With my soft pretzels recipe, you can enjoy fresh homemade pretzels straight from the oven! These are really fun to make with my children!
I have lived in the Philadelphia area for more than 45 years. I grew up on philly soft pretzels and remember that, growing up, there were guys who would stand in the median strips on major roads selling soft pretzels in brown paper bags for just $1 per bag of 3 pretzels.
Jump to:
This was long before there were Philly Pretzel Factory stores dotting the landscape of the East coast. Back in my childhood, the guys hawking pretzels in the street were at the Federal Pretzel Baking company at 4:00am to pick up pretzels. They would bag them and then stand out on the street all day selling them! Gotta love that entrepreneurial spirit!
Ingredients
The ingredients couldn't be simpler. As long as you have active dry yeast in the house you likely already have everything you need!
You will need:
- all-purpose flour
- active dry yeast
- sugar
- butter
- 1 egg
- salt
- baking soda (for the water bath)
Instructions
Scroll down to the recipe for more complete instructions!
Combine the yeast, sugar, water and salt and set aside until it bubbles.
Add the rest of the ingredients and knead with a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment (or your hands)
After the dough has rested, divide in to 8 portions and form in the shape of a pretzel.
Place in a baking soda bath for 1 minute prior to baking.
Tips for the best pretzels
This recipe is made easier if you have a stand mixer with a dough hook, but you can always mix it the old-fashioned way and mix it by hand.
Add the baking soda to the water bath before you start heating it. Trust me on this - if you add baking soda to boiling water, it will bubble up and over the pot and you will have a mess!
Do not skip the water bath part of making them. It is an important step to get them to "puff up" and to help create a crispy crust when they bake.
If you do decide to skip the water bath your pretzels will have the consistency of something between a pretzel and a bagel - a "pragel" if you will!
Serving suggestions (Philly-style)
If you want to eat your Philadelphia soft pretzels like a true Philly native:
- Mustard is the only acceptable condiment for them...preferably the cheapest yellow mustard that you can find! Spicy brown mustard is fine Cheese sauce MIGHT be acceptable in some cases, so long as it is melted Cheez Wiz (the ONLY time that I will eat that stuff).
- You must eat them "from the outside in". That means that you eat the outer loops first, then save the "inside knot" for last. The soft doughy texture of the knot is your reward.
- It is perfectly acceptable to slice your soft pretzel in half horizontally and make it in to a "sandwich bread". This is especially good for grilled ham & cheese sandwiches (just make sure that you use mustard, not mayonnaise)
Other serving suggestions:
Many people like a good beer cheese dip, just like they are serving at many pubs and chain restaurants these days.
Mix softened butter with brown sugar (to taste) for a sweeter dip. You will even find some bakeries will offer buttercream frosting for dipping.
Variations
- Instead of the traditional pretzel shape, make pretzel rolls or cut in to pretzel nuggets.
- Make a pretzel dog. Made rods of dough and wrap them around a hot dog or sausages. Note: place the pretzels in the water bath AFTER you have wrapped the hot dogs.
- For more flavor add your favorite herbs or even some cheddar cheese and diced (drained) jalapenos to the dough.
- For a sweeter treat, skip the kosher salt and immediately toss the baked pretzels in some melted butter and then a cinnamon sugar mixture (this works best with you cut the dough in to nuggets)
So as you can see, I am serious about my soft pretzels! Finding a homemade soft pretzel recipe is not as easy as it seems. Sure there are a bunch of recipes out there, but I wanted one that be really close to one made by a Philly Soft Pretzel bakery...and I think this is it!
More recipes for game day
Scroll down for the recipe - and let me know how you like them!
Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels Recipe
Ingredients
For The Pretzels
- 1 ½ cup Warm Water
- 1 tablespoon Sugar
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 ½ teaspoon or 1 pk Active Dry Yeast
- 4 cups Flour
- 2 oz melted Butter
For The Water Bath
- 10 cups water
- ⅔ cup baking soda
Other Ingredients:
- Egg Wash: 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
- Kosher Salt for topping
Instructions
Make The Dough
- Combine water, sugar and salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Let sit for about 5 minutes or until it starts to foam.
- Attach dough hook to your mixer. Add the flour and butter and mix on low speed until combined.
- Increase speed on mixer to medium and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl (about 5 minutes).
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover with towel and sit in a warm place for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
Assemble and Cook The Pretzels
- Bring the water and baking soda to a boil in a large pot
- Preheat the oven to 450.
- Line 2 baking sheets pans with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray or brush with vegetable oil.
- Lightly oil a cutting board and turn out the dough
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces.
- Roll out each piece of dough into a 2 foot rope.
- Flip ends of the rope across each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the baking sheets.
- When water is boiling, place pretzels (1 at a time) in to the boiling water for about 30 seconds.
- Remove pretzel from the water and place back on the baking sheet
- Brush the top of each pretzel with the egg wash and sprinkle with the Kosher salt.
- Bake 12-14 minutes or until golden brown.
- Transfer to a cooling rack.
Jennifer
I am so excited to make these... Yum!!!
susan
I was just telling someone about how when I had a client in NE philly that people would sell these amazing pretzels on the side of the road and all of the men working in this facility took turns getting the prezels and they all had giant things of yellow mustard in their desks and this was their breakfast every day...I can still smell them!!!
DIanne
It's been 35 years since I lived in PA and when you said you can still smell them, I also got a whiff of that wonderful smell. I will surely be making these because I agree, there are soft pretzel recipes but there are note that are close to a Philly Pretzel. Thank you...
Megan @ C'mon Get Crafty
I love pretzels, but I would never have thought to make my own! Thanks for the tricks!