These soft pretzel knots are exactly like regular homemade soft pretzels, but shaped and tied like garlic knots. There’s more compacted surface area, which means there’s more room for toppings such as cinnamon sugar, garlic parmesan, or jalapeño cheddar. The dough requires just 6 ingredients and there’s hardly any rise time, so this is a wonderful recipe for yeast beginners. Have fun shaping the knots (they don’t need to be perfect!) and enjoy warm, flavorful homemade pretzels within an hour.
Warm pretzels! Toppings! Dips! All the good stuff in life is right here today!
Soft Pretzel Knots Details
- Flavor: If you enjoy soft pretzels, you’ll love today’s soft pretzel knots. They’re completely homemade, so unlike store-bought frozen soft pretzels, each has that soft, warm, and fresh-from-the-oven taste and texture. You can keep the pretzels traditional with a sprinkling of coarse salt or try various toppings. There’s a detailed list of options below.
- Texture: The difference between pretzel-shaped (or knot-shaped) bread and soft pretzels/soft pretzel knots is an alkaline bath. This is when shaped soft pretzel dough takes a dip in boiling water and baking soda, a surprisingly easy step that provides the iconic chewy pretzel texture and adds a deeper, richer color to the baked pretzels. The boiling water also locks in the shape so they don’t over-puff in the oven. (Without the baking soda bath, you lose texture, that deep brown color, and flavor. So, basically, you will have bread instead of a pretzel.) We do this key step when making regular soft pretzels, pretzel rolls, and soft pretzel bites, too.
- Ease: My recipe for soft pretzels has become one of the most reader-loved recipes on this website because the pretzels are relatively quick, extremely easy, and deliver great taste. Same story with these pretzel knots! Though the recipe requires yeast, I always say that this pretzel dough is a terrific starting point for yeast beginners because there’s very little rise time. Shaping takes a little practice, but the knots do NOT need to be perfect. No matter the shape, they’ll still taste like pretzels. Still, if you’re a perfectionist, this recipe yields 14-15 knots so you have opportunity to get the shape right.
Soft Pretzels with a Slightly Different Shape
The goal for today’s soft pretzel knots recipe was to make a soft pretzel with more compacted surface area for toppings and for holding onto dips and sauces. I never stray from the original soft pretzel dough, so that’s what you’ll use as the base for these pretzel knots. You need just 6 basic ingredients to get started including warm water, yeast, a little sugar to feed the yeast, melted butter, salt, and all-purpose flour. (If you have it, the same amount of bread flour works too!)
The dough doesn’t require extended rise time and the baking soda bath is pretty quick, so besides the baking step, the longest stretch of time this recipe requires is shaping.
- Divide the dough into 14-15 pieces, which is about 1/4 cup (about 2 ounces) of dough each. Roll each into 14-inch ropes. Tie the ropes into a knot like you do when making garlic knots, then tuck the ends underneath. The ends are quite long so rather than tucking the ends straight underneath, I curve them around the pretzel before tucking under. You can see me do that in the video below.
Here are photos so you can visualize the process:
Whisk the warm water, yeast, and sugar together. Cover and let the mixture sit for a few minutes until foamy on top. Waiting for it to foam isn’t totally necessary, but it helps us see that the yeast is ready and active. The right photo below shows the dough before kneading.
Knead the dough, using my How to Knead Dough video tutorial as needed. Cut the kneaded dough into 14-15 sections, roll into ropes, and then shape into knots. The video tutorial located in the recipe shows these steps as well.
The following photo shows the knots after the baking soda bath. At this point, they are ready to bake.
Topping Options
Immediately after the baking soda bath while the pretzel knots are still wet, sprinkle with coarse salt. Or if you’d like a different topping, skip the coarse salt and try:
- Cinnamon Sugar: Bake the pretzels completely plain without salt. Once done and still warm out of the oven, brush with melted butter then dip into a mix of cinnamon and granulated sugar.
