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Flatbreadintermediate

Soft PretzelsRecipe

Shaped, alkaline-bathed, mahogany pretzels.

shapedalkaline bathcoarse salt

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About this ratio

A soft pretzel is defined by one step that no other bread in this library uses: before baking, the shaped dough takes a quick dip in an alkaline bath. That bath is what gives a pretzel its mahogany sheen, its distinctive savory tang, and the chewy, almost lacquered skin under the coarse salt. Without it you just have a shaped roll; with it you have a pretzel.

The dough is an enriched lean dough — flour, 68% water, 2% salt, 1.5% yeast, 2% sugar, and 10% butter. The butter and a little sugar keep the crumb soft and tender, which is what makes these the American mall-style soft pretzel (think Auntie Anne's) rather than a hard, snappy one. The numbers are tuned for that pillowy pull-apart chew; for a Bavarian-style pretzel you would lean the dough out toward roughly 56% hydration and about 5% butter for a denser, more traditional bite.

The alkaline bath is the technique to understand. A baking-soda solution is the safe home version — and works better if you bake the baking soda first, which converts it to a stronger alkali. The traditional bakery method uses food-grade lye, which gives a deeper color and more authentic flavor but demands gloves, eye protection, and respect. Either way the dip is brief, seconds per pretzel, and the alkalinity is what lets the surface brown so fast and so dark in the oven through accelerated browning reactions.

Beyond the bath it is straightforward: mix, proof, roll into ropes, shape the classic twist, dip, salt, and bake hot. Best eaten warm the day they are made, ideally with mustard.

At a glance

At its default setting, this Soft Pretzels recipe makes 8 rolls at about 90g each — about 720g of dough in total. In baker's percentage that breaks down to 392g Bread flour (100%), 267g Water (68%), 7.8g Salt (2%), 5.9g Instant yeast (1.5%), 39g Butter (softened) (10%), and 7.8g Sugar (2%). Change the rolls or enter a target dough weight in the calculator and every amount rescales to match, in grams or ounces.

Recommended hydration

55–70%

Calorie-conscious

Switch to scale a leaner version of this recipe — the same bread with fats and sugar pulled to their lowest sensible amounts. The calculator, ingredients, and nutrition all update to the lean formula.

Make

8rolls

Display unit

Total dough

720g

  • 392gBread flour100% baker's
  • 267gWater68% baker's
  • 7.8gSalt2% baker's
  • 5.9gInstant yeast1.5% baker's
  • 39gButter (softened)10% baker's
  • 7.8gSugar2% baker's

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Step-by-step method

How to bake this Soft Pretzels

The signature dark mahogany crust and chewy crumb come from the right before baking. Bakeries use food-grade lye for an even stronger effect; baking soda is the safe home version. Boil it for a few minutes first to make it more alkaline.

01

Mix

10 minutesroom temperature
  1. 1.Combine flour, warm water (~80°F / 27°C), salt, yeast, sugar, and softened butter in a stand-mixer bowl. Mix on low for 2 minutes, then medium for 6–8 minutes. (Water above 130°F / 54°C kills the yeast.)
  2. 2.The dough should be smooth, slightly firm, and just barely tacky. Pretzel dough is stiffer than bread dough. That's correct.
02

Bulk fermentation

60–75 minutes78°F / 25.5°C
  1. 1.Cover in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise until doubled.
03

Shape

20 minutesroom temperature
  1. 1.Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (~90g each).
  2. 2.Roll each piece into a 22-inch rope, slightly thicker at the middle and tapered at the ends.
  3. 3.Form a "U" shape, twist the ends together once or twice in the middle, then fold the twisted ends down onto the bottom of the U. Press lightly to seal.
  4. 4.Place each shaped pretzel on a parchment-lined sheet pan.

The twist-and-fold takes practice. Search "how to shape a soft pretzel" if you're new. The visual is more useful than written directions.

04

Final proof

20 minutesroom temperature
  1. 1.Let the shaped pretzels rest uncovered while you prepare the bath and preheat the oven.
  2. 2.A short proof. Pretzels should NOT double here, just relax slightly.
  3. 3.Preheat oven to 425°F / 220°C.
05

Boil

30 seconds per pretzelsimmering (~200°F / 93°C)
  1. 1.BOIL FIRST, then drop to simmer. Bring 8 cups of water plus ½ cup baking soda to a full boil for ~3 minutes — boiling raises the solution's alkalinity (the bicarbonate partially converts to sodium carbonate, ~10× more alkaline) which is what gives pretzels their signature dark mahogany color and chewy crust. Then reduce to a gentle simmer for the bath (NOT a rolling boil; too violent deforms the pretzels). Documented by Alton Brown and Stella Parks.
  2. 2.Lower 1–2 pretzels at a time into the bath with a slotted spatula. Simmer 30 seconds total: 15 seconds per side.
  3. 3.Lift out, drain briefly, and return to the parchment-lined pan.

Baking soda + boiling water = mildly caustic. Don't taste it, and rinse hands after handling. Once baked the alkalinity neutralizes completely.

06

Bake

12–15 minutes425°F / 220°C
  1. 1.Brush each boiled pretzel with beaten egg yolk for extra shine (optional but recommended).
  2. 2.Sprinkle with coarse pretzel salt or flaky sea salt.
  3. 3.Bake until deep mahogany brown. That color is the alkaline reaction with the dough surface.
  4. 4.Brush warm pretzels with melted butter for the bakery finish.

Frequently asked

Questions about this recipe.

  • How do I scale this Soft Pretzels recipe to make more or fewer loaves?

    Use the calculator on this page. Adjust the output count or per-loaf weight; every ingredient amount updates automatically. You can also enter a total dough weight and the calculator works backwards. The Soft Pretzels recipe is written in baker's percentages, so it scales proportionally without changing the bread's character.

More general questions about ratios, hydration, and the calculator on the FAQ page.

Background concepts

More Flatbread breads