Making Homemade Soft Pretzels
By
Okay, brace yourself.
The recipe I am about to share with you is INCREDIBLE!
Ask anyone who’s ever tried them.
People have even called me the “Pretzel Lady”. (I’m sure they’ve even called me the “Beautiful Pretzel Lady” and the “Unbelievably Intelligent and Witty Pretzel Lady” behind my back.)
I used to sell these at our local farmers market each week. On my best week, I sold over 100 of them in less than 17 minutes (yes, I timed it).
Okay, so here is the recipe and the step by step tutorial on how to make Laura’s Amazing Soft Pretzels:
Ingredients:
1 c. water
2 T. yeast
2 t. honey
2 1/2 cups milk
1 stick butter
1/2 cup honey
4 t. salt
8 cups whole wheat flour (more if necessary)
butter
salt
(You can make these with white flour and white sugar if you want to have a delicious mound of empty calories…but I have found that using these healthier ingredients does not make us like these pretzels any less!)
Okay, here are the directions for preparing the pretzels that are to die for:
In a large bowl, mix 1 cup very warm water, 2 T. yeast and 2 t. honey. Stir this together and kind of mush the yeast around. Let this sit for a few minutes while you do the next step.
Melt a stick of butter in a large saucepan.
Add 1/2 cup honey, 4 t. salt and 2 1/2 cups of milk. Heat this to 120 degrees.
Pour milk mixture into yeast mixture and stir.
Stir in 8 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time. (add more if you need it)
Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes.
Plop it into a bowl, cover it and let it rise for 1-1 1/2 hours.
And it should look like this:
Pull it out of the bowl and knead it a few times to get the air out. (Sorry, no picture of that process…my picture takers were out of the room.)
Pull a ball of dough, about the size of your fist off and get ready to make your very first pretzel! (such a proud moment)
Roll it into a long snake.
Then do this:
Then twist it again to look like this:
Then pick up the ends and pull them down to the bottom. (And please make no snide remarks about my blueish, boney hands. It is always a little cold in my house and my hands are never quite warm AND I inherited my Nana’s boney hands and I know my Nana would have never allowed her hands to be put on a blog while she lovingly told you how to shape a pretzel because she was ashamed of her boney hands, but I’m okay with it. I’m not embarassed at all. Not one bit.)
And then, it should look like this. And if it doesn’t, just undo it and try again. By the time you get to the end of shaping your big blob of dough into pretzels, you’ll have the hang of it and be able to talk on the phone, make a grocery list, check your email, tie someone’s shoe AND shape a pretzel, ALL AT THE SAME TIME!
I forgot to take a picture of a pan full of unbaked pretzels. So, after you shape each pretzel, put them on a cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Melt a stick of butter in a saucepan.
Right when you take the pretzels out of the oven, slather them with butter. Lay it on thick. Don’t hold back.
Then sprinkle salt over them.
And, if at all possible, eat one right out of the oven. They are good two days later too, but OH MY GOODNESS, you HAVE to eat one right out of the oven!
With a glass of milk.
And if you really want to have fun, shape some into hearts for Valentines Day!
Whenever I want to make a special treat for my family, this recipe always works for me!
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Thank you for posting this tutorial. I am always on the lookout for new recipes.
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Ok…I am SOOOO excited about the sharing of this recipe. Soooooooo excited. And can I just say that your step by step pictures are awesome…and I am so impressed and glad and I will have my laptop on one counter…and the pretzel dough on another counter.
Ok…great job witty and intelligent and beautiful pretzel maker. What i wouldn’t give by the way…to have the bony hands on a pretzel maker. Instead of …. chunky ate tooooo much sugar and drank tooo much pepsi for toooooo many years before I noticed hands.
And by the way…I looked longinly at the cinnamon sugar too shake all over my toast this morning…but I resisited. :)
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You’re AMAZING! Thanks for the great tutorial!
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Yay – I had this recipe at one time, and then lost it. I love having it with PICTURES! But wait, are we allowed to eat these on the “no-sugar” plan? Honey is ok, right? :-)
I’m off to make something healthy for breakfast.
