These Homemade Soft Pretzels are ultra soft, buttery, and easy to make! Serve the pretzels with my honey mustard sauce and watch them disappear almost instantly!

Homemade Soft Pretzels on a tan parchment paper.

I’m adding to the Finger Food Friday series by making these homemade soft pretzels! For some reason, homemade pretzels get a bad rap for being this difficult, hard to master recipe. I’m here to change that.

They aren’t difficult! Trust me.

You no longer need to wait in long lines at the mall for those over priced lukewarm pretzels. I have photos and instructions to guide you in making perfect pretzels every single time!

Homemade Soft Pretzels ingredients on a textured light brown background.
Ingredients used to make the baking soda bath for pretzels and a homemade dijon mustard dip.
A collage of two photos, one shows the yeast and water in a bowl with no foam. The other photo shows the yeast having proofed and foamed up.

How to make homemade soft pretzels

Homemade pretzels requires very basic ingredients:

  • water
  • yeast
  • sugar
  • flour
  • salt
  • butter

First, let the yeast foam. (Pictured above). I use instant yeast in this recipe so the foaming part isn’t as crucial, however, you can use active dry yeast as well, they are interchangeable. Use the same ratios if you choose to go with active dry yeast. With active dry yeast, make sure the yeast foams for about 10 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients.

Once the yeast is ready and you’ve added all of the ingredients. Knead the dough for several minutes. I use a stand mixer for added convenience. (You can mix and knead this dough by hand, it’ll just take more time).

A collage of four photos showing the steps it takes to twist a rope of dough into a pretzel.

How to twist a pretzel

  1. Divide the pretzel dough into 8 equal parts.
  2. Roll each piece into a 26-28” long rope.
  3. Form a U-shape with the dough. Then cross the ends of the U.
  4. Cross the ends over each other again.
  5. With an end in each hand, flip the ends down to the curve of the U-shape. The ends will overlap the dough just a tiny bit.

Now the pretzels are ready to dip into the baking soda + water bath!

An unbaked pretzel in a baking soda and water bath.

Making the baking soda water bath only adds about 6-8 minutes to this pretzel recipe, and it’s so worth it!

Dipping the pretzels in baking soda + water bath gives pretzels their signature chewy crust and soft interior! It also gives them their unique and delicious “pretzel” flavor.

A homemade pretzel on a baking sheet prior to baking
A red pastry brush spreading melted butter over a golden baked pretzel.
Baked Homemade Soft Pretzels on a baking sheet.

Homemade Pretzels explained 

  • Baking at a high temperature gives the pretzels that perfectly golden appearance.
  • Coarse salt gives it the signature pretzel flavor (yum)!!
  • Melted butter is essential for the luxurious and addicting flavor! 

Homemade pretzels are best when eaten fresh out of the oven! This isn’t a hard task, friends. Our biggest struggle was not devouring all 8 pretzels within 15 minutes of them being done!

These soft pretzels are brushed with melted butter immediately after being removed from the oven. Once you smell the aroma of fresh baked bread you’ll be anxious to sink your teeth into these soft buttery pretzels.

Aaaaaand… to make these pretzels even better I made a homemade honey dijon mustard sauce that’s to die for!!!

A golden brown pretzel sprinkled with coarse salt being dipped into a small bowl of honey mustard sauce.

Looking for more delicious food ideas? I suggest you try these:

Cinnamon Rolls

Cucumber Sandwiches

Homemade Soft Pretzels on a tan parchment paper.

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Golden baked Homemade Pretzels on a tan background.
Print Review
5 from 7 votes

Homemade Soft Pretzels

These homemade pretzels are soft, buttery, and easy to make! 
Prep Time: 1 hr
Cook Time: 9 mins
Total Time: 1 hr 9 mins
Servings: 8 pretzels

Ingredients
 

  • 1 cup warm water
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter - softened
  • coarse salt - for sprinkling over the pretzels prior to baking
  • 3 tablespoons butter - melted, for brushing over the pretzels once baked

Baking Soda Bath

  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons baking soda

Honey Dijon Mustard Sauce

  • 1/8 cup honey
  • 1/8 cup mayo
  • 1/8 cup Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon white vinegar

Instructions
 

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Stir. Allow this mixture to sit for 5 minutes. 
  • After 5 minutes add 1 cup of flour, salt, and butter. Mix until combined.
  • Add the remaining flour. Knead the dough for 5-6 minutes on low-medium speed. Dough will be soft and smooth. Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough in the bowl (flipping over once so that the top is lightly covered in oil), and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. 
  • When the dough is almost done resting, boil the water. Once it begins to boil, remove the water from the heat. Add the baking soda and stir until it’s fully dissolved. Transfer the water mixture to an 8×8 or 9×9” pan. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly. We want the water to be warm when we use it for dipping the dough into, but not hot. 
  • Preheat the oven to 475°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Transfer the pretzel dough to a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll the dough into 26-28” long rope. Twist the rope into a pretzel shape. 
  • Place 2-3 pretzels in the baking soda/water bath. Spoon the water mixture over top each pretzel. Leave the pretzels in the bath for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, transfer the pretzels to the prepared baking sheet. Continue until all of the pretzels have been in the baking soda bath. 
  • Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse salt. 
  • Let the pretzels rest on the baking sheet for 10 minutes. Bake 475°F for 8-9 minutes or until golden brown. 
  • Remove from the oven and brush each one with melted butter. Eat pretzels while warm, serve with honey dijon mustard sauce. 

Honey Dijon Mustard Sauce

  • Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to use. 

Notes

  • about 2.5 oz each.
Adapted from King Arthur Flour. 

Nutrition

Calories: 248kcal (12%)Carbohydrates: 36g (12%)Protein: 5g (10%)Fat: 9g (14%)Saturated Fat: 4g (20%)Cholesterol: 16mg (5%)Sodium: 1636mg (68%)Potassium: 79mg (2%)Fiber: 2g (8%)Sugar: 5g (6%)Vitamin A: 175IU (4%)Calcium: 11mg (1%)Iron: 1.9mg (11%)
author: Whitney Wright
Course: Snack
Cuisine: American
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