Half the Sugar Baker
Homemade soft pretzels are so much easier to make than you might realize! They taste the best when their fresh from the oven and still warm. That’s why I like to make a small batch, especially if you don’t have a huge crowd to feed! This recipe makes 6 medium pretzels (with the option for pretzel bites).
Although pretzels are made with a yeasted dough, it’s still a super simple and quick process. There’s basically no resting time or proofing time! The dough is really easy to work with and not sticky at all. The only part of the process that is a little complicated is the baking soda bath, but even that is fairly simple! In less than 1 hour, you could have soft, buttery, fluffy pretzels.
Tips + notes:
The water that you bloom your yeast with should be around 100ºF. For the most consistent results, I like to use a thermometer to test the temperature. This gives the dough a good rise, but if the water is too hot, it could kill the yeast.
The recipe calls for 2 cups of all purpose flour, but I prefer to start with 1 1/2 cups and gradually add more as needed. The final dough should be soft, but not sticky. It should also bounce back slightly when you poke it with your finger.
For form the pretzels, the dough is divided into 6 pieces. If you want to make sure the pretzels are exactly the same size, you can weigh each piece. They should be around 80 grams each.
To make pretzel bites, simply take one of your dough pieces and roll it into a long rope, around the diameter of a penny. Then divide the rope into 10 equal pieces using a sharp knife or bench scraper. They will puff up a lot in the oven.
To roll the dough into long ropes, I find it helpful to brush all the flour off of the work surface. This increases the friction so the dough doesn’t slide around.
To make the pretzel shape:
The baking soda bath: For the bath, I like to use a ratio of 2 tablespoon baking soda with 2 1/4 cups water. This is not a lot, so you need to boil it in a small pot in order for it to be deep enough. If you don’t have a pot small enough, you can double the quantities by using 4 tablespoons baking soda with 4 1/2 cups water in a medium pot. Add the baking soda and water to a pot and whisk to combine. Then bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, you will drop in your pretzels. I like to do them one at a time to avoid overcrowding. Make sure you only boil the pretzels for 20-30 seconds or they can develop a metallic taste. Once the time is up, use a slotted spoon to scoop out the pretzel and drain as much of the water off the pretzel as you can.
Before baking, sprinkle the pretzels with salt for that classic savory flavor. The best salt to use is coarse salt or finishing salt, but if you don’t have it, feel free to use normal table salt.
Once the pretzels are done baking, they should be puffy and a deep golden brown. Immediately brush the pretzels with melted butter. This may not seem like an important step, but it really brings out the classic pretzel flavor, and makes them shiny.
For cinnamon sugar pretzel bites, brush the pretzel bites with melted butter once done baking, and then immediately toss them with cinnamon sugar. These are truly amazing.
If you liked these small batch soft pretzels, you might also like…
Small Batch Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup warm water around 100ºF
- 1 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon melted and cooled unsalted butter or oil
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- coarse salt for sprinkling on top
Baking Soda Bath
- 2 tablespoons baking soda
- 2 1/4 cups water
For brushing on top
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
For cinnamon sugar coating (optional)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Add the yeast and warm water to a large bowl and whisk together. Wait for 1 minute. Then add the salt, sugar, and melted butter. Whisk until combined. Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and mix with a dough whisk or large wooden spoon. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour until the dough is thick and no longer sticky. It should bounce back slightly when poked with a finger.
- Dump the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 3 minutes. Then form into a ball and cover with a damp towel for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 405ºF. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Once 10 minutes is over, divide the dough into 6 equal pieces with a sharp knife or bench scraper. Each piece should be around 80g.
- To form the pretzels: take one piece and roll into a long rope, around 20 inches long. It helps to brush all the flour off of the work surface, to increase friction. Then form a circle with the rope and twist the two ends together. Bring the twisted ends back down over the circle and press down. It helps to look at the picture above in the tips section. Also, see the tips section for info on how to convert these into pretzel bites.
- In a small pot, combine the baking soda and water for the baking soda bath. Then bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, add one pretzel and let it sit for 20-30 seconds before removing with a slotted spoon. Make sure to drain as much of the water off of the pretzel as you can. Then transfer the pretzel to the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pretzels. Remember to leave space between the pretzels for them to expand.
- Sprinkle each pretzel with coarse salt and bake for 12-14 minutes in the preheated oven. They should be puffed up and golden brown.
- Once done baking, immediately brush with the melted butter. For cinnamon sugar pretzel bites, combine the sugar and ground cinnamon in a bowl. Then immediately add the buttered pretzels and toss together. Enjoy warm!
Oh I didn’t know how easy it was to make pretzels. I followed the directions which were perfect and didn’t need any substitutions or anything. It was so easy. I was skeptical until I took them out of the oven and tasted them. I’m so excited!!! They’re really delicious.
Hi Patrice, I’m so glad you enjoyed these pretzels! I agree, they are surprisingly easy to make. Thank you so much for leaving a review!
Pretzel los amo con locura,soy mayor ,donde vivo a larga distancia se compran, cuando puedo ,los compro,originales,rellenos con chocolate ,bañados en canela y otras variedades , esquiciteses