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Oh, oh YUM! I absolutely love, adore, crave soft pretzels. It’s right up there next to chocolate and that’s saying a lot! I’ve tried several recipes over the years but never one that is just right. Thank goodness this one seems to be “it”. Thank you!
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Those look really yummy! I have always been afraid of baking bread products from scratch, but I may have to try these. Thanks for sharing!
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MMM how about a little SUGAR on top???
Okay, that was the addiction talking.
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I am going to make these today!
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ah! Fabulous! Inspiring!
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These looks sooooo good. It’s been a long time since we’ve had soft pretzels. Ugh! I really need to find a good gluten free version of this recipe. Yum!!
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Perfect timing for Valentine’s Day! I made a batch of these today and they are delicious! I twisted them as you said, then I pinched the bottom to make a point. They look like hearts and are a gift for my hubby.
I made some with salt and some with cinnamon/sugar. Scrumptious!!!
Thanks for sharing!
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I think I may have to give those a try today. Wouldn’t the kids just love me if I presented them with those for an after school snack?
And yours turned out so pretty too!
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Oh goodness! These look so good! I’ll have to try them here sometime during Lent with my kids!
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These look so very awesome!
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Love the step by step instructions… These look so good and easy to make :-)
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So glad I bumped into your site, have copies allot of recipes..thanks for posting them. Looking forward to making them! :)
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Oh my son’s Kindergarten class will be so happy to have these as snack on Friday, thanks so much for the great recipe. I love your site keep up the great work.
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Mine didn’t raise very well. I am very new at freshly ground WW flour. I used half hard red wheat and half hard white wheat. I did have my milk/butter pretty hot, didn’t use the thermometer. Could it have been too hot? They taste good but just didn’t rise like yours…
Thanks! and Merry Christmas!!
Misty
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How many pretzels does this make and how much of the day do I need to set aside for making a batch?
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Hey, thank you for the recipe. I’m excited to try it. I was wondering if you have ever tried freezing them once they are baked? I am trying to find more recipes that I can stash in the freezer to use throughout the month, and I was hoping these might work…
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I made these today and they turned out perfectly. Used them as Valentine’s goodies for my extended family. Rave reviews so far. Thanks so much!
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Oh my goodness!!! I finally got around to making these, and I am SO glad I did! My husband loves nothing better than a warm, chewy pretzel when we go to the mall, so I couldn’t wait to serve this up to him as a snack. I used half white flour and half whole wheat because I knew he wouldn’t enjoy it if it were 100% whole wheat, but my 1/2 and 1/2 ratio worked well. This dough was really easy to work with and made the most delicious pretzels. I did some with sugar and cinnamon and some with Kosher salt (of course dipped in mustard!), and they were wonderful. Thank you, thank you for this recipe!!
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mine came out so nice . Your tutorials are so clear and easy to follow. Thank you so much. You have give me more gusto to work in Homemade dishes.
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Great recipe, thanks! I used the Cuisinart to knead the bread. I thought I would be the only one eating them since it was all whole wheat flour. My daughter loved them and has eaten almost the whole batch. I hid them in the fridge for my daughter in college to try this weekend!
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I just put mine in the oven, they look good, although they are HUGE- either my house is too warm right now, or I used too much yeast.
Was it really 2 Tablespoons, or is it 2 teaspoons?
Either way they look and smell great.
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Hello,
Unfortunately, this recipe is more like bread than a pretzel recipe. I think it is because the recipe does not call for emmersing the dough into boiling water and baking soda like most pretzel recipes require. Which is probably why my batch came out feeling and tasteing like WW bread.
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Hello,
I have so enjoyed your website since finding it. I also have 4 boys, 7, 4, 2, and 9 months (along with our oldest, which is a girl, 8) and can so relate to your life on so many levels.
Anyway, I am going to make these pretzels, but was wondering, do you soak these first? If so, how exactly do you do that? I am new to this soaking thing and just trying to get a handle on it. I have a pretzel recipe that I have used in the past and really enjoyed, but I wanted to also try this one. Thanks much.
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Will these freeze well? Any idea?
