Description
Delicious homemade soft pretzels that are perfect for snacking or serving with cheese sauce.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup warm milk (whole milk recommended)
- 2–1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (or active dry—see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 3 up to 4 cups bread flour (plus more for dusting surface, see note 2)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 to 7 tablespoons unsalted butter (divided)
- Cooking spray
- 8 cups water
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt (or make cinnamon-sugar pretzels with cream cheese sauce—see notes 3 and 4)
- Cheese sauce (optional, for serving, see note 5)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk the warm water, warm milk, yeast, and honey; let sit 5–10 minutes. It should look creamy/foamy after 5 minutes. If not, your yeast didn’t work, and you’ll need to begin again.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl), combine 3 cups bread flour and salt. Stir to combine, then make a well in the middle. Pour in 1 tablespoon melted and cooled butter. Use a spatula to scrape every bit of the yeast mixture on top. Attach paddle or dough hook and beat on low speed, scraping the sides as needed with a rubber spatula, until combined.
- Increase speed, and if needed, add up to 3/4 cup more flour, adding 1/4 cup at a time until the dough comes together on the dough hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. After mixing for about 2 minutes, if the dough is still sticking to sides of the bowl instead of around hook, add the last 1/4 cup flour.
- Once dough is gathering around the hook, knead on low speed for 5 minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface. Knead and shape dough into a ball. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray, turn the ball to coat in the oil, then cover the bowl with a towel and let rise in a draft-free, warm environment for 1 hour 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Line an extra-large (15×21-inch) sheet pan (or 2 smaller pans) with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Punch down the dough and dump onto a lightly floured surface. Cut dough into 6 equal pieces.
- Take 1 piece, covering the other 5 pieces with a towel. Use your hands to roll the piece into an even, long rope, about 20–22 inches in length. Cut the rope into 1 pieces. Place pieces on prepared sheet pan. Repeat with remaining dough until all dough is cut into pieces.
- While cutting out the last 3 ropes, bring 8 cups water in a large pot to boil. Once boiling, add baking soda and whisk until completely dissolved. Take 8 pretzel bites at a time in both hands and gently place in the boiling water. Count to 10, then use a large slotted spoon to lift the pretzel bites, tapping against the pot edge to allow excess water to drip off. Place the bites back on the prepared sheet pan.
- Repeat until all bites have gone in the boiling water. Make sure bites are well spaced out, not overlapping, but they can be relatively close together.
- Melt 4 tablespoons butter and use a pastry brush to brush butter generously over all the pretzel bites. Sprinkle with coarse salt and bake 12–18 minutes or until golden brown on top, lightly browned on bottom, and baked through. Remove from oven. Optional: for extra buttery bites, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter and brush on bites right out of the oven, adding a touch more salt if desired. Serve warm.
Notes
- Note 1: Instant yeast is preferred for this recipe, but active dry yeast can be used as well.
- Note 2: Depending on humidity and flour brand, you may need more or less flour for the perfect dough consistency.
- Note 3: For cinnamon-sugar pretzels, mix sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the pretzels after baking.
- Note 4: Cream cheese sauce pairs wonderfully with these pretzels if desired.
- Note 5: Cheese sauce can be made using your favorite recipe or store-bought.
- Note 6: The warm milk helps activate the yeast for proper rising.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 pretzels
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 400mg
- Fat: 7g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 25g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 20mg