- Garlic Parmesan: Bake the pretzels completely plain without salt. Once done and still warm out of the oven, brush with melted butter then dip into a mix of grated parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and Italian Seasoning. Italian Seasoning is a store-bought item, but you can make your own homemade Italian seasoning. You need 1 and 1/2 teaspoons.
- Jalapeño Cheddar: When the pretzels are still wet from the baking soda bath, sprinkle with coarse salt as if you were making plain salted pretzels. Just like when you make regular jalapeño cheddar pretzels, arrange 2-3 thin slices of jalapeño on top and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with cheddar cheese, then return the oven to finish baking.
Detailed instructions for these toppings are available in the recipe notes below. I bet you could have fun with even more toppings such as everything bagels seasoning instead of coarse salt. Heavily sprinkle on the pretzels while they’re still wet from the baking soda bath before baking.
Great for Dipping & Soaking Up Sauce
The knot shape yields a doughier pretzel than the traditional soft pretzel shape, so they require longer in the oven. And because they have more interior, pretzel knots are perfect for dipping and soaking up sauce. Serve with:
- Tomato Sauce (great with the garlic parmesan pretzels)
- Bacon Spinach Dip (tasty with the salted pretzels)
- Spicy Nacho Cheese Sauce (pictured above and delicious with the jalapeño cheddar or salted pretzels)
- Pepperoni Pizza Dip (wonderful with the garlic parmesan or salted pretzels)
- Stone Ground Mustard (always great with salted pretzels)
- Homemade Pesto (try with the garlic parmesan or salted pretzels)
- Maryland-Style Crab Dip (love this with salted pretzels)
I always serve cinnamon sugar pretzels plain, but you could try vanilla icing if you wanted to serve them with a dip. Lots of options here, so have fun!
See Your Soft Pretzel Knots!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
PrintSoft Pretzel Knots
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 14-15 knots
- Category: Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft pretzel knots are exactly like regular homemade soft pretzels, but shaped and tied like garlic knots. There’s more compact surface area, which means there’s more room for toppings such as cinnamon sugar, garlic parmesan, or jalapeño cheddar. Review recipe notes and watch the video tutorial before starting.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water (lukewarm around 100°F (38°C))
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 3 and 3/4 – 4 cups (469-500g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
- toppings: coarse salt/coarse sea salt or toppings described in notes
Baking Soda Bath
- 1/2 cup (120g) baking soda
- 9 cups (2.13L) water
Instructions
- Make the dough: Whisk warm water, yeast, and sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle or dough hook attachment. (If you do not have a stand mixer, just use a regular large mixing bowl and a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.) Cover yeast mixture and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until foamy on top. Add salt, melted butter, and 3 cups (375g) of flour. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula if needed, then add 3/4 cup (95g) of flour. Beat on low speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If dough is extremely sticky after 1 minute of mixing, add remaining 1/4 cup of flour and continue to beat for 1 more minute. (You can see in the video that I add the remaining flour.)
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer (and switch to the dough hook if using the paddle) and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full 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.
- Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rest for 10-30 minutes. (Meanwhile, I like to get the water + baking soda boiling as instructed in step 5.)
- 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.
- Shape: With a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper, cut dough into 14-15 pieces, which is about 1/4 cup (2 ounces) of dough each. Sprinkle work surface very lightly with flour. (Tip: The heavier you flour the work surface, the harder it is to roll the dough. A little stickiness actually helps. You only need *a very light* dusting of flour.) Roll each piece of dough into a 14-inch rope. Tie the ropes into a knot, then tuck the ends underneath. The ends are quite long so rather than tucking the ends straight underneath, I curve them around the pretzel before tucking under. You can see that in the video below.
- Baking Soda Bath: Mix water and baking soda together in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Place 2-3 pretzels into the boiling water for 20-30 seconds, flipping halfway through. (Any longer than 30 seconds and your pretzels could take on a metallic taste.) The knot shape makes the dough heavy, so if the pretzel knots are sinking, use a spatula to get them off the bottom of the pot. Using a slotted spatula or spoon, lift the pretzel knots out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off. Place pretzel knots onto prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle each with coarse sea salt while each are still wet or leave plain if using other toppings detailed in the notes below (you still need to salt them if doing the jalapeño cheddar pretzels). Repeat baking soda bath with remaining pretzel knots. If needed, you can cover and refrigerate the boiled/unbaked pretzels for up to 24 hours before baking.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes or until golden brown. I usually bake mine for the full 24 minutes to obtain a very deep color as pictured.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm.
