These pretzels are good sprinkled with cheese before baking. Homemade pretzels are the best!
This is a great and accurate recipe for making classic soft pretzels. Expect the dough to be sticky... that's just pretzel dough. If you add too much flour while kneading, your pretzels will be tough and hard. Follow the directions as written and you will come out with great pretzels.
Read MoreThough the making of the dough was easy enough, these pretzels baked up hard as rocks on the outside and really odd on the inside. The taste of the dough was great, and it was simple enough to make, but don't make these expecting soft pretzels like at the mall.
Read MoreThis is a great and accurate recipe for making classic soft pretzels. Expect the dough to be sticky... that's just pretzel dough. If you add too much flour while kneading, your pretzels will be tough and hard. Follow the directions as written and you will come out with great pretzels.
To anyone who thinks these taste like regular bread: Use more baking soda!!! Your boiling water should be slightly cloudy, and you should be able to smell the soda if you put your nose near the steam. This is the KEY to a pretzel's signature flavor! Using soda to that measure, these pretzels are -out of this world.- They are so soft and delicious! I didn't use parchment because I was out. During the second rise, they didn't stick. I just sprinkled the pan with kosher salt before baking and they came right off the bare pan after the quick boil. Absolutely perfect. My boyfriend's grandfather had a bakery in Germany, and he says that this recipe is like the one they used in the shop. I made eight pretzels with this recipe. They were all kind of fat (that's how I like 'em!), but I imagine you could do 12 thinner pretzels if you like.
Very delicious. boiling them really gives them a good texture so dont skip that part! the only thing i would suggest is lightly greasing the baking pan before putting on the pretzels, because they will require a bit of coaxing to get off the pan after baking if you dont.
Very good pretzels. Not sure why someone commented that they were hard; mine were not hard at all, and I refrigerated the dough bc I had to leave after making it. The dough was still cold when I started shaping, so I would think they'd have ended up hard and dense on my batch, if anything, but they were soft and chewy. As for the distinct flavor of pretzels--try using beer for a different taste. I've tried a number of pretzel recipes since we love them in this house, and yes, these are a bit like regular bread, but they are still really good. You can play around with the toppings for these if you like: add shredded cheese, garlic, parmesan, cinnamon and sugar . . .the list goes on and on. That's the great thing about a plain pretzel recipe--it allows for endless variations! Thanks for the recipe!
Just made these and they are very tasty. Made them heart shaped since it's almost Valentine's Day. Will be using this recipe again for sure :)
very simple recipes and it works very well. Just very time consuming I find. Also, be very careful not to bump the preztels in the slightest amount, otherwise they will flatten out.
Good recipe. Followed directions exactly and they turned out great - the dough was sticky (but I expected that reading the reviews) but when it came time to form the pretzels the dough was great to work with. The texture was really nice, too - wonderfully soft and chewy. My only grievance - I thought pretzels had a distinct taste. This tasted like plain white bread to me. It was really good though.
Though the making of the dough was easy enough, these pretzels baked up hard as rocks on the outside and really odd on the inside. The taste of the dough was great, and it was simple enough to make, but don't make these expecting soft pretzels like at the mall.
I wish I knew how to make them shiny, but I'm afraid that might involve added oil of some sort....they were amazing otherwise, esp when made with wheat. A little bit of salt or sugar goes a long way with these.
I just tried this recipe out. These are to die for. I tried other pretzel recipes but this was so easy the results were great. Thanks. As a side note we used our profession mixer instead of mixing by hand...12/23/11
I made these yesterday for our Super Bowl pregame snacks and they were a hit. I'm convinced pretzel-making is half recipe and half technique. I substituted warm Heinekin's for the water and everyone enjoyed the taste. I so appreciate all the helpful previous reviews about the baking soda bath. I will add that there is no need to rush thru the process. - 45 sec. on each side was good. In fact, I took the time to drain the dough on a rack (towel under) with good results. My biggest problem was "rolling the dough". My arthritic hands simply stretched and squeezed as best I could. Thanks for the recipe...I'll do this again next year if not before.
This is the best pretzel recipe! I followed the directions very carefully and they turned out amazing. I can't wait to make them again.
These were excellent and easy, especially since I dropped everything, wet to dry, into my bread machine and entered the dough cycle. When cycle was done (1.5 hours later, without hardly lifting a finger) I inverted the very wet dough onto a WELL FLOURED kneading surface and proceeded to knead for 5 minutes. The dough ate up about 1 cup extra flour, but that did not compromise the flavor or texture of the end result. My 7 y/o and I shaped 'em up and baked 'em off at around 425 (my oven runs hot), 6 to a pan, for 6 minutes, rotating the pans, then adding another 6 minutes. Served with mustard. SO GOOD!
Easy recipe with a nice flavor. I got the water ready while I formed the pretzels. I did not let these rest for 30 minutes as directed because I wanted them to show a little splitting when I baked them. In the water top side down, flipped over after 30 seconds. Used an egg white wash before salting. I think they turned out beautifully. Thank you for the recipe- (better than AB's !)
