Soft Sourdough Pretzels
Soft and chewy pretzels are easy to make using an active sourdough starter. There’s nothing like fresh pretzels, baked to golden brown and covered in salt, hot from the oven. They’re so good! After just one bite, you’ll want to make these soft, sourdough pretzels on repeat.
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A sourdough starter is the foundation of sourdough bread, but don’t stop there. Try it in focaccia, bagels, and English muffins. The possibilities are endless!
Traditional pretzels are usually made using commercial yeast, but using a sourdough starter, I created the easiest soft sourdough pretzel recipe. Homemade pretzels make the perfect snack whole family will enjoy.
Why You’ll Love These Sourdough Pretzels
I love an easy sourdough recipe. Here are a few great reasons to make them!
- Verstaile – Shape the dough into traditional-style pretzels, pretzel twists, or pretzel bites. The toppings can be sweet or savory.
- Freezer-friendly – The baked pretzels can be frozen for up to 3 months. Perfect for a quick snack to share or a party appetizer.
- Short Ingredient List – Just like my other beginner sourdough recipes, this soft sourdough pretzel recipe is made using just a few ingredients.
A Note on Lye
Pretzels develop their signature flavor from a brief alkaline bath before baking. Traditionally, they are dipped in a lye solution prior to going into the oven. This quick dip in the lye bath increases the pH and forces the Malliard reaction to occur sooner, resulting in a glossy sheen, deeper brown color, and iconic mineral flavor.
Even though it’s safe with proper handling, most home bakers are intimidated by the idea of using it. Baked baking soda offers a great solution. Not only is it one less thing to buy, but most people are comfortable with using it. Most importantly, it flavors sourdough pretzels in that iconic flavor.
I tested a batch using regular baking soda and was disappointed with very little ‘pretzel flavor’ and their pale color. You can see the difference in the photos above.
Note: The baked baking soda solution has a high pH level, so be sure to handle it with caution. Rinse immediately if it comes into contact with your skin.
Tips
- Use a kitchen scale. Kitchen scales are inexpensive and a valuable tool for baking. Measuring by volume yields inconsistent results compared to weighing the ingredients.
- Don’t skip the boil. This is the step people try to shortcut, but the results are disappointing. The alkaline solution is what makes the crust pretzel-like. Without it, you’re baking bread in a pretzel shape.
- Adjust salt to taste. If you’re not a big salt person, go lighter on the topping. If you are, hit them hard. There’s no wrong answer here. Just remember that the interior is mildly salty, so the exterior salt is where the salty punch comes from.
- Twist – Stick with just one twist for a pronounced pretzel shape. Two twists made the pretzel lose its shape and look like a twisted roll.
How to Make Sourdough Soft Pretzels
Baked Baking Soda
Sprinkle 1 cup of baking soda onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 250°F/121°C for 1 hour.
Levain
Make the levain 3 – 4 hours before you plan to make the pretzels, and allow it to come to its peak.
Mix The Pretzel Dough
TIP: It’s helpful to use a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment to knead the dough and work in the butter. Initially, this is a very stiff dough, but loosens up after adding the butter.
Place the ingredients into the bowl of the stand mixer and mix on the lowest speed for 6-7 minutes.
Mix by Hand
Add the ingredients to a large bowl and mix until all of the flour is combined. Cover the bowl and rest for 30 minutes.
Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, and elastic.
Stretch and Folds
Do 4 sets of stretch and folds at 30-minute intervals. Grab the edge of the dough and lift straight up before folding over onto itself in the middle of the bowl.
Bulk Ferment
Cover the bowl and let it rest on the counter for 8-10 hours at room temperature. I like to do this step overnight.
Shape the dough
Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Shape each piece into the shape of a pretzel and arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
How to shape a pretzel
- For shaped pretzels, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, roughly 85 g each.
- Roll each of the dough balls into a 20 inch long rope. Let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes to let the gluten relax if the dough becomes resistant and shrinks back.
