Soft Pretzels
By Afton CyrusPublished on January 27, 2023
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour rising time, plus cooling time
Yield
Makes 6 pretzels
WHAT KIDS ARE SAYING
“Soft, crunchy, salty. 10/10.” —Max, recipe tester, age 11
Ingredients
DOUGH
2 cups (11 ounces/312 grams) bread flour 1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast 2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar ¾ cup (6 ounces) room-temperature water Vegetable oil sprayTO FINISH AND BAKE
1 tablespoon baking soda ½ cup (4 ounces) water 1 teaspoon pretzel salt (or kosher salt)3 tablespoons unsalted butterInstructions
- For the dough: In bowl of stand mixer, whisk together flour, yeast, and 2 teaspoons kosher salt. Lock bowl into place and attach dough hook to stand mixer.
- In 4-cup liquid measuring cup, whisk together oil, brown sugar, and ¾ cup water until brown sugar has dissolved.
- Start mixer on low speed and slowly pour in water mixture. Mix until no dry flour is visible, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium and knead dough for 8 minutes. Stop mixer.
- Transfer dough to clean counter and use your hands to knead dough for 30 seconds, then form dough into smooth ball following photos, “Step-by-Step: How to Knead Dough,” below.
- Spray inside of large bowl with vegetable oil spray. Place dough in greased bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours.
- To finish and bake: While dough rises, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set 1 cooling rack in baking sheet and spray well with vegetable oil spray.
- Combine baking soda and remaining ½ cup water in small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave until water looks clear, 1 to 2 minutes. Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave (be careful—bowl will be hot). Use spoon to stir mixture until baking soda has completely dissolved. Set aside to cool.
- When dough is ready, transfer dough to clean counter. Gently press and stretch dough into 6-inch square, popping any large bubbles. Use bench scraper or kitchen shears to cut dough into 6 equal 1-inch-wide strips. Cover dough strips loosely with plastic.
- Use your hands to stretch and roll 1 piece of dough into 22-inch-long rope (keep remaining pieces covered), then shape into pretzel following photos, “Step-by-Step: How to Shape Pretzels,” below. Place pretzel on greased cooling rack in baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough strips, spacing pretzels about 2 inches apart on rack.
- Use pastry brush to paint tops and sides of each pretzel with water–baking soda mixture (coat pretzels well for even browning, then discard extra mixture). Sprinkle tops of pretzels with 1 teaspoon pretzel salt.
- Place baking sheet in oven. Bake until pretzels are deep golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Use oven mitts to remove baking sheet from oven and place on second cooling rack (ask an adult for help). Let pretzels cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.
- While pretzels cool, melt butter. Use clean pastry brush to paint pretzels all over with melted butter. Serve warm.
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour rising time, plus cooling timeYield
Makes 6 pretzelsWHAT KIDS ARE SAYING
“Soft, crunchy, salty. 10/10.” —Max, recipe tester, age 11Ingredients
DOUGH
2 cups (11 ounces/312 grams) bread flour
1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
¾ cup (6 ounces) room-temperature water
Vegetable oil spray
TO FINISH AND BAKE
1 tablespoon baking soda
½ cup (4 ounces) water
1 teaspoon pretzel salt (or kosher salt)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
DOUGH
2 cups (11 ounces/312 grams) bread flour
1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
¾ cup (6 ounces) room-temperature water
Vegetable oil spray
TO FINISH AND BAKE
1 tablespoon baking soda
½ cup (4 ounces) water
1 teaspoon pretzel salt (or kosher salt)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
DOUGH
2 cups (11 ounces/312 grams) bread flour
1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
¾ cup (6 ounces) room-temperature water
Vegetable oil spray
TO FINISH AND BAKE
1 tablespoon baking soda
½ cup (4 ounces) water
1 teaspoon pretzel salt (or kosher salt)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
These classic pretzels are worth their salt! One of the weirdest (and coolest) things about traditional pretzels is that they are boiled in water before they’re baked to help set the crust on the outside and make them extra chewy inside. The water sometimes also has a chemical called lye in it, which gives the crust a dark brown color and tangy flavor. Since boiling pretzels at home can be tricky (and dangerous) for kids, we skip that step and still get a nice brown crust by painting them all over with baking soda dissolved in water. (Baking soda and lye are similar, but baking soda is less dangerous!) To see this in action, have your young chef leave one half of one pretzel bare, without the baking soda solution. Do they see the difference between the two halves when that pretzel comes out of the oven? Is the texture different? How about the flavor? (The pretzel half without the baking soda solution will look paler and won’t have much of that traditional “pretzel” flavor.)
Want more? Read the whole storyInstructions
- For the dough: In bowl of stand mixer, whisk together flour, yeast, and 2 teaspoons kosher salt. Lock bowl into place and attach dough hook to stand mixer.
- In 4-cup liquid measuring cup, whisk together oil, brown sugar, and ¾ cup water until brown sugar has dissolved.
- Start mixer on low speed and slowly pour in water mixture. Mix until no dry flour is visible, about 2 minutes. Increase speed to medium and knead dough for 8 minutes. Stop mixer.
- Transfer dough to clean counter and use your hands to knead dough for 30 seconds, then form dough into smooth ball following photos, “Step-by-Step: How to Knead Dough,” below.
- Spray inside of large bowl with vegetable oil spray. Place dough in greased bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise until doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours.
- To finish and bake: While dough rises, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Set 1 cooling rack in baking sheet and spray well with vegetable oil spray.
- Combine baking soda and remaining ½ cup water in small microwave-safe bowl. Heat in microwave until water looks clear, 1 to 2 minutes. Use oven mitts to remove bowl from microwave (be careful—bowl will be hot). Use spoon to stir mixture until baking soda has completely dissolved. Set aside to cool.
- When dough is ready, transfer dough to clean counter. Gently press and stretch dough into 6-inch square, popping any large bubbles. Use bench scraper or kitchen shears to cut dough into 6 equal 1-inch-wide strips. Cover dough strips loosely with plastic.
- Use your hands to stretch and roll 1 piece of dough into 22-inch-long rope (keep remaining pieces covered), then shape into pretzel following photos, “Step-by-Step: How to Shape Pretzels,” below. Place pretzel on greased cooling rack in baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough strips, spacing pretzels about 2 inches apart on rack.
- Use pastry brush to paint tops and sides of each pretzel with water–baking soda mixture (coat pretzels well for even browning, then discard extra mixture). Sprinkle tops of pretzels with 1 teaspoon pretzel salt.
- Place baking sheet in oven. Bake until pretzels are deep golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.
- Use oven mitts to remove baking sheet from oven and place on second cooling rack (ask an adult for help). Let pretzels cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes.
- While pretzels cool, melt butter. Use clean pastry brush to paint pretzels all over with melted butter. Serve warm.
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