These pretzels are great!! I followed the recipe exactly and they came out wonderful. I will definitly make them again. I put all ingredients into my bread machine on the dough cycle.
Perhaps the problem was using spelt flour instead of regular (our daughter cannot tolerate regular wheat flour) but we had some serious problems. We needed to add a lot more flour so the dough wasn't too sticky (a common problem with spelt substitution). Leaving the pretzels to set for 30 minutes allowed them to start forming a crust, but then putting them into the water, they expanded and every crack in the crust was magnified. Quite tasty but misshapen pretzels were the result.
These tasted just like the ones you get frozen in the store. If I made them again I would roll the dough thicker, like the thickness of my thumb, not a pencil because they came out too hard. Also, I had to bake them on a sprayed pan instead of the parchment paper as the parchment paper stuck to the pretzels and had to be peeled off. They also were rock hard the next morning. While they were fun to make once, I think I will stick to the frozen ones. :o)
Just awful. Did everything as the recipe stated and the outside was rock hard and no flavor. Kids wouldnt eat it. I ate one just because I hate to waste food. Will look for another recipe.
Great yummy pretzels, 10 minutes after you make them. Unfortunately they don't taste great the next day.
An excellent and easy recipe. Yes these take time, but it's mainly wait time. I am a novice baker and I pulled these off without a hitch, and they are so tasty!
Followed directions to the letter and they came out great. This is my go to recipe for pretzels or any risen dough recipe. I did not cook them at 475 but 425 I felt this would make them come out to hard. Depends how you like your pretzels I like mine soft.
Loved these pretzels!! Soft and chewy, amazing, defiantly making them again!!
The cooking instructions needed adjustment. You will need 2 cookie sheets prepared. I boiled them for 45 seconds on each side (make sure you let all of the excess water drain off well) and the cooking time was approximately 9 minutes. Remove them with a quick slide/jab of the spatula because you will loose some of the pretzel to the paper if you try to pick them up. Also let them cool a bit before removing them from the paper. In a gas oven place both cookie sheets on the lower rack. Do not put them on top of each other. My gas oven heat from the bottom and the lower sheet was much better than the top one. I'm glad I kept an eye on them. I made 10, there we seven left when I took the picture and the there are now two left (only because I hid them.) They really are very yummy!
These are incredible...I was a bit confused about the boiling process as I was not sure what to expect. After the first couple, I got the hang of it. I actually got a very large pasta pot (Rachel's Rays is great because it is wide) and then I could do 4-5 at a time. I also doubled the recipe which worked great....next time I might try to just make small pretzel bites rather than full pretzels.
By well floured surface, I guess that means another cup or so. I the dough is really sticky. They cooked okay and I know it was not the yeast, because it tested just fine. Maybe the difference between US flour and UK flour. Good luck!
An excellent choice for anyone with a hungry tummy! I love pretzels, but when I tried these My mouth was dancing with joy, I loved it!
I think these were good, but not my absolute favorite since I was looking for more of a philly pretzel taste. My son loved them but he also loves the Auntie Anne's which I don't. These taste similar, just not as buttery so I can eat them. They were fun to make and the kids were very excited, loved shaping them their own way. Overall, great recipe and I will be making them again since my kids have already requested them.
I used bread flour, saw a recipe on create.com they recommended that. They turned out awesome!!
I followed the recipe mostly. :) I didn't make the pretzel shape. Instead I made them into a bagel shape. :D I had to really butter the pan when I baked them so they would stop sticking. I cooked them for 6 minutes, flipped them, cooked 6 more minutes. Turned out perfect. :D
I didn't change a thing. They came out soft and perfect. I used a dough hook. It may be the answer for these. I'd go extra light on the salt unless you bought pretzel salt.
really good and easy to make. i also used this in making pretzel dogs. i made the dough and rolled it out as it says but instead of making the pretzel shape i wrapped the dough around polish sausage. the only difference in making pretzel dogs is it only took about 8 minutes to bake
Just made these and they're awesome! Followed receipe exactly. Seemed weird to dip in baking soda water but did it anyway and they came out perfect. Impressed myself.
Very good I put all of it in my bread machine. Even messed up and put the baking soda in it but hay the were good. I am sure next time they will be even better with out the baking soda mixed in the middle hehe. My girl love making them we had a blast.
This was great. I cut the recipe in 1/2, made 6 of the cutest pretzels! I sprinkled them with salt and sesame seeds and after they baked I brushed them with melted butter. Served it with a beer and gouda soup recipe I found on this site. yummy. :)
Delicious! I followed this recipe to the letter. I enjoyed pretending to be a worker at a pretzel shop, twirling the dough out. My sister thought I was hilarious, and told me I might have a job at Wetzels Pretzels! The only trouble I had was with the baking soda bath. I allowed it to get too hot, so it boiled over and I went into a mini panic mode!!! After that I just let the baking soda water simmer instead. I was surprised how fluffy it made the pretzels. I decided to make these for my Super Bowl party and they were gone within the first two minutes of putting them out. It's a hit!!!!
