Soft Pretzels
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
- Total Time
- About 2 hours (plus at least 8 hours’ chilling and 45 minutes’ resting)
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 1¾ hours (plus at least 8 hours chilling and 45 minutes resting)
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ¾cup/136 grams baking soda
- ¼cup/55 grams dark brown sugar
- 2¼teaspoons/1 (0.25-ounce) packet active dry yeast
- 3tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
- 3¾cups/510 grams bread flour
- 4tablespoons/57 grams unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature
- 2teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 1large egg, lightly beaten
- Pretzel salt or coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
For the Water Bath
For the Dough
To Finish
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
267 calories; 6 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 3738 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Prepare the baking soda for the water bath: Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Spread the baking soda out onto the prepared sheet and bake for 1 hour. Transfer to an air-tight container until ready to use. (The baking soda loses volume after it’s baked. You’ll need ½ cup of the baked baking soda for the water bath in Step 7.)
- Step 2
Prepare the dough: In a glass measuring cup or small bowl, combine 1¼ cups warm water with the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the brown sugar. Set aside until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- Step 3
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, butter, salt and remaining 3 tablespoons brown sugar. Using the paddle attachment, beat the mixture on low until the butter is evenly distributed. Switch to the dough hook. Add the yeast mixture and mix on medium-low until just combined, then knead on medium speed until the dough becomes smooth and elastic, 5 to 6 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. It will puff in the fridge but will stop once it cools down.
- Step 4
Shape the dough: Set two silicone baking mats on two rimmed baking sheets. (Do not use parchment, as the dough will stick.) On an unfloured work surface, roll and pat the cold dough out to an even 10-by-18-inch rectangle. Using a pizza wheel (or a sharp knife) and a ruler, cut the dough lengthwise into 10 (18-by-1-inch) strips.
- Step 5
Working with one piece at a time, roll each strip into a rounded rope, without making it longer. Shape the dough into U, then twist the ends around each other and bring them down to overlap the bottom. Transfer to one of the prepared baking sheets. Repeat with the remaining strips. Set the two baking sheets aside, uncovered, for 45 minutes.
- Step 6
After 45 minutes, heat the oven to 425 degrees, with racks positioned in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
- Step 7
Prepare the water bath: To a deep 10-inch skillet, add 4 cups of water and the brown sugar; bring to a simmer on medium-high. Stir in ½ cup of the baked baking soda. (Discard any remaining baked baking soda or reserve for another use.) Carefully transfer 1 to 2 pretzels, top side down, to the water. Cook for about 10 seconds per side and then use a slotted metal spatula to transfer the pretzels back to the prepared baking sheet, reshaping as necessary. Repeat with the remaining pretzels.
- Step 8
Brush the pretzels with the beaten egg and sprinkle with salt. Bake until deep golden brown, rotating the positions of the baking sheets halfway through, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.
Private Notes
Comments
I suggest using the extra prepared baking soda (now sodium carbonate) to boil regular spaghetti with to make alkaline (yellow-ish, chewy) noodles for dishes like “hot and dry Wuhan noodles” when the craving hits you but you can’t get any from a store. I always keep a jar of this stuff around. Just a warning that the water will froth enormously when you boil the spaghetti, so use a big pot only half filled with water.
Please remember that in small NYC apartments many of us do not have stand mixers. Please always tell how long to beat the dough by hand or with a hand mixer.
I make pretzels for a living and I use baking soda because lye is completely toxic however you don’t need brown sugar in my opinion you don’t need the brown sugar and you don’t need to bake the baking soda just dissolve in the water and bring to a boil then boil them for 30 seconds on each side. Beautiful pretzels every time .
I recommend wearing a mask when dealing with the washing soda (which is what you get by heating baking soda). I just pulled it out of the oven and poured it into a bowl to weigh it, and it made me sneeze like crazy. It's a very fine powder that, it turns out, is very irritating. It's probably also not great for my eyes, but I don't notice any irritation there.
I made two batches for a party and they turned out great. I will say my bake time was a little longer than the recipe said. I ended up baking them for probably closer to 35 minutes. But they were perfect. I will make them again.
This worked great for me to take to Oktoberfest party. Be warned: video and written directions differ slightly (wish this could be corrected by author). I cut dough into 6 roughly equal pieces, rolled out a 18-20 inch coil from each piece. Then cut coils into 2 inch pieces to make pretzel bites. So much easier than traditional shape! I baked the baking soda for 1 hour at 300 degrees. Then added recommended sugar and 1/2 cup baked baking soda to 8 cups water (not 4 as written), as recommended in other online recipes. Didn’t rinse off after baking soda bath. Used egg wash and Morton kosher salt. Then popped them into the oven for about 8 mins. Neighbors at the block party raved about them. They were not bitter, as others have said (that’s why I used 8 cups rather than 4 cups water, maybe that or maybe they forgot to put sugar in alkaline bath?). Yes, it’s a simple 16 step process that has to be started the night before 😉, but they are worth it. I’m not a bread baker, if I can do it, so can you!