Hello, gorgeous.
I wish there was something I could type to convey how much I loved these. Here’s my futile attempt.
Two minutes after they came out of the oven, after I’d already inhaled two of them, I was wondering how my life had ever felt complete before I discovered soft pretzels.
Several hours later, as I was getting ready to go out and meet some friends, I slipped three of these pretzels into my handbag (”in case” I got hungry later). When I stupidly admitted to my friends that I had brought my homemade pretzels out with me, they enthusiastically depleted my pretzel stash. Sigh — I was probably asking for it, right?
So, six hours after they came out of the oven, there were none left. And I woke up the next morning, and guess what was the first thing I wanted to make?
I can see already that these little vignettes are hopelessly inadequate. Just go make them. You probably have all the ingredients on hand in your kitchen. Don’t be scared of the yeast — they take less than 90 minutes, and they’re worth it. Do you have kids? These will make their month.
And don’t, all you New Yorkers, even compare these to the hardened semi-stale, enormous “soft” pretzels you can buy from the street carts at every corner in this city. These are something very, very different.
Soft Pretzels
INGREDIENTS:
1 tsp active dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
1/3 cup warm water
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp canola oil
3 tbsp baking soda
1 cup hot water (as hot as your tap can get)
Sea salt
DIRECTIONS:
Dissolve yeast into water with a pinch of sugar, let stand 10 minutes, until the mixture is creamy colored. Mix the yeast mixture with flour, sugar, salt and canola oil, and knead until combined (a few minutes, not even 5). Let the dough rise in a greased bowl until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. When the dough has risen, pinch off a handful and roll it out into a long strand. Set aside. Repeat with the rest of the dough, about 6 times. Once all the strands are rolled out, pick up the first one and stretch it out again (the gluten will have relaxed and it should stretch further now). Twist it into a pretzel shape and place it on a baking sheet lined with silipat or cooking spray. Repeat with the rest of the strands.
Dissolve baking soda into hot water and stir until dissolved. Quickly dip each rolled pretzel into the mixture and place it back on the baking sheet. Sprinkle all the pretzels with sea salt, to your preference. Bake for about 8 minutes, until pretzels have browned.
Makes six medium-sized pretzels, but please double or triple this recipe, because they disappear quickly!
73 responses so far ↓
1 Corinne // Jun 23, 2008 at 9:21 am
Oh man. I HAVE to make these now. Can you bake these on those nonstick silicone sheets they have for baking now? And kosher salt works too, you think?
I totally want a soft pretzel now.
2 25CentLife.com » Thoughts — that don’t necessarily go together // Jun 23, 2008 at 9:24 am
[...] Pretzel-yum [...]
3 sue bette // Jun 23, 2008 at 9:35 am
I was at a cool bar called Monk’s Kettle in SF and they had the best pretzels on their bites menu - since then I have been stockpiling pretzel recipes but I haven’t given it a try yet - thanks for the inspiration!!
4 Patricia Scarpin // Jun 23, 2008 at 10:06 am
Katy, these are so wonderful! I’ll be bookmarking the recipe!
5 Susan/Wild Yeast // Jun 23, 2008 at 10:16 am
These look wonderful Katy!
6 VeggieGirl // Jun 23, 2008 at 10:20 am
Those pretzels = perfection.
7 Joanna // Jun 23, 2008 at 10:23 am
Wait, that’s really all it takes?? You make it sound so easy! I’m bookmarking this recipe to pull out in a month for my mom’s birthday… she has a bit of a soft pretzel obsession. My dad goes down from NY to Philly every few weeks for business and my mom accompanies him whenever possible so she can go to Reading Terminal Market and get a freshly made soft pretzel, sometimes getting them 2 or 3 days in a row if she’s there that long. I doubt I’ll be able to twist ‘em up as quickly as those Mennonite women, but I’ll do my best!
8 Joy // Jun 23, 2008 at 10:49 am
Oh hello fabulous! You’re making me want them for breakfast now!
The ones I made didn’t have the baking soda bath. I’ll have to try it and see the difference.