- Cross the ends of the rope over each other, 2 inches from the ends. Pull the loop of the dough over the crossed ends, gently pressing them together. Place the shaped pretzel onto the parchment lined baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
Proof
Cover the pretzels with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let them rise for 90 minutes or until puffy in a warm spot in your kitchen. The exact timing will vary depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
Boil
Preheat the oven to 425°F/232°C.
Bring a pot of 8 cups of water to a boil. Add 2/3 cup of baked baking soda and 1 tablespoon of brown sugar to the boiling water.
Boil each pretzel for 30 seconds on each side, 1 minute total. Use a slotted spoon to place the pretzels back onto the baking sheet.
While the dough is still wet, sprinkle the top with pretzel salt.
Bake
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the outside is dark golden brown. Move the baked pretzels to a wire rack and cool.
How to Store and Reheat Soft Pretzels
Sourdough pretzels, warm from the oven, are best the day you bake them. Allow the pretzels to cool completely before placing them in an airtight container. If you store them while warm, condensation builds up and softens the crust. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
To freeze pretzels, let them cool completely and then wrap them individually in plastic wrap. Insert the wrapped pretzels into a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
Do not refrigerate them. The fridge dries them out and makes the crust leathery. Room temperature or freezer. Those are your only good options.
If your pretzel is frozen, allow it to thaw at room temperature. This should take about 30 minutes. While it’s thawing, preheat your oven to 400°F/204°C. Place the pretzel on a baking sheet and bake it for 3-5 minutes or until heated through.
Topping Variations
- Cinnamon Sugar – Skip the salt topping. After baking, brush warm pretzels with butter and toss in a cinnamon sugar mix. They turn into a dessert pretzel that’s dangerously good with coffee.
- Everything Bagel Seasoning – Replace the pretzel salt with everything bagel seasoning. Press it on right after the boil so it sticks. You get all the flavor of an everything bagel with the chew of a pretzel.
- Sourdough Pretzel Bites – Instead of shaping full pretzels, cut the dough ropes into 1-inch pieces. Boil them in batches before baking. They’re faster, easier to share, and perfect for dunking.
- Garlic and Parmesan Cheese – Just like the cinnamon sugar option, skip the salt topping, brush with butter, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, dried parsley, and salt.
Serving Suggestions
- Beer cheese dip
- Honey mustard
- Stone-ground mustard
- Ranch
If you try this sourdough soft pretzel recipe and love it, I would love it if you gave it 5 stars! Thank you! Tag me on Instagram @LockremHomestead.
Soft Sourdough Pretzels
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Equipment
- kitchen scale
- stand mixer
- bench scraper
- parchment paper
- slotted spoon
Ingredients
Levain
- 42 g active sourdough starter
- 42 g water
- 42 g all-purpose flour
Sourdough Pretzel Dough
- all levain
- 250 g water 1 cup
- 80 g honey ¼ cup
- 12 g salt 2 tsp
- 500 g bread flour 4 cups
- 56 g unsalted butter ¼ cup, cut into 1 T pieces
Baking Soda Bath
- 2 qts water 8 cups
- 100 g baked baking soda ⅔ cups
- 15 g brown sugar 1 T
- ½ T pretzel salt topping
Instructions
Baked Baking Soda
- Prepare the baked baking soda mixture. Sprinkle ⅔ cup of baking soda onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 250°F/121°C for 1 hour. Set aside and allow to cool.100 g baked baking soda
Levain
- Add the sourdough starter, flour, and water to a clean jar to make 125 g levain. Stir until combined. Loosely cover the jar with a lid or paper towel fastened with a rubber band, and let rise at room temperature. The levain is ready to use when it has doubled in size. There will be plenty of bubbles on the surface and sides of the jar.42 g active sourdough starter, 42 g water, and 42 g all-purpose flour
Mix The Pretzel Dough – Stand Mixer Option
- TIP: Because this is a very stiff dough, I found the best results using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment to knead the dough.
