This is the BEST and EASIEST homemade pretzel recipe you’ll ever find!

This incredibly soft, buttery, and chewy homemade soft pretzel recipe only takes about an hour to make with ingredients you likely already have on hand.

You might be afraid of the quick baking soda bath but don’t be! I was at first but it is SUPER EASY and it gives the pretzels their traditional flavor like the ones you get at Disneyland. Oh what I would do to have one of those now!!!

You can then top them with corse sea salt or elevate them by adding cinnamon-sugar, making them into a pizza by adding your favorite cheese and/or meat, or you can dip them in your favorite pretzel dips. The options are endless!!!

How To Make Easy Homemade Pretzels

First, gather all your ingredients.

1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons instant dry yeast (or active dry yeast)
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons baking soda
3 1/2 to 4 cups boiling water

DIPS & TOPPINGS OPTIONS:

Caramel Sauce
Cinnamon Sugar (recipe below)
Cheese
Cheese & Bacon
Cheese & Pepperoni
Coarse Sea Salt
Honey Mustard
Jalapeños
Peanut Butter
Pizza Sauce with Pizza Toppings
Melted Chocolate
Mustard
Nacho Cheese Sauce
Seasonings (ex. everything but bagel)
Vanilla Icing (recipe below)

In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a large bowl with handheld mixer, whisk in 1 cup of warm water and yeast. Allow to sit for 1 minute to let the yeast foam.

Whisk in the milk, sugar, salt, and melted butter.

If using a stand mixer switch out the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Slowly add 4 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix until dough is thick. Add 1/2 cup more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. This means you will use anywhere from 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups of flour. The dough is ready when the dough pulls away from the sides, falls off the hook, and is not sticky. You can also check by poking the dough with your finger, if it bounces back, it is ready to knead!

Place the dough out onto a floured surface. Knead the dough. You will know when you are done kneading the dough when it has passed the window test.

The Window Test: Lop off a golf ball-sized piece of dough. Flatten the dough, hold it between both your thumbs and first two fingers, and gently spread the dough apart. If properly kneaded, the dough should stretch, without tearing or breaking, into a thin membrane that you can see through.

Place the dough in a bowl and cover lightly with a towel or plastic wrap and allow to rest for 20 to 40 minutes in a warm draft-free place. I like to put mine near a window or somewhere in the house where it is warm. It will double in size.

Once the dough has doubled in size preheat the oven to 460°F degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone baking mats. 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 8 slices (like you’re cutting a pizza).

Roll the dough into a 20-22 inch rope.

Take the ends and draw them together so the dough forms a circle and then pull them down to make a heart.

Twist the ends, then bring them towards yourself and press them down into a pretzel shape. Place on baking sheet. Repeat the same steps until you have 8 pretzels.

Bring baking soda and 3 1/2 to 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot. Make sure the baking soda is dissolved. Drop 1 pretzel into the boiling water and spoon liquid over pretzel for 20-30 seconds. Any more than that and your pretzels will have a metallic taste. The quick baking soda boil gives the pretzels their traditional flavor.

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. You can add toppings if you’d like at this point too (cheese, jalapeños, pasta sauce, meats, ect). I like to let them set to rise one more time for about an hour or so.

Bake for 8 to 1o minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and brush the baked and warm pretzels with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. You can add other toppings if you’d like at this point like seasonings, cinnamon sugar, vanilla icing, caramel sauce, melted chocolate, ect. Serve warm.

You can try to do different shapes like I attempted to! LOL! I tried to do Mickey Mouse but did not turn out to good!

Pretzels may be stored in an airtight container or zipped top bag for up to 3 days (they lose a little softness).

Cinnamon Sugar Pretzels

4 tablespoons of unsalted or salted butter, melted
3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix together the sugar and cinnamon. Melt the butter. Brush the baked and warm pretzels with melted butter then dip the tops into a mix of cinnamon and sugar.

Vanilla Icing

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Whisk the icing ingredients together. If you want a thicker icing, whisk in more confectioners’ sugar. If you want a thinner icing, whisk in more milk or cream. Drizzle all over warm pretzels and serve.

Pretzel Bites

With a sharp knife, cut ball of dough into 6 sections. Roll the dough into six 20-inch long ropes. Cut the rope into 1.5 inch pieces to make bites.
Combine 9 cups of water and the baking soda in a large pot and bring to a rapid boil. Drop 8-10 pretzel bites into water and let boil for a quick 10 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon or spatula and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Make sure the bites aren’t touching.
Bake at 425°F degrees in batches for 15 minutes each, or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and brush the baked and warm pretzels with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. You can add other toppings if you’d like at this point like seasonings, cinnamon sugar, vanilla icing, caramel sauce, melted chocolate, ect or you can serve with your favorite dip! Serve warm.
Pretzel bites remain fresh for up to 3 days in an airtight container, though they will lose some softness.

About Yeast

Active dry yeast has a moderate rate of rising and instant dry yeast has a faster rate of rising. Active dry and instant yeast can be used interchangeably in recipes (1:1).
Dry yeast is perishable so once your package is opened, the yeast must be refrigerated or frozen in an airtight container. Use within 4 months if refrigerated and 6 months if frozen. If you store in freezer, place the yeast towards the back of the freezer so it’s not exposed to temperature changes when you open the door. To thaw, measure the amount you need and set it on the counter for 45-60 minutes before using.
There are a few factors that prevent your dough from rising:
- Temperatures are too cold. Place dough in a warmer environment.
- Yeast is expired or dead. Start over with new yeast.
- Liquid in the dough was too hot, which killed the yeast. Start over with new dough. The damage threshold is 120°F for active dry and 130°F for instant. All yeasts die at 138°F.
- Too much flour or sugar in the dough. Be mindful of your measurements and remember that it’s ok for dough to be a little sticky. Don’t over-flour.
- Type of flour. Flours with higher protein content have superior dough (gluten) forming and rising properties.
- Kneading too little or too much.

Tips & Tricks

Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions:
- Baked and cooled pretzels freeze well, up to 2 months.
- To reheat, bake frozen pretzels at 350°F for 20 minutes or until warmed through or microwave 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 pretzels while still cold, but allow some extra time for the pretzels to puff up before the baking soda bath and baking.
To avoid a bitter taste make sure baking soda is dissolved, make sure water is boiling, stir constantly and spoon liquid over pretzel, and boil NO LONGER THAN 30-40 seconds.
You can make this recipe VEGAN by substituting Earth Balance vegan butter for the butter and oat milk for the milk.
You can make this recipe GLUTEN-FREE by using GLUTEN-FREE flour like Bobs Red Mill.

Make sure you post your photos on Instagram and tag me in them so I can see your creations from my blog #eazypeazylemonsqueezee

Easy Homemade Pretzels