Thanks for the recipe!
9 adele // Jun 23, 2008 at 11:00 am
Amazing. I always thought soft pretzels were more complicated than this - on the to-do list it goes.
10 Katherine // Jun 23, 2008 at 11:05 am
Have you had Auntie Annie’s pretzels? (it’s a chain) They are actually soft and taste quite good when they are freshly made (though sometimes if the store is not busy they are sort of reheating some pre-made ones when you order.) The Amish at the Reading Terminal in Philadelphia make the best soft pretzels I have ever had. I have never made them myself so maybe I will give this recipe a shot. Either way, now I NEED a pretzel and will get one when I go to Philadelphia.
11 katy // Jun 23, 2008 at 11:07 am
No, they are super easy! Joanna — I think your mother and I have a lot in common. I’ve made this recipe once more since I wrote this post, and they are really really good!
One word of advice though — eat them fresh out of the oven if you can! Like most fresh breads, they taste best within an hour of leaving the oven!
Katherine — I do like Auntie Anne’s, but they’re smothered in butter! These are much better for you.
12 Katherine // Jun 23, 2008 at 11:08 am
haha, I didn’t see the other comments until now but I guess someone else agrees with me regarding Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal!
13 QL Girl // Jun 23, 2008 at 12:04 pm
Can I make these with whole wheat flour, or is that not recommended?
Good thing I just had lunch, otherwise I’d be dying for one!!
(Oh, and when you double the recipe, should you also double the yeast and sugar?)
14 NuJoi // Jun 23, 2008 at 12:08 pm
Yumm!
15 Soft Pretzels | Handbags Blog // Jun 23, 2008 at 1:00 pm
[...] Read more from the original source: Soft Pretzels [...]
16 Jen (Modern Beet) // Jun 23, 2008 at 1:49 pm
yum! When I was about 10, my mom enrolled me in a summer cooking class for kids, and soft pretzels was one of the things we made… I haven’t made them in, oh, 15 years, but now that you mention them, I’m have a mouth-watering memory-fest and will probably make these within the week! Thanks Katy!
17 katy // Jun 23, 2008 at 3:27 pm
QL Girl — Definitely double the yeast and the sugar! These are slightly sweet, but also salty — that’s my preference, but feel free to tweak it if you want! But definitely double the yeast, otherwise you will be waiting much longer for the dough to rise!
18 cookinpanda // Jun 23, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Doing this tonight. As a carb addict, I can think of no better way to satisfy my needs. Six pretzels will hardly be enough!
19 Joy the Baker // Jun 23, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Pretzels have been on my list of things to make forever! These look amazing!!! Ok… soon. Your post might just be the inspiration I need. Thanks!
20 Ann // Jun 23, 2008 at 5:53 pm
We used to get the most divine fresh soft pretzels in Carrboro, NC… and we learned to make them ourselves as a result. You can imagine my disgust when I had my first NYC pretzel!
Yours look perfect… soft and dough-y and wonderful.
21 heather // Jun 23, 2008 at 6:45 pm
wow. these sound delicious! i seriously think i will make them this week. they look like the PERFECT snack to take to work. yummo.
22 Cynthia // Jun 23, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I’m definitely going to try making these, I’ve been been a fan of pretzels but yours look and sound really nice and after your comment to the NYorkers, it makes me want to try it even more
And yeah, you were silly to tell your friends about what you had in your bag
23 Erin // Jun 23, 2008 at 7:50 pm
These look really great! I actually had the best pretzel of my life this weekend at the Reading Terminal Market from the Fisher’s Soft Pretzel stand. If I was ambitious I would try your recipe, but I think my fragile ego today couldn’t handle the stress of twisting that dough into serviceable shapes
great post all the same and I’ll be sure to bookmark it for future consumption.
24 Marc @ No Recipes // Jun 23, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Yumm! I’ve always loved the idea of these, but those plastic props they sell on street corners here have turned me off them. Will have to give these a go.
25 Lacy // Jun 23, 2008 at 10:30 pm
those were so good! I just finished making and eating them all up, and deciding to stay up late and make more
thanks for the recipe!
