, and such a crowd pleaser
I can’t wait to try this recipe for a party coming up soon!
I have a food processor with a plastic dough blade. It works great with pizza dough.
Is there any reason this would not work for this recipe?
Hi John, we haven’t tried this, but let us know how it turns out if you do!
I made this today because my husband was missing San Francisco Street Pretzels. The dough is great and the boiling a must, but no matter how long they were in the oven – I cooked them 8 minutes longer – they just weren’t the same. My husband came in and put one in the air fryer for 4 minutes and OMG – we were back on the streets of the City loving our warm pretzel. The air fryer made the perfect crust.
Love this recipe, easy to follow an delicious pretzels
Perfect! Great recipe. It was very easy and the pretzels are very tasty.
I made these just as a prop for my 9 year old’s school project on Germany. I halved the recipe just to get one decent enough looking pretzel to present. Halving made 6. I wish I had made 60! These were so freaking good and easy and THANK YOU!! Will make again next week just because!
Hey Sally, Me and two of my friends are doing a school project we are in middle school and we are doing three of your pretzels, We are baking the Jalapeno and The Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels and your homemade easy soft pretzels. We would like your input on how to make the Pretzels.
Hi Mai, you can find the recipe and a video tutorial for these soft pretzels above – happy baking!
I just made a half-recipe in just under an hour, with hand kneading. Wonderfully easy to do, with great results.
I first made the full recipe during lockdown, so it was good to make it again.
This recipe is a 75% hydration dough (360/480) and will never come together as described. I kneaded for 40 minutes by hand and had a broken wrist at the end.
Had to add much more than 500 grams of flour to reach the point where the dough was not sticky!
I’m still planning on doing this. But if I were to freeze them (already baked), can I use an airfryer to warm it again? I do this with my homemade waffles for easy breakfast. I usually warm them directly from the freezer for 4 minutes at 160c and they come out just a bit crispier than usual.
We haven’t tested warming these in an air-fryer, but think it would work great! Let us know if you try.
I have lost count of how many times I have made these. They are always a hit and I have shared this with many friends
Thank you!
Such a winning recipe. Easy, fast and delicious !!!
The dough was quite sticky so I added what was probably too much flour and I let them rise for too long but they still turned out perfect!
This recipe was easy to follow and came out perfectly. Thank you!
Terrible recipe, took 3 hours to make… 40 minutes more like 180 , absolutely ridiculous adding 1/2 cup baking soda to the dough, disgusting please make a new recipe, Aperiate it!.
You don’t add baking soda to the dough. You add it to the boiling water in which you quickly drop the dough into. Thats what makes your pretzel have pretzel chewy texture.
Nick, a baking soda prebake boil is essential and necessary for making pretzels. No baking soda bath, congratulations you just made bread shaped as a pretzel. No distinct pretzel flavor or texture. Don’t forget the baking soda Nick!
You weren’t meant to add 1/2 cup baking soda to the dough, that was for the water bath.
The baking soda was to add to the boiling water not the dough. I hope you didn’t eat any. That’s quite toxic. Please read the recipe carefulky you coild have made everyone very ill. The recipe even says no more than 30 seconds in the water or it will taste metallic
Hi, wondering the best way to save the dough for the following day. I made a batch of dough but only used about half. I’d like to use the other half tomorrow. Do you have any suggestions on best way to preserve the dough through the night?
Hi Tabitha, The prepared pretzel dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to one day. We’d recommend a bowl covered with a clean towel or plastic wrap.
DELICIOUS! I ended up making a handful with different seasonings too and I will be making these again!
Do you have the recipe in metric/weights?
Hi Eliza, yes, all the metric weights are included in the recipe.
I made your pretzel bites recipe last time, and after trying this one out too, it was JUST as delicious! Will definitely be making again whenever the time rises! Thank you for this amazing recipe.
Can these be made mini?
Hi Marissa, certainly! Or here’s our pretzel bites recipe (using this same dough).
I used a spider strainer for the dipping in the boiling water baking soda mixture, worked great. Recipe turned out perfect using exact half measurements for a 6 pretzel serve. Thanks Sally
My son and I made these and they are absolutely delicious!! Easy to make. Thank you once again for another great recipe.
These are SO good! I made a double batch just today and I’m so glad I did! Everyone in the house loved them.
I’ve made these pretzels with my friends a few times and they are BY FAR the tastiest recipe I’ve found. I’ve tried other recipes that were good, but THIS one is my new go-to. Absolutely delicious, so soft… We made pizza pretzels, cinnamon sugar ones, and some normal salt ones.
This recipe is just truly amazing!
Like all of Sally’s recipes that I’ve tried, these turned out really well. But I would appreciate a video on the technique of rolling the dough ropes. They start out fine, but as soon as they’re longer than my fingers are wide, they go all wonky. If I’m working on one end, the other starts contracting again and losing length. I ended up just holding them up by one end and sort of “milking” them to get the 20″ of length suggested, so they weren’t as round as they would have been if rolled.
Hi Pat, were you able to view the video below the recipe? Sally demonstrates how to shape the pretzels beginning around the 1:40 mark. It could also be that the gluten in the dough just needs some time to relax. When this happens to us (it often does), just lightly cover the dough and dough rope you’re working on, let it rest for 5 minutes and then try again. It will be stretchier after a brief rest. Hope this helps for your next batch!
Urned out pretty good for my first try. I had an expired yeast from 2023, but I let it proof over night and got lucky. I first put the boiled pretzels on a dish cloth to drain before putting on a cookie sheet. Silicone mats are a great suggestion. I used an egg wash, but next time will try butter. Thanks for this fool proof recipe.
I just got done making a batch of the soft pretzels, the second batch this week. I have made so many recipes from Sally’s site, all absolutely incredible! Her recipes never disappoint.
Made these tonight and they were delicious! I’m not sure how much flour we ended up adding because we did it by feel of the dough. They were so good!! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!