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ok, these are AMAZING. We have to go make more now bc they’re gone. My only question is how do you store them? I put them in an airtight container and they get soggy. Any suggestions?
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How many pretzels do you usually get out of one batch? What did you sell them for at the Farmer’s market? I am thinking of trying to talk the Parents association at our elementary school into selling these as a fundraiser.
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Laura Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
You’ll get 20-24 pretzels out of one batch. I sold them for $1.00 each.
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These were excellent! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. I need to make my dough ropes longer next time, but the taste was wonderful. I’m not sure how many will be left when my kiddos wake up in the morning.
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These look delishhhhh! I am making them right now! I am sure they will pass the Momma Chef test and I will have to report about them on my blog, which by the way, I just posted a blurb about YOU (go check it out!). I hope all my friend and family check out your blog. You inspire me! THANK YOU!
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I made these today and they are amazing! I am interested in how you store them and would like to know if you can freeze them. Thanks!
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We made these today and they were super yummy! I basted some with honey butter and sprinkled them with cinnamon. Mine tasted a little yeasty so next time I will let them rise for a lesser amount of time. I use a heating pad under my dough to make it rise faster and I let it rise for an hour. How do you store these? Thanks again for another WONDERFUL recipe:)
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Laura Reply:
December 12th, 2009 at 7:49 pm
If you’re making them from freshly ground flour, you’ll need to store them in the fridge because there are no preservatives at all. I usually keep mine in a ziploc baggie.
They freeze well in freezer bags as well!
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I just made these last night for my husband but my 2 yr old got to them first. I made mine into pretzel stick shapes for easier handling. My son loves pretzels when he doesn’t feel good. He can eat all these he wants! He’s not feeling well so he’s been munching on them all day, it’s the only thing he wants.
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Delicious! Naptime got pushed back two hours because the kids wanted to help. By the end of the pile of dough, my three year old was forming the pretzels right along side me! We all had a blast. Thanks for the great recipe.
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i just wanted to say that i split this dough in half and used 1/2 to make 12 pretzels and the other half i threw in a bread pan and it made the most delicious light soft easily sliceable bread for sandwiches. i even sliced it all up and put it in a leftover bag from store bought bread. it’s so good! i highly recommend!
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I can’t wait to try your recipe thank you for sharing!!!
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Just made these again! Yes, we love them. I made a double batch of dough and have cinnamon rolls in the fridge for breakfast. The kids had tons of fun with creative pretzel shaping! Love your recipes.
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OOOOHH, I’m really excited to try making these. I’ve had the ones you used to sell at the Farmer’s Market and let me say….YUMMY!! Thanks for sharing your recipe! :)
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This tutorial with pictures really is one of the clearest recipes I have found on the internet! Thanks for taking the time to share this with us.
My dough was rather sticky and hard to roll & shape, and was much more wet looking than in your pictures. It seems that I would need more flour, but I had already added more than your recipe called for and didn’t think they would rise if I added too much more. I used fresh ground 100% winter wheat. Can you think of any thing to try for next time? They did turn out great, but were really more like fresh, delicious rolls rather than pretzels. I haven’t had much experience eating fresh pretzels, so I don’t know exactly what they’re supposed to be like, but they’re a little different than plain bread, right?
Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
Maybe try rolling the dough a little thinner. And now that you mention it, they aren’t really like what you’d think of as a “pretzel” like you’d get at the mall. They are a little more like a really great roll…shaped like a pretzel and SLATHERED in butter!!
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I am about to try these! Once you shape the pretzels, do you let them rise again?
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Laura Reply:
March 16th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Nope, you can bake them right after you have a pan full shaped and ready to go!
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We’re making these tomorrow for St. Patrick’s Day – in shamrock shapes, of course. I can’t wait! I’ll be sure to share photos on my blog – and to send you the link – as soon as the first ones come out of the oven… or more realistically, as soon as the boys are in bed!