26 SP // Jun 23, 2008 at 11:53 pm
So I actually made these. Already! They were fabulous and I already had every ingrediant I needed.
Also, I read the comments, and the recommendation to eat within the hour seems dangerous since it is 10 pm and I’ve already had a sample!
Thanks so much!
I’m a super novice, so I was a little concerned because my dough seemed quite dry, not at all sticky like a bread dough. They tasted great, so I’m assuming that is how it was supposed to be?
27 Julie // Jun 24, 2008 at 12:19 am
OMG! I saw these on FoodGawker and after I read through the recipe, I was thankful that I had everything in my cabinets!
They were so easy to make and absolutely the best soft pretzels Ive ever had. This was my first attempt at a soft pretzel and I just wanted to thank you for posting this keeper.
28 Karl Heinz Kremer // Jun 24, 2008 at 8:44 am
They look a bit pale… I like mine darker, which is a result of actually boiling them for 10 seconds in a solution of about a 1/3 package of baking soda in about a quart of water. But you are right, there is nothing better than pretzels right out of the oven - you just let them cool enough so that you can touch them.
29 Karly // Jun 24, 2008 at 11:01 am
I was just looking for a soft pretzel recipe last night and gave up. Then I stumbled on this today. Must be fate! I NEED those pretzels!
30 MyKitchenInHalfCups // Jun 24, 2008 at 12:51 pm
You are so 100% right. I need to make these.
Beautiful job Katy!
Such helpful friends you have.
31 Christy // Jun 24, 2008 at 2:48 pm
This may have been my inspiration to do some cooking!
Loran and I were talking about how good we felt after eating at your place on Sunday. The food was so delicious and kept us going through dinner. The BBQ we had for dinner just made us feel icky :-/ so we walked to Whole Foods for some fruits and veggies! You may had sparked some new eating in the Gutt household…that’s a feat in itself! Ella misses you!
32 Levitra // Jun 24, 2008 at 3:36 pm
mmm i love soft pretzels..especially when they are right out of the oven. thanks for the recipe!
33 newyorkdude // Jun 24, 2008 at 8:00 pm
You forgot the most important ingredient: mustard!!!!!! PS I agree that NYC pretzels are awful. I grew up in Philly and haven’t lost my taste for Philly pretzels, even though I lost my Philly accent….eeeeeuuuwwwww
34 Sorina // Jun 25, 2008 at 8:34 am
It look’s to good to be through I am definitely going to try this
35 RPO // Jun 25, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I live near the city go to school in philly. Im all for NYC being the better city, but im sorry philly has some good pretzels
36 Kate // Jun 25, 2008 at 7:37 pm
My friends and I just made these, and despite the fact that we’re pretty sure we got some dead yeast (sad!), these were SO DELICIOUS. More are currently in the oven. Kudos!
37 Elle // Jun 25, 2008 at 9:01 pm
Yum! I love homemade pretzels! The first time I ever made some, I was about 17. I was so proud of them! My cat took a bit of EACH ONE and I had to throw them out. I was so mad, but at least he had good taste.
And you’re right–my kids would love to make these!
38 Melissa // Jun 26, 2008 at 10:02 am
Wonderful recipe. I made some last night and my boyfriend and I ate them all! I made a double batch this morning. So easy and satisfying.
39 Becky // Jun 26, 2008 at 10:47 am
You MADE pretzels? I am in awe.
40 YeastSpotting June 27 2008 | Wild Yeast // Jun 27, 2008 at 2:01 am
[...] Soft Pretzels ~ Sugarlaws [...]
41 Tash OYSTERBLOGGER // Jun 27, 2008 at 9:52 pm
ooo this looks good. I want to make it with my offspring!
42 Mel // Jun 30, 2008 at 10:31 am
Can these be frozen?
I wanted to make them for a trip I’m taking this weekend….are they still good after an hour of coming out of the oven?