- Add all of the levain, water, honey, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix with a spoon or spatula to break up the levain before adding the bread flour. Mix on low for 6-7 minutes. The dough will be very stiff, shaggy, and break easily if stretched at this point. all levain, 250 g water, 80 g honey, 12 g salt, and 500 g bread flour
- Cover the sourdough pretzel dough and rest for 30 minutes. (I leave the bowl in place and wrap a towel around the dough hook while it rests.) After a short rest, the dough should be stretchy and pass the windowpane test. If it doesn't, rest for another 30 minutes and check again. Don't add the butter until it passes.
- After a short rest, add the butter slices to the dough. With the mixer on low speed, add one pat of butter at a time to the dough. Mix on low until it's completely incorporated before adding the next pat of butter. Work through all of the butter. Continue to mix until the dough becomes cohesive, smooth, and elastic, roughly 5 minutes total. If it's still a shaggy dough, it needs more kneading. 56 g unsalted butter
Mix by Hand Option
- Add the levain, water, salt, and honey to a large bowl. Use a Danish dough whisk to break up the honey and levain before adding the bread flour. Continue mixing, working the last bits of flour in with your hands. all levain, 250 g water, 12 g salt, 80 g honey, and 500 g bread flourCover the sourdough pretzel dough and rest for 30 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Knead the dough for 10 minutes.
- Fold in a piece of butter into the dough, one at a time, while kneading the dough. The dough breaks after adding the butter, but continue kneading. With enough kneading, it comes back together into a smooth dough ball. A bench scraper makes it easier to gather the dough as you work it. Resist adding more flour.
Stretch and Folds
- Over the next 90 minutes, do 4 sets of stretch and folds at 30-minute intervals.Grab the dough at the edge of the bowl and stretch it straight up before turning it over itself into the middle of the dough. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat with another stretch and fold. Continue for 10-12 stretches. The dough is stiff, and you may need to hold one side of the dough while stretching the other side.
Bulk Ferment
- Transfer the dough to a clean container. I like to shape the dough into a ball to help organize the gluten structure a bit. Cover the bowl with a clean towel or plate, and place it in a warm spot to bulk ferment. Let the dough rise for 8-12 hours.
Shape the dough
- Shape each piece into the shape of a pretzel and arrange them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- For shaped pretzels, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, roughly 85 g each.
- Roll each of the dough balls into a 20 inch long rope. Let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes to let the gluten relax if the dough becomes resistant and shrinks back.
- Cross the ends of the rope over each other, 2 inches from the ends.
- Pull the loop of the dough over the crossed ends, gently pressing them together. Repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
Proof
- Cover the shaped pretzels with plastic wrap and allow them to proof until they're soft, airy, and spring back slightly when pressed. This took about 90 minutes in my 70℉/21℃ kitchen. The exact timing will vary depending on the temperature.
Boil
- Preheat the oven to 425℉/232℃.
- Add the baked baking soda and brown sugar to a large pot filled with 2qts of water and bring to a boil.100 g baked baking soda, 2 qts water, and 15 g brown sugar
- Working in batches, gently lift the proofed pretzel into the boiling baking soda bath. Boil for 30 seconds, flip them over with a slotted spatula, and boil for another 30 seconds. Use a mesh strainer to remove the pretzels and place them back on the parchment paper.The pretzels should float. If they sink, they need more time to proof.While the dough is still wet, sprinkle the top with pretzel salt. ½ T pretzel salt
Bake
- Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the outside is dark golden brown.
- Move the baked pretzels to a wire rack and cool.
Notes
- Sourdough pretzels, warm from the oven, are best the day you bake them. To store, allow the pretzels to cool completely before placing them in an airtight container. If you store them while warm, condensation builds up and softens the crust. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- To freeze pretzels, let them cool completely and then wrap them individually in plastic wrap. Insert the wrapped pretzels into a freezer-safe container or a plastic freezer bag for up to 3 months.
- Do not refrigerate pretzels as it dries them out and makes the crust leathery. At room temperature or in the freezer are the best options.
- Thaw frozen pretzel at room temperature for 30 minutes. While it’s thawing, preheat your oven to 400°F/204°C. Place the pretzel on a baking sheet and bake it for 3-5 minutes or until heated through.
