Easy Soft Pretzel Recipe | Gluten Free Real Food Snack (2024)

Ready for an easy soft pretzel recipe that comes out delicious and even smells like the ones from a pretzel shop? Try this easy recipe! You can make it Gluten-Free if you’d like, or even use healthy oat flour!

One of the questions I get most often is “What do you guys eat for snacks?”

Unfortunately, my answer is quite plain and not very exciting: fruit.

Yes, when the family snacks, 8 times out of 10, it’s fruit. The ninth and tenth times might be carrot sticks, homemade pickles, a homemade granola bar, or even dried fruit, but I admit – those aren’t very exciting either.

That’s because since embarking on our real food journey a few years ago, snacking has pretty much lost its luster.

I do love tortilla chips. So, I make my own, which are much tastier than their store-bought counterparts.

Like me with tortilla chips, Mr. Crumbs has a secret crush on pretzels. Just a couple of months ago, he asked me to make him some.

“Babe, do you think you can make me pretzels some time?”

I can’t tell the man “no” when he makes a simple request for pretzels. So instead of the store-bought option, my counter-attack is simple: learn to make them myself.

Soft Pretzel Recipe

Soft pretzels are a classic snack that might seem hard to make! Trust me, they’re not hard at all! This recipe is amazing because:

• It’s so easy! With simple real food ingredients, this recipe is fun to make, and it comes together quickly.
• Healthier. You’re using real food, so you’re not consuming the unhealthy sweeteners and preservatives found in store-bought pretzels.
• Delicious! This soft pretzel recipe has the traditional pretzel smell and taste with soft and chewy texture!
• Versatile! For people with gluten sensitivities, these pretzels can be made gluten-free! It’s just so versatile that you can make them with any all-purpose flour.

What makes pretzel dough different?

When it comes to pretzels, there’s a different style for everyone:

• Hard or soft
• Sourdough or yeast
• Plain or salted
• Flavored dough or rolled in a topping
• Philadelphia-style, bites or rods

This particular homemade pretzel is soft and chewy, moderately salty (which can easily be modified to your own liking), and smells deliciously like the pretzels from gourmet shops.

I’m seriously not exaggerating on the smell or the delicious part either. This entire batch of pretzels was devoured in mere minutes. I consider myself lucky to have snagged one for myself and taken a few photos before they disappeared.

Gluten-free folks will be pleasantly surprised to know that I have tested this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour. It’s perfect for substituting in recipes that traditionally call for wheat flour and you won’t notice the difference. The five taste testers of this pretzel sure didn’t.

Regardless if you’re dealing with gluten sensitivities or you can eat whatever you want, this recipe makes it official – snack time is back on, and it’s fun!

Ingredients for this Soft Pretzel Recipe

• Warm water
• Honey
• Salt
• Active dry yeast
• Oat flour (make your own here)
• All-purpose flour (any, and you can even make them gluten-free. I have used Bob’s Red Mill All-purpose gluten-free flour with great success!)
• Butter
• Water
• Baking soda
• Egg yolk
• Kosher salt, for sprinkling
• Olive oil, for brushing

Psst! I highly recommend Ava Jane’s Kitchen for your salt! You may think all salt is created equal, but unfortunately, 90% of salt produced around the world contains microplastics (gross, right?). Ava Jane’s Kitchen is an exception. Their salt is 100% microplastic free, and it’s SO GOOD! Save your pretzels from plastics! Plus, you can get a bag for just 1¢!! (Get your penny bag of salt on this page!)

How do you make soft pretzels from scratch?

Step 1. Combine water, honey, salt, and yeast in a medium mixing bowl. Allow yeast to bloom.

Step. 2 Add the oat flour, all-purpose flour, and butter. Mix. Begin kneading by hand.

Step 3. Cover the dough with a towel and place in a warm spot. Allow to rise for 1 hour.

Step 4. Line a large baking sheet, or two smaller baking sheets, with parchment paper. Brush lightly with olive oil.

Step 5. Combine the 5 cups of water and baking soda in a large, wide pot. Boil water.

Step 6. Meanwhile, divide into 16 equal pieces. Knead each piece of dough in your hands.