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Well, I FINALLY posted a photo of our shamrock pretzels!
http://mcquill-land.blogspot.com/2010/03/luck-o-irish.html
They were indeed wonderful! The boys took the pretzels to our CC co-op the next day as a part of their presentation on St. Patrick and the shamrock. The pretzels were an instant hit! Thanks for another fabulous recipe (we had your popcorn chicken for dinner tonight)!
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I made these yesterday for our snack and they were fabulous fresh out of the oven. I was skeptical about the honey because I just don’t like the flavor of it but you do not notice it at all. How great to find another healthy alternative to feed the family. The kids are always so thrilled to come home to something fresh baked.
Thank you
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I think it’s fine to adapt traditional recipes and it sounds like you have a winner of a whole wheat bun, but if you choose not to boil them…how come? Submersion in a baking soda bath for a quick boil before baking is what makes a pretzel, a pretzel. Bagels require a boil, too, and if the dough isn’t boiled, it isn’t a bagel, it’s a bun. While the end-product of your pretzel-shaped twisted buns may be great, is there a reason you skipped this important step? I think explaining the traditional method and then explaining the adaptation, would be both helpful and interesting to your readers.
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Mellow Reply:
April 4th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Kate, thank you for your comment!
I was wondering why these “pretzels” turned out just like yummy bread, rather than actually being pretzels. I figured I just did something wrong.
It’s nice to know what the missing step is!
Can you briefly describe the baking soda submersion? Does it work with this recipe?
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I don’t know if the traditional boil step would work with this recipe or not, which sounds like a really yummy, sweet buttery WW bun recipe, because I don’t bake that often with WW flour (I know, the horror!) and thus am not an expert on how it responds, but as it is heartier than other white flours, I’d give it a go with just one or two pretzels out of the batch. It’s so quick and easy to do, and such an important step (I adore real soft pretzels and make them often) that it wouldn’t be a pain to draw up a bath and try just one or two and bake them side by side with unboiled, and see the difference for yourself.
In fact, that could be a fun experiment. Boil 2 and bake, and just bake 2, and look at them, taste them, side by side!
Historically, after the pretzels were formed, they were boiled briefly in a lye bath, but that’s too dangerous for the home cook. It’s been baking soda for ages now with similar results.
That brief bath is what gives bagels and pretzels two very important characteristics: 1) The glossy, caramel colored sheen and 2) the distinctive, chewy skin. Without it, you have … bread!
There are some who just boil them in plain water too, but I think that baking soda is an important component. Google “pretzels boil baking soda” and “pretzel baguettes” and you’ll see numerous blogs debating the topic (as well as dozens of recipes for the bath).
Bring a large pot of water to a boil to which you’ve 2-3 tablespoons of baking soda. Slip 1-3 raw pretzels into the bath and boil 1 minute on each side (flipping at 1 min). Remove, blot dry with a clean dish towel, and let rest for 1 minute. Then, proceed with baking and salting as usual!
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Mellow Reply:
April 4th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
That is fantastic, I will try that.
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I just made a batch of these pretzels, using your directions, only boiling them first. They turned out pretty good. Getting the bagels out of the water bath intact was a bit of a challenge. I think when I make these again, I won’t bother with that step unless I’m feeling really ambitious. On a side note, I didn’t know how much “a stick of butter” was, since butter generally isn’t sold like that in my area, but a quick google search and I had my answer that it is the equiv. of 1/2 a cup.
My daughter and I really like these. She said she wanted me to freeze some and put them in her school lunch. She isn’t fond of sandwiches, but likes the idea of a nice soft pretzel in her lunch. Sounds like a good thing to include in her lunch, to me! I think this would be easily adaptable so that you could make Pizza pretzels, too. Thanks for the great recipe and the awesome blog.
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I was wondering how do you store these?? On the counter or in the fridge?? Also can you freeze the leftovers?? And how do you thaw them if you can?? Haha I think that is all of my questions. Thanks a ton.
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oops sorry I saw that you already answered my questions except thawing them out. I don’t want them to get soggy. Thanks
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Laura Reply:
May 1st, 2010 at 4:32 pm
To thaw them, I usually just leave them in the freezer bag I had stored them in. I haven’t found them to get soggy, but I always rewarm them for a short time in the oven anyway.
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