These buttery soft pretzels are super easy to make, require no boiling, and a quick one-hour rise. They are a huge crowd-pleaser! Soft, delicious, and truly irresistible straight out of the oven.!

Just-baked soft pretzels on a cooling rack.

I knew I would love Vicki the moment I met her, which was two summers ago during our annual trip to Lake George with Ben’s family. Vicki is my brother-in-law’s girlfriend, she is 100% Greek, and food is her love language.

Five minutes after her arrival, she knocked on our door, her hands loaded with goodies, coloring books and colored pencils for the children, and an enormous Tupperware filled with koulourakia, the twisted Greek Easter cookie, perfect for dunking in coffee or tea, for us.

As the week went on, Vicki would bestow us with more treats, including chicken cordon bleu, tacos served in flat-bottomed, stand-up shells, and, most memorably, these buttery soft pretzels. When I asked Vicki if it was OK if I shared the recipe here, she said, Of course, noting she got the recipe years ago by searching online for an Auntie Anne’s pretzel recipe.

Friends, I am so excited to share this recipe with you. These pretzels have been a massive hit with my family and, these past few weeks, with the neighborhood children passing through my kitchen, enjoying their last few days of freedom before the school year begins.

PS: Homemade Soft Pretzel Rolls

Super Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels, Step by Step

Gather your ingredients: flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water, and oil.

Ingredients to make soft pretzels on a countertop.

Whisk together the dry ingredients:

Whisked dry ingredients to make soft pretzels.

Add the water and oil.

A bowl of soft pretzel dough ready to be mixed.

Mix until a shaggy dough forms.

Mixed pretzel dough in a bowl.

Knead briefly until…

Mixed pretzel dough on a countertop.

… dough comes together and feels tacky to the touch, about 1 minute.

Kneaded soft pretzel dough on the counter top.

Alternatively, this can all be mixed in a stand mixer, which will take 2 to 3 minutes total. I actually prefer making these in the stand mixer now — it’s fast and less messy.

Soft pretzel dough in a stand mixer.

Transfer the dough to a bowl and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour.

Dough rising in a bowl with a cloth bowl cover on top.

The dough may not necessarily double in volume.

Risen pretzel dough in a bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface.

Soft pretzel dough turned out onto a countertop.

Divide the dough into 12 portions, using flour as needed:

Portioned soft pretzel dough.

If you care about being precise, you can cut and weigh each one — 75 grams each is about right.

A portion of soft pretzel dough on a scale.

Roll each portion into a 12-inch log. You’re going to roll them out longer afterward, but I find that rolling them once, then letting them rest, allows the gluten to relax a bit and allows you to roll them out longer more easily the next time around.

Logs of pretzel dough.

After all 12 have been rolled out once, roll each one out to 22 to 24 inches long:

A tape measure next to a roll of pretzel dough.

How to Shape Pretzels

Step 1:

Pretzel dough partly shaped into a pretzel.

Step 2:

A coil of dough partway twisted into a pretzel.

Step 3:

An unbaked soft pretzel on a counter top.

I like to transfer the pretzels to a lightly oiled sheet pan as I shape.

Unbaked soft pretzels on an oiled sheet pan.

Once shaped, dissolve 1/2 cup baking soda into 4 cups of hot water. You can use hot tap water or you can boil water.

A bowl of hot water filled with 1/2 cup baking soda.

Working with one pretzel at a time, dip each one into the water, then place on a parchment-lined sheet pan.

A shaped pretzel floating in a bowl of hot water with baking soda.

Sprinkle with salt.

Unbaked soft pretzels on a sheet pan.

Bake at 425ºF for 10 to 12 minutes.

Just-baked soft pretzels on a sheet pan.

Brush with melted butter immediately.

Just-baked soft pretzels on a sheet pan.
Just-baked soft pretzels on a sheet pan.

Transfer to a cooling rack immediately.

Just-baked soft pretzels on a cooling rack.

Serve warm. So good.

Just-baked soft pretzels on a cooling rack.
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Just-baked soft pretzels on a cooling rack.

Super Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels

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Description

These homemade fresh soft pretzels are buttery soft in texture, perfectly sweet and salty, and astonishingly simple to make: they require a quick kneading (by hand or in a mixer), a simple shaping, and no boiling. They are a massive hit with adults and children alike and truly irresistible straight out of the oven.

Adapted from my brother-in-law’s most wonderful girlfriend, Vicki Roberts. 

Notes:

  • Yeast: If you are using active dry yeast, sprinkle it over the warm water with 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Let it stand for 15 minutes; then proceed with the recipe. 
  • Salt: I’ve been using fine sea salt in my bread recipes recently, but kosher salt is fine, too. 
  • Sugar: I tried several batches with lower amounts of sugar, and they just weren’t quite the same in texture, taste, and appearance. 

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 5 cups (640 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons (8 grams) instant yeast, see notes above if using active-dry
  • 1.5 teaspoons (9 grams) salt
  • 1/2 cup (110 grams) sugar
  • 1.5 cups (350 grams) warm water
  • 1 tablespoon (15 grams) neutral oil or olive oil

For finishing:

  • 1/2 cup (115 g) baking soda
  • 4 cups hot water
  • Kosher salt
  • 4 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the water and oil and stir with a rubber spatula until a shaggy dough forms. Use your hands to knead the dough briefly in the bowl, then turn the dough out onto a work surface and continue kneading until the dough comes together and feels tacky to the touch, about a minute. Alternatively, you can do this all in your stand mixer, which will take roughly 3 minutes total. (The stand mixer is my preferred method.)
  2. Place the dough back in the mixing bowl, cover with a towel or bowl cover and let rise in a warm spot for 1 hour. Longer is fine, too. Dough will not necessarily double in volume. This is fine. 
  3. Heat oven to 425ºF.
  4. Turn dough out onto a work surface and portion into 12 pieces, using flour as needed if dough is sticky. Note: If you want identically sized pretzels, weigh your total dough, then divide by 12. (Each portion should roughly weigh 75 grams.) Also: Be careful about using too much flour here: it will make it difficult to roll out…just use a sprinkling to prevent the dough from sticking. 
  5. Roll each portion into a 12-inch (roughly) log. You’ll roll each piece longer afterward, but the brief rest will allow the gluten to relax, making them easier to roll out longer later.
  6. Once all the portions have been rolled, continue to roll each portion to 22 to 24 inches long. Twist each piece into a pretzel shape. See video or photos for guidance. At this point, I like to transfer the shaped pretzels to a lightly oiled sheet pan. 
  7. When all of the pretzels are shaped, dissolve the 1/2 cup of baking soda in 4 cups of hot water. You can use hot tap water here or boil 4 cups of water — I’ve been using my electric kettle. Stir to dissolve the baking soda.
  8. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. 
  9. Working with one pretzel at a time, drop it into the water. Use a spider to remove it and transfer it to a parchment-lined sheet pan. (Note: I like to drop the pretzel in top-side down, then I use the spider to remove it and flip it onto the sheet pan top-side up. I find dipping it top-side down ensures the top of the pretzel gets sufficiently coated in the baking-soda solution, which promotes more even browning.) Repeat until all pretzels have been dipped.
  10. Sprinkle pretzels with salt. Transfer pan — I like to bake one pan at a time — to the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. 
  11. Remove pan from the oven and immediately brush the hot pretzels with the melted butter. Transfer pretzels to a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining pan of pretzels. 
  12. Let cool briefly. Serve warm. Pretzels reheat nicely — I love them halved, toasted, and spread with butter. 
  • Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American