Step 7. Roll each piece of dough into a rope 10″-12″ in length. Make a pretzel shape. Place onto the parchment-lined sheet.

Step 8. Boil the pretzels in the baking soda bath for 30 seconds.

Step 9. Return the boiled pretzels back to the baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg wash. Sprinkle with salt.

Step 10. Bake until golden brown, 13-16 mins.

Additional Soft Pretzel Recipe Tips

• Do not substitute granulated sugar for the honey. This dough needs the extra moisture from the honey, otherwise they will crumble as you roll your ropes.
• Do not skip the parchment paper brushed with oil. After three batches of pretzels that stuck like mad to a very well seasoned cookie sheet, this was the only method that worked for no-stick pretzels.
• This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
• These recipes are best right out of the oven, but for future enjoyment, consider freezing individually and reheating in an oven or toaster oven.

What Goes Good on Soft Pretzels?

Of course, salt is traditionally used on soft pretzels. Some people like to dip them in mustard or even hot cheese. But guess what? You can also make them as a sweet & yummy snack!

• For a cinnamon sugar topping, mix 1/2 tsp of cinnamon with 1/4 cup granulated sugar and melt 1 Tbsp of butter in a small bowl. Brush the freshly baked pretzels with melted butter, then roll in cinnamon sugar. Try not to eat them at all, unless no one is looking.
• For an almond topping, use Honey Roasted Almonds. Chop roasted almonds into small bits, brush freshly baked pretzels with melted butter, then roll or sprinkle in almonds.

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Easy Soft Pretzel Recipe

Print Recipe

★★★★★4.8 from 4 reviews

Try this easy soft pretzel recipe for delicious, chewy pretzels that taste and smell like they’re straight out of the gourmet pretzel shop! You can even make these pretzels gluten-free!

• Author: Tiffany
• Prep Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
• Yield: 16 1x
• Category: Snacks
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Scale

• ¾ cup warm water (105-110F)
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 ⅛ tsp active dry yeast
• ¾ cup oat flour (make your own here)
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour or Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1-to-1 baking flour*
• 2 Tbsp butter, room temperature
• 5 cups water
• ⅓ cup baking soda
• 1 egg yolk + 1 Tbsp water, whisked together for an egg wash
• coarse Kosher salt, for sprinkling
• olive oil, for brushing

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Combine water, honey, salt, and yeast in either a medium mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow the yeast to bloom.
2. Add the oat flour, all-purpose flour, and butter. Mix with a wooden spoon, or in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, until the ingredients are well combined. Knead dough by hand, or with a stand mixer, for about 5 minutes.
3. Cover the dough with a towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot. Allow to rise for 1 hour. (Note: You will not see a noticeable rise.)
4. Preheat oven to 450F. Line a large baking sheet, or two smaller baking sheets, with parchment paper. Brush lightly with olive oil. Set aside.
5. Combine the 5 cups of water and baking soda in a large pot. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil.
6. Meanwhile, divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. Knead each piece of dough in your hands until it is soft and pliable.
7. Gently roll each piece of soft pretzel dough into a rope 10″-12″ in length.
8. Make a U-shape with the dough and cross the ends over each other twice. Fold the ends downward and press gently into the bottom of the U-shape. Place onto the parchment-lined baking sheet.
9. Working with 1-2 pretzels at a time, boil the pretzels in the baking soda bath for 30 seconds. Turn the pretzel over after 20 seconds if it is not fully submerged.
10. Return the boiled pretzels back to the baking sheet and brush the tops with the egg wash. Sprinkle liberally (or to taste) with coarse Kosher salt.
11. Bake until golden brown, 13-16 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Notes

* If you don’t have this flour, you may substitute any type of flour you have on hand.

• Do not substitute granulated sugar for the honey. This dough needs the extra moisture from the honey, otherwise they will crumble as you roll your ropes.
• Do not skip the parchment paper brushed with oil. After three batches of pretzels that stuck like mad to a very well seasoned cookie sheet, this was the only method that worked for no-stick pretzels.
• This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled.
• This recipe is best right out of the oven, but for future enjoyment, consider freezing individually and reheating in an oven or toaster oven.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1
• Calories: 184

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