Skip the store-bought pretzels! Get the kids in the kitchen today with this easy soft pretzel recipe you can bake at home. Because really, who doesn't love a soft and chewy pretzel? We love working with edible doughs that can be shaped and played with. What a super fun way to motivate kids to bake. We also learned what happens when you add baking soda to boiling water (hint: be careful).
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This was a really fun recipe to make with my daughter. Shaping the pretzel dough was the same as working with play dough - which kids love to do. The bubbling pot of boiling water was quite the adventure, too! We learned about the difference between a bagel and a pretzel. In the first batch we made, I forgot to add the baking soda to the boiling water - thus, we made bagels. Pretzels require the use of an alkaline water bath. Who knew!?
Table of contents
All in all, soft pretzels are delicious and a fantastic recipe to make with kids. It does require a good amount of patience in the beginning, but once the pretzels are shaped, you only have to wait a few minutes to enjoy the fruits of your labour.
How to Make Baked Soft Pretzels at Home
Ingredients to Make Pretzels
2 teaspoon dry active yeast
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 cup warm water
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (may need up to 3 cups)
* to make whole wheat pretzels use 1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour and 1 ¼ cup white all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
¼ cup baking soda
8 cups of water
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
¼ cup bagel salt (or, kosher salt/sea salt)
Combine yeast, sugar, and warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer or in a large bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes. Watch for little bubbles to pop onto the surface of the water. After 5 minutes, stir the water to dissolve the yeast.
How to Knead Pretzel Dough
Stir in the flour and salt. Knead the dough on low for 5 minutes in a stand mixer, or knead by hand for 5-7 minutes. After kneading for 2 minutes, if the dough is very sticky, add a bit more flour (1 tablespoon at a time).
In the end, the dough will be smooth and will form a ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Remove the dough from the bowl. Clean the bowl and grease the bowl with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil. Place the ball of dough inside the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside to rise - at least 1 hour. We set our bowl on top of our dishwasher, which had just finished running. The surface was nice and warm. Place your bowl in a warm location; on top of the fridge, on top of the stove, top shelf in the kitchen.
Once the dough has doubled in size (after an hour) remove the dough from the bowl and cut it into 8 portions.
How to fold a pretzel
Roll each portion into a snake of dough, about 20 inches long. If the dough springs back when you roll it out, let it sit for a moment and then try again.
Once you have your dough snake, it's time to make the pretzel shape. Make a "U" shape, then cross the two ends over each other.
Fold the two ends back over the bottom of the "U". Done. Place the completed pretzels on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 20 minutes.
In the meantime, bring a high-sided pot filled with 8 cups of water to a boil. Once the water boils, turn it down to a soft boil and add the baking soda. ** Watch out! As soon as you add the baking soda to the boiling water, the water will bubble and potentially boil over - I know, this is exactly what happened to us - use a stockpot for the boiling of the pretzels **
How Long to Boil Pretzels
Drop the pretzels into the boiling water; don't overfill the pot with pretzels. Let them boil for 30 seconds, then flip them over and boil for another 30 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place back on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Don't worry, there is more baking to be done.
How to Make Egg Wash for Pretzels
To make the egg wash, simply whisk together the egg and water with a fork. Brush the lightly boiled pretzels with the egg wash and sprinkle with a chunky bagel salt or kosher salt.
Bake in a 450°F oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve while warm.
These pretzels are soft and delicious. We served ours with a swipe of strawberry jam...so good. My kid was so proud of the work she had done. This is a great recipe to take on with kids. I love recipes where we both learn and enjoy the yummy end result.
How to Store Soft Pretzels at Home
Once the pretzels have cooled the can be stored in an air-tight container for up to 1 week. You can freeze homemade pretzels quite easily. Place the pretzels on a baking sheet and pop them in the freezer for a few hours. Once they are frozen, transfer them into a freezer bag, and they will keep up to six months frozen. To reheat, simply pull them out and pop them in a warm oven.
Easy Soft Pretzel Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoon dry active yeast
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour may need up to 3 cups
- * to make whole wheat pretzels use 1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour and 1 ¼ cup white all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- ¼ cup baking soda
- 8 cups water
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- ¼ cup bagel salt or, kosher salt/sea salt
Instructions
- Combine the yeast, the sugar, and the warm water in the bowl of an electric mixer or in a large bowl. Let it sit in the bowl for 5 minutes. Watch for little bubbles to pop onto the surface of the water.
- After 5 minutes, stir the water to dissolve the yeast.
- Next, stir in the flour and salt. Knead the dough on low for 5 minutes in the stand mixer, or knead by hand for 5-7 minutes. After kneading for 2 minutes, if the dough is very sticky add more flour - tablespoon at a time.
- In the end, the dough will be smooth and will form a ball that pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
- Remove the dough from the bowl. Clean the bowl and grease the bowl with 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil. Place the ball of dough inside the greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rise for at least 1 hour.
- Once the dough has doubled in size (after at least one hour) remove the dough from the bowl and cut it into 8 portions.
- Roll each portion into a snake of dough, about 20 inches long. If the dough springs back when you roll it out, let it sit for a moment and then try again.
- Once you have your dough snake, make the pretzel shape. Start by making "U" shape, then cross the two ends of the "U" over each other.
- Fold the two ends back over the bottom of the "U". Place the completed pretzels on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- When you have made the 8 pretzels, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450F.
- In the meantime, bring a high sided pot filled with 8 cups of water to a boil. Once the water boils, turn it down to a soft boil and add the baking soda. ** Watch out! As soon as you add the baking soda to the boiling water, the water will bubble and potentially boil over - I know, this is exactly what happened to us - use a high-sided pot or stock pot for the boiling of the pretzels **
- Drop the pretzels into the softly boiling water. Don't overfill the pot with pretzels. Let them boil for 30 seconds and then turn them over and boil for another 30 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place back on the parchment paper lined baking sheet.
- Now, it's time to make the egg wash. Whisk together the egg and water. Brush the lightly boiled pretzels with egg wash and sprinkle with bagel salt.
- Bake in 450°F oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
- Transfer to a cooling rack. Serve while warm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Today's post is part of the Cooking With Kids blog hop being hosted by Crafty Kids At Home. Be sure to head over and check out the other delicious kid-friendly recipes being shared.
Check out our awesome collection of delicious Kid-Friendly Meatless Recipes
Another great, and super simple, bread recipe. Bake a lovely loaf of Irish Soda Bread
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Nicols says
We have never made pretzels before but love making bread together so we definitely need to have a go at this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe in our Cooking with Kids Blog Hop.
Jen says
Thanks!
Jen says
Thanks!
Ari & Ella & Nicole says
Great!