43 Karl Heinz Kremer // Jun 30, 2008 at 11:41 am
I freeze mine all the time - one batch is about 10 pretzels, I eat two fresh, and the rest goes into the freezer. Once frozen, I just pop them into my toaster convection oven for probably something line 10 minutes and they are delicious. If you want to freeze them, it’s best to take them out of the oven a little bit early so that they are on the pale side of brown.
One hour should not be a problem. I’ve done up to four hours without reheating them.
Here is how I bake my pretzels: http://khk.net/wordpress/2007/07/05/pretzel-baking/
44 Mel // Jun 30, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Has anyone tried adding things to them? like sundried tomatoes or jalopenos? I’m curious if you can put things in to spice it up a bit?
45 sugarlaw // Jun 30, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Mel — I haven’t frozen them, but I’m glad to hear that it works! Another possibility would be to freeze the dough before the baking soda bath and then thaw & bake them — I’ve done this with other bread doughs with good results.
And they will definitely still be good for more than an hour after baking! I just meant that they taste best fresh out of the oven.
Last, I haven’t tried variations, but let me know if you do! I think sundried tomatoes would be an amazing addition!
And Karl, thanks for the additional comments!
46 Mel // Jun 30, 2008 at 8:54 pm
okay i added jalopenos to half a batch and garlic powder to the other and they were both delicious!
47 Recipe Round Up - July 1, 2008 « Flexitarian Menu // Jul 1, 2008 at 1:38 pm
[...] Potatoes [Technicolor Kitchen] Peach Puff Pastry Pizza [Caviar and Codfish] Soft Pretzels [sugarlaws] Soft-Shell Blue Crabs in Butter and Garlic [We Are Never Full] Squash and Chickpea [...]
48 memememe // Jul 1, 2008 at 3:46 pm
can you use olive or soy bean oil instead of canola? i’d hate to have to buy a whole bottle just for this one project.
49 Karl Heinz Kremer // Jul 1, 2008 at 3:49 pm
I bake mine with butter - soy oil is probably fine too, but I suspect that olive oil may bring too much of it’s own flavor to the table.
50 Katy // Jul 2, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Those pretzels look amazing! If I didn’t already have so many things that I wanted to make today, I would make them right now! Maybe tomorrow…
Btw, it’s fun to “see” another Katy (not Katie), and you’re an attorney too! I’m not one yet, but one more year of law school, and then I will be!
51 Katy // Jul 3, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Just wanted to give you an update - I made these again today with whole wheat pastry flour and they turned out awesome! Thanks for such a great recipe!
52 Etna // Jul 4, 2008 at 12:05 am
Yum, yum, yum! Those look amazing, I can’t wait to make them.
53 Breakfast Links 28 June 2008 // Jul 5, 2008 at 9:17 am
[...] at Sugarlaws made fresh soft pretzels. Who doesn’t love [...]
54 Corinne // Jul 5, 2008 at 6:54 pm
I have to say, I JUST finished making a batch (about 15 min ago)… and I think I have to double or triple the recipe immediately. They’re all gone.
Thank you for this post!
55 Diana // Jul 6, 2008 at 8:50 pm
I made these right when i saw the page and theyre delicious!
I plan to make them again…and again…and again.
…and again =]
56 Kelly // Jul 10, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Ugh! I’m soo not a cook, but i just bought yeast at the grocery store bc of this post. Be afraid…be very afraid. =)
57 Daniel // Jul 13, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Just tried these for my kids - the dough was way too dry (wouldn’t clump up at all) until I added about another 1/3 - 2/3 cup water, then it was fine. The kids liked them well enough, but as with most simple bread recipes I find that the flour and yeast used influence the flavor a great deal, and what I had around made for somewhat bland pretzels. Still, they were easy, fast, and good enough to try again.
58 Leah Q // Jul 22, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Your photos and description of the recipe makes it sounds super good - I will save to try them myself! Could use a good pretzel now and then!
59 beverlyz // Jul 22, 2008 at 2:34 pm
These pretzels make me so hungry! I can just taste them!