- Cover and store leftover pretzels at room temperature for up to 3 days. They lose a little softness over time. To reheat, microwave for a few seconds or bake at 350°F (177°C) for 5 minutes.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked and cooled pretzel knots freeze well up to 2-3 months. To reheat, bake frozen knots at 350°F (177°C) for 20 minutes or until warmed through or microwave frozen knots until warm. The prepared pretzel dough can be 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 knots while still cold, but allow some extra time, about 1 hour, for the pretzels to puff up before the baking soda bath and baking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer or Large Glass Mixing Bowl | Rubber Spatula | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Sharp Knife, Pizza Cutter, or Bench Scraper | Large Pot, such as a Dutch Oven | Metal Slotted Spatula
- Flour: If you have it, the same amount of bread flour works instead of all-purpose flour. Do not use whole wheat flour.
- Cinnamon Sugar: Bake the pretzels completely plain without salt in step 6. As the pretzel knots bake, melt 4 Tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter. Set aside. Combine 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon. Set aside. Once the pretzels are done and still warm out of the oven, brush each with melted butter then generously dip into cinnamon sugar. Pretzels are best served that day because due to the melted butter topping, they become soggy after a few hours.
- Garlic Parmesan: Bake the pretzels completely plain without salt in step 6. As the pretzel knots bake, melt 4 Tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter. Set aside. Combine 3/4 cup (about 68g) grated parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons store-bought or homemade Italian Seasoning. Set aside. Once the pretzels are done and still warm out of the oven, brush each with melted butter then generously dip into parmesan garlic mixture. Pretzels are best served that day because due to the melted butter topping, they become soggy after a few hours.
- Jalapeño Cheddar: When the pretzels are still wet from the baking soda bath, sprinkle with coarse salt as if you were making plain salted pretzels. Place 2-3 very thin slices of jalapeño on top of each, pressing them down to adhere as best they can. Bake for 15 minutes in step 6. Remove from the oven, use 1 cup (125g) shredded cheddar cheese and sprinkle each partially baked knot evenly with cheese, then return the knots to the oven to finish baking for the remaining time in step 6.
These turned out so well! My family gobbled them down in no time–before I could even finish topping them. I’ll be making these again.
Loved this challenge ! Fun, easy and delicious!
Delicious abd super easy! I made 16 and used them as dinner rolls.
I opted to use brown sugar and baked my pretzels for 20-20:30 minutes. The instructions were easy to follow. I think it was easier because I’ve made Sally’s garlic knots a few times and the shaping is similar. I think they could be kneaded a little more to improve the rise but still very good.
So delicious and perfect for an after school snack! I brushed mine with butter after taking them out of the oven and dipped them in the nacho cheese sauce.
I made a half batch today and got 8 pretzel knots 4 with Garlic Parmesan, 2 Chai spice sugar and 2 with dried cranberries and icing glaze. The texture is amazing and delicious! Thank you for all your helpful notes!
These were so easy and very fun to make. Trickiest part for me was the baking soda bath. After the first few went in, the water had huge bubbles and I couldn’t see my next batches. Did I successfully flip then over? Who knows? But that was only a minor problem for me.
LOVED this recipe! It felt so empowering to make something so cool, aesthetically pleasing and DELICIOUS – and in about an hour! Salt and Everything Bagel seasoning for me this time, but I will experiment more next time because I WILL be making these again!!
First time baking with my kids and we chose this recipe. It actually was easy to follow. The kids folded the dough their own way so they didn’t really look like a pretzel. We also did Sally’s spicy cheese dip. It went well with our pretzels. Delicious dinner for us.
I really enjoyed making the Soft Pretzel Knots! The recipe was very easy to follow and the pretzel knots are so delicious and soft! I’m glad I made a few with the jalapeno cheddar topping! Definitely won’t be the last time I bake these!
