Pretzel

4.62 from 34 votes
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Easy homemade pretzel recipe with five ingredients without lye. These soft pretzels are 100% homemade, with a nice crust outside and chewy inside. The best!

Pretzels on a baking tray salted and buttered.
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What Are Pretzels

Pretzel is a baked pastry popular in the United States, with chains such as Auntie Anne’s and Wetzel’s.

The origin is Germany. Pretzels are shaped into a long rope and then twisted into a knot.

There are two types of this popular pastry: soft pretzel vs hard pretzel. The former has a short shelf life and should be consumed after baking, or maximum up to 3 days.

The latter is hard and crunchy, making it a perfect snack for storage and has a long shelf life.

There are many ways to serve the snack, either savory or sweet. At the very classic, they are lightly buttered and salted.


Pretzel Recipe Ingredients

Soft pretzels in a serving basket.

This is a homemade soft pretzel recipe with a nice crust on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside.

This is an easy recipe. The dough is made of five basic ingredients:

  • All-purpose flour
  • Yeast
  • Butter
  • Sugar
  • Salt

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.


Serving Suggestions

Easy pretzel recipe with five pretzel ingredients: yeast, flour, butter, sugar and salt.

The most popular way to serve soft pretzels is with plain yellow mustard, honey mustard or spicy mustard.

There are plenty of other options, for examples:

  • Plain or flavored cream cheese
  • Chocolate sauce
  • Nacho cheese
  • Sour Cream
  • Peanut butter
  • Cinnamon sugar

The possibilities are endless!


Frequently Asked Questions

Is lye a pretzel ingredient?

Lye is often used in pretzel recipes. A chemical reaction during baking makes the lye safe to eat but it’s still dangerous to work with.
Lye gives pretzels the distinctive, glossy, brown “crust” and appearance.
In order to get a similar look without the dangers of using lye, this recipe calls for baking soda as a substitute for lye in the pretzel dough.

How long will pretzels stay soft?

Soft pretzels can be kept at room temperature for up to three days.
Simply keep them in a paper bag and store it in a cool, dry place. Keep in mind that the pretzels will harden the longer you keep them.

Can I freeze homemade pretzels?

You sure can! Homemade pretzels will keep well in the freezer for up to six months.
Place the pretzels in a single layer on a baking sheet and transfer to the freezer for about an hour. Once they are frozen, you can place them in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers.
When you are ready to eat, just heat them up in a toaster oven for 10 minutes to warm them up.

How many calories per serving?

This pretzel recipe is 183 calories each. It’s low calories and healthy!

Easy soft pretzel recipe without lye

What To Serve With Pretzel

For a fun party or social gathering, I recommend the following recipes.

I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on FacebookPinterest, and Instagram for new updates.


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4.62 from 34 votes

Pretzel

Easy homemade pretzel recipe with five ingredients without lye. These soft pretzels are 100% homemade, with a nice crust outside and chewy inside. The best!
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
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Ingredients  

  • 1/4 oz. (10g) active dry yeast packet
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water, 110°F to 115°F/37°C to 47°C
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 – 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 8 cups water
  • 1/2 cup baking soda
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon cold water
  • coarse salt, optional

Instructions 

  • In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the sugar, butter, salt and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
  • Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
  • In a large saucepan, bring 8 cups water and baking soda to a boil. Punch dough down; divide into 12 portions. Roll each into a log and then make into a regular pretzel shape. Add to boiling water, a few at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.
  • Place on greased baking sheets. Lightly beat egg yolk and cold water; brush over pretzels. Sprinkle with the salt. Bake 425°F (218°C) for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. Serve warm.

Notes

Here is a tutorial on how to shape pretzels.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g, Calories: 183kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 2855mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Please rate and comment below!

About Bee Yinn Low

Bee is a recipe developer and best-selling cookbook author, sharing easy, quick, and delicious Asian and American recipes since 2006. With a strong following of almost 2 million fans online, her expertise has been featured in major publications, TV and radio programs, and live cooking demos throughout the United States and Asia.

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Recipe Rating





40 Comments

  1. Kendall says:

    Love these pretzels. I was so worried that I would fail but your recipe is easy and clear and fail proof! Thanks so much. I just serve with some leftover cream cheese in the fridge, so good!

  2. Rosalie Hitney says:

    Can you roll the dough around either mozzarella or cheddar cheese?

  3. Dawn Crawford says:

    Do you know how many carbs are in one

  4. Saemma says:

    5 stars
    Made these tonight and they were very tasty l, chewy and easy to make. Thank you so much for sharing.

    1. YW says:

      Amateur baker..may i ask what does it mean ‘to turn once to grease top’? Do i grease the top n bottom dough while leaving it to rise? Thanks.

  5. Lynn says:

    Does this REALLY need half a cup of baking soda? It seems like an awful lot – a whole packet in fact???

    1. Carol says:

      The baking soda is used as part of the bath before baking. Not in thedough

  6. Maryann says:

    5 stars
    This recipe was my first attempt at making soft pretzels and they were great. I will definitely be making them again.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      That’s awesome, thanks for trying my easy pretzels recipe.

  7. Natalia Dzu says:

    5 stars
    thanks for the recipe.very yummy.I used half milk half water,less salt more sugar and vanilla.love it

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Awesome thanks for trying my pretzels recipe!

  8. Mandy B says:

    This looks amazing! My older son loves soft pretzels, so we usually take him to SAM’S Club to buy him one, haha. We’ve discovered that my younger son has allergies to dairy and egg, so he sadly gets left out – this recipe gives me hope that we can finally introduce him to the deliciousness that is soft pretzels! So, obvious question coming next โ€“ย any suggestions for what to use instead of the egg wash? I’m sure we can substitute another oil, but I’m not sure how to handle the egg part :-)

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Just brush with some butter. I am sure it will work. :)

      1. Lynn says:

        But he’s allergic to dairy as well!!!!

        1. KKelly says:

          You can buy totally vegan butter

      2. Shari A Lueken says:

        5 stars
        I realize that the Woman who asked for ideas on a substitute wash may not read this scince it has been so long but I’ll say it anyways..

        If you forgo the boiling of the pretzel, then you can mix a little bit of baking soda with some warm water in a small container, and directly brush it on to the pretzel prior to baking. It can also give the pretzel a nice crust while leaving the inside soft and chewy.

        1. Rasa Malaysia says:

          Thanks for your comment.

  9. NJ says:

    Hi Will it work if pretzel dough is made via bread machine- bread dough function?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      I think so.

  10. Sara @ Last Night's Feast says:

    Yumm! What a tasty snack

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Thanks Sara. :)