60 elizabeth // Jul 22, 2008 at 3:07 pm
The second I saw this recipe I had to jump up and make some! Did a little guess-timating for the conversions, as I did triple the recipe, but it really turned out fine!
I also added 1 1/2 t of garlic powder to the mix and instead of just salt added sesame seeds to the top as well. Super!!
61 Adam // Jul 25, 2008 at 7:26 pm
I found your site when “stumbling” (stumbleupon.com) across the internet. Saw these pretzels and immediately made them. Needless to say they were all gone that night. The next night we had some friends over and tripled the recipe, yet again, they were all gone that night. I am going to have to buy a larger mixer so I can make larger batches.
Excellent, thanks.
62 Lux // Jul 26, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I just tried making these are they are delicious! Thanks for the easy recipe. I substituted 1/4c of the flour with whole wheat flour and they came out great. They bake quickly - I burned the bottoms of mine.
What is the purpose of dipping them in the baking soda water?
I ate these with some garlic hummus - sooo good.
63 mispellled // Jul 27, 2008 at 1:44 pm
i added in 1/2 cup of whole wheat to substitute half of the white flour.
they ended up kind of dry, so i had to add 1/2 cup of water before it formed into a dough. otherwise they were good.
64 Ashley // Aug 3, 2008 at 6:30 pm
I made these, using the rapid rise yeast and butter instead of oil.
Cut the time down, and were amazing. I tripled the recipe…and they are all gone. off to 6tuple the recipe and make them for “pub Quiz” tonight.
THANK YOU!!! I love soft pretzels and now i dont have to fight the mall to get one.
Thank you SOOOO much!!
Ashley
65 Ad // Aug 8, 2008 at 4:57 am
Heya, don’t know if anyone is still watching this page but the question I have is do these actually taste like pretzels? Haven’t seen anyone mention it. Since no one has mentioned it I figure they do taste like pretzels, but I wanted to make sure.
p.s. Anyone got a good recipe for plain nacho cheese?
- Nacho cheese and pretzels go great together.
66 Karl Heinz Kremer // Aug 8, 2008 at 5:45 am
Ad,
We all know that taste is something that we can argue over for days without a chance of ever winning an argument
So, just give it a try and see if you get the pretzel taste you are looking for from this recipe.
In my opinion, these pretzels are a bit on the pale side - both visually, and on the flavor side. I like my pretzels a bit darker. I’ve posted a link to my recipe (with pictures so that you can compare the look) a few comments back - just search for “khk”.
And no, nacho cheese and pretzels do not go together! (see the first paragraph in this comment)
67 Ad // Aug 8, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Thanks KHK,
Those also look really good and more of the pretzel type I was looking for. People seem to really love the recipe on this page though. I can always try them both I guess.
68 Recruiting Services // Aug 21, 2008 at 10:32 am
These look great. I look forward to making these on my own as opposed to visiting the Aunt Annie’s pretzel stand located in the mall =)
69 Pita Bread | sugarlaws // Aug 25, 2008 at 7:22 am
[...] Soft Pretzels [...]
70 Emily // Aug 26, 2008 at 7:10 am
I have two questions before I completely immerse myself in this recipe =)
1) How much do they rise in the oven so I know what size the rolled dough should be
2) If you don’t want salt on them, is the water/baking soda dip necessary?
I also wonder how this recipe would do making pretzel dogs =)
71 The Adventures of SuperWife » Soft Pretzels like WHOA // Aug 26, 2008 at 1:54 pm
[...] (recipe from sugarlaws.com) [...]
72 katy // Aug 26, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Emily —
They at least double in size in the oven — I usually roll them to about 24″ long strips, fold them into pretzel shape and they become super puffy in the oven.
Yes, definitely still do the baking soda bath — it helps with the color and flavor too! Otherwise you’ll just have little pretzel-shaped bread rolls.
Good luck!
73 [eatingclub] vancouver || js // Aug 26, 2008 at 10:37 pm
Your blog is killing me!
I’ve looked at soft pretzels, pita bread, parmesan wheat bread, sage ciabatta rolls. . .do you know what I’m trying to say?
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