First time making pretzels but won’t be the last! Sally always have such clear instructions which leave me feeling more confident. Excited to try different combinations next time too.
First time making pretzels but won’t be the last! Sally always have such clear instructions which leave me feeling more confident. Excited to try different combinations, my kids loved them too!
I opted for making just the jalapeno cheddar variation of these pretzel knots, and they were amazing! The dough is a dream to work with and rolled out perfectly! I used approx 1/3 whole wheat flour and did decrease the cooking time slightly. This recipe is a keeper, and I can’t wait to try the other variations.
Oh my gosh! So easy and delicious! I’ve always had pretzels as the one baking item I wouldn’t touch so I was not happy to see this month’s challenge. But my 11 and 13-year-old daughters were able to do it almost completely by themselves! And they were amazing. I will definitely be making them again.
Amazing, easy and delicious recipe! Thank you for sharing
It is so fun to make these pretzel knots! These knots are super quick and easy – Sally breaks this down so well! Homemade pretzels can be a regular occurrence thanks to this recipe. Great for football season!
Delicious! I will be making again for next weekend’s game, but will definitely use silicone baking mats next time! (silly me, thinking I could ignore Sally’s advice!) Regardless of them completely sticking to my parchment paper (again, my fault!), the flavor and texture was spot on!
The directions were easy to follow and the rolls were delicious. So easy to bake in a short time. I have already made them 3 times. We discovered they are good toasted the next day. YUM!
So simple and as always, an absolute crowd-pleaser! I will be making these again!
SO DELICIOUS and EASY!! this will for sure be a go-to recipe for me. I followed the directions exactly and they came out perfectly. The hardest part was making the knots look right…but how they taste is more important than how they look anyway! I did half regular salted and half cinnamon sugar and they were both amazing. Better than the ones you get at the mall 🙂 I’d definitely say this is a good recipe for yeast beginners as it doesn’t require too many steps or multiple rises. Thanks for another awesome baking challenge!
I have never done a baking soda bath quite interesting. Mine didn’t get a dark brown as the picture, wasn’t sure why. You are right they need to be eaten within a few hours of pulling out of the oven. Next day they weren’t as tasty.
These were devoured! Absolutely delicious. And they look as good as they taste. My husband and I had a good time making these together. Thank you, Sally, for another terrific recipe!
This was a simple recipe to follow. I’ve made pretzels before but liked the knot shape of this recipe. I milled my own wheat using hard red wheat berries. I appreciated that I could measure the ingredients out by weight. Mine didn’t taste quite like pretzels, but I think that was probably due to my choice of wheat. I plan on trying them again with a white wheat and sifting out the bran.
I love this recipie! These were so much fun to make! They were super soft even after being in the refrigerator! I cannot wait to try them with cinnamon next time.
Easy to follow, came together quickly, and very delicious!
These pretzel knots were delicious! The dough was very sticky so I think I ended up adding about 1/2 c of flour so I used about 4 1/2 c flour in this recipe. I made 14 pretzel knots and baked them for 12 min. I think baking for 20 min would result in dry bread. My knots were moist and yummy at 12min & not under baked. I made sure the internal temp was at least 190F. I baked half in baking soda bath and half in a lye bath. The lye produced browner knots. Both tasted good.
Fun weekend project for me to do and enjoy with my family. The recipe was easy to follow and the soft pretzels were delicious! I made half plain with salt and the other half Parmesan garlic. They were so good! Will definitely use this recipe again.
These turned out great. I split the dough, half were salt and half were cinnamon sugar. I found the dough more sticky than it was supposed to be and added at least 3/4c more flour when kneading, and it was still sticky when rolling out. My husband was very happy with this dinner surprise!
So tasty and delicious! The recipe was easy to follow, my 9 year old daughter and I had a great time making them together. We topped some with course salt, some with cinnamon sugar and some with everything bagel seasoning.
Instructions and video were easy to follow. Always love the added tips too. I did this with pepperoni instead of jalapeños and yum!