Soft Pretzels

Before you start

A soft pretzel gets its color and flavor from an alkaline bath before baking. The high pH speeds browning dramatically, so a plain yeast dough comes out of the oven deep brown with that distinct, slightly mineral pretzel taste and a thin, chewy skin. Inside, the crumb stays soft and tight because the dough is relatively firm and is shaped from thin ropes.

You can choose how strong to make the bath. Ordinary baking soda in simmering water is the simplest and gives medium-brown pretzels. Baking the soda first converts it to a more alkaline powder that darkens the crust further. Food-grade lye produces the classic Bavarian finish but needs gloves, eye protection and careful handling, so it is covered only as a note here. Whatever you use, let the shaped pretzels firm up uncovered for a few minutes so they hold their twist in the bath.

Ingredients

• Dough500 g (4 cups, spooned and leveled) all-purpose flour
• 300 g (1¼ cups) warm water — about 40°C (105°F)
• 7 g (2¼ tsp) instant yeast
• 25 g (2 tbsp packed) light brown sugar
• 10 g (1¾ tsp) fine salt
• 30 g (2 tbsp) unsalted butter — melted
• Bath2 L (8½ cups) water
• 80 g (⅓ cup) baking soda
• Finish1 large egg — beaten with 1 tbsp water, optional
• 1 to 2 tbsp coarse pretzel salt

Method

1. Mix the flour, yeast, brown sugar and salt. Add the warm water and melted butter and knead for about 6 minutes in a mixer, or 9 to 10 minutes by hand, until smooth and barely tacky.
2. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour, until nearly doubled.
3. Heat the oven to 230°C (450°F) with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two baking sheets with parchment and brush it lightly with oil so the wet pretzels do not stick.
4. Divide the dough into 8 pieces of about 108 g. Roll each into a rope about 60 cm (24 in) long, thicker in the middle and tapered at the ends. Lift the ends into a U, cross them twice, then fold the twisted ends down and press them onto the bottom of the loop.
5. Set the pretzels on the sheets and leave them uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes. The surface should dry slightly; you can also refrigerate them for this time, which makes them easier to lift.
6. Bring the bath water to a simmer in a stainless pot and slowly add the baking soda; it foams up. Lower 2 pretzels at a time into the water for 30 seconds, flip, and give them 30 seconds more. Lift out, drain, and return them to the parchment.
7. Brush with egg wash if you want extra shine, then sprinkle with coarse salt. Slash the thick bottom curve with a sharp knife if you like a pale, open seam.
8. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, swapping the pans halfway, until deep mahogany brown. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes and serve warm.

Tips for success

• Roll the ropes in stages. If the dough springs back, let it rest 5 minutes and it will stretch farther.
• Use stainless steel or enameled cookware for the bath. Aluminum reacts with alkaline solutions and can discolor.
• Salt only what you will eat the same day. Coarse salt dissolves into wet spots on stored pretzels.
• For bite-size pretzel pieces, cut the ropes into 3 cm (1 in) lengths, bathe them 20 seconds total and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Substitutions

Baking soda bath

For darker pretzels, spread 80 g baking soda on a foil-lined sheet and bake at 120°C (250°F) for 1 hour. The result is more alkaline: handle it with gloves, keep it off skin, and use it in the same bath amount.

Brown sugar

Barley malt syrup in the same weight adds a deeper, malty note. White sugar works but gives a slightly plainer flavor.

All-purpose flour

Bread flour makes a chewier pretzel. Add about 10 g (2 tsp) more water so the dough is not stiff to roll.

Variations

Cinnamon sugar pretzels

Skip the salt and egg wash. Brush the hot baked pretzels with melted butter and toss them in 100 g sugar mixed with 1 tbsp cinnamon.

Lye-dipped Bavarian style

Experienced bakers can use a 3 to 4 percent solution of food-grade sodium hydroxide in cold water instead of the soda bath. Wear gloves and eye protection, use glass or stainless steel, never add water to lye, and dip for 20 to 30 seconds without heating.

Troubleshooting

Pretzels came out pale

The bath was too weak or the dip too short. Use the full amount of soda, give each side 30 seconds, or try the baked-soda method.

Shape blurred into a blob

The dough was overproofed or too soft when it went into the water. Shorten the rest and chill shaped pretzels for 20 minutes before bathing.

Pretzels stuck to the pan

Unoiled parchment or a bare pan. Always oil the parchment; wet alkaline dough glues itself to paper and metal.

Interior is bready instead of chewy

The ropes were too thick or the dough too wet. Roll longer and thinner ropes and weigh the water.

Storage

Soft pretzels are best within a few hours. Store unsalted leftovers loosely wrapped at room temperature for 1 day, or freeze for up to 2 months and reheat at 175°C (350°F) for 8 to 10 minutes.

Safety notes

Do not eat the raw dough. Alkaline baths can irritate skin and eyes, and baked baking soda and lye are stronger still; keep them away from children and wear gloves. Contains wheat and milk, plus egg if you use the wash.