Followed the recipe exactly. Pretzels were mighty tasty, but it was impossible to take them from the 30 minute "resting" stage to the boiling without totally "deflating" them! Also, pretzels must NOT be too close to each other during 30 minute resting or else they will stick together real bad.
I was a bit disappointed with this recipe. The pretzels didn't have much flavor to me, and the ones I salted were kind of terrible (we ended up throwing them out!) The cinna sugar ones were ok.
Excellent recipe! Perfect soft, warm pretzels! Just the recipe I was looking for! I brushed egg on top before I baked the pretzels to make the salt stick which was a good idea.
This recipe is fantabulous! I love, love, love these pretzels! taste delicious. They're much better than those you would purchase at the grocer's. Make sure use parchment paper or tin foil under them, as they may stick! You can also use half white wheat flour. Spreading pretzels with melted butter and egg white gives them a nice coating, too! Them most important thing to remember is to use the baking soda bath. This gives the pretzel its unique flavor. Make these with family and friends; expect them to eat the pretzels in the course of an hour!
I followed the directions to a T. Very fun and easy to make. Delicious too!
Flavor wise, these are good, but mine turned out ugly in the looks department. The dough was way too sticky, even after adding extra flour, and they fell apart during the boiling process. That was due in part to my difficulty getting them off of the parchment paper. They were so sticky that I had to peel them off, which caused them to lose their shape. I was really disappointed because they looked beautiful before I pulled them off. These also need an egg wash to get a nice pretzel color.
My daughter Reagan and I made these today for a treat. Pretty easy to make, the dough is sticky but that's how it goes with pretzels. I also used my kitchen Aid to make the dough. Reagan rolled them out about as thick as my thumb, wanted to be sure they were soft. They puffed up just right. This is the first time I used the baking soda bath, so I was kind of winging it. I put them in the bath right side down, then flipped for the last 30 seconds. I took them out with a slotted spoon to drain before I put them to the cookie sheet. I was out of wax paper so I used a baking liner and it worked great, they didn't stick at all. Now they came out fine, wish I egg washed the to so they were a bit shiny and browner but that's fine. They were nice a soft on the inside, think I could have cooked them a little longer. While they tasted good, my old recipe used beer which gave them a really great flavor, maybe next time I will substitute the water for beer like another user did. We topped them with a little honey mustard and had a great snack with our movie!
Brushed on warm honey before adding salt, came out amazing! Very soft all around for excellent comfort food.
I changed the shape and tossed them in melted butter when they came out of the oven. They were devoured the second I got them on the plate. I only got 1, so I will make this again when no one is around.
I made these this afternoon and they turned out pretty well. I didn't have any coarse salt to put on them before baking, which would have definitely improved the flavor. We sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on a few before baking and those were better. I will keep using this as a base recipe and try different flavorings and spices.
This recipe was exactly what I was looking for. My kids loved them. I can't wait to make them again.
August 3, 2018. This is my first attempt at pretzels. The recipe was easy to follow and the dough turned out as expected. I made 16 pretzels that fit nicely on two cookie sheets. One of the reviews said the salt would go a long way... They were right. I used less salt that called for and still used too much. I will be making these again.
I made the recipe just as it calls for and they turned out great! I set my temperature as it called for in the recipe but in my oven I think 9:30 min is sufficient. I added more baking soda until the water was cloudy only because I had more water than normal boiling. Baking soda is the key to that pretzel taste.
Delicious! This is the first time I have made soft pretzels and they turned out perfect. I did do an egg wash after I boiled them and then sprinkled the salt.
Due to the flimsiness of the pretzel shape I ended up making them into balls, but they turned out amazing and my whole family loved them!
Good, the kids loved them. I followed the recipe exactly. I don't understand why people say it's sticky the dough because it was not all all I used the exact amount of flour needed as recipe called for. I actually didn't need any extra flour for kneading. The only thing I did as it was baking I brushed melted butter through the cooking process twice.
These turned to be hard and crispy. I even added butter to the pretzels after cooking to try and soften them up.
Okay. So I tried at least 3 others til I sound this one and it was the best! Authentic German pretzels just like I used to have in Munich at my Oma's house!! N
These turned out amazing. (First time lucky?) I made one change. Instead of cooking them in the oven I cooked them in my hot air fryer (no oil, just hot air). 400 degrees for about 4 minutes. They couldn't have turned out better.
Made these was pretty easy and turned out great! I would not used parchment paper again they stuck to it even when sprayed. I took some advise from reviews and almost doubled baking soda in water to get the good pretzel flavor!
One of the best recipes I've used for pretzels they were so good easy to make I expecally loved the crunch to them you have to try these
I followed the recipe ,but I grind my own wheat flour and I used that instead of white flour and I added one tablespoon of honey. They are great. I will make these often.
They were okay. Not my favorite. I made them like budgie bites. But the reason for my rating is that the recipe says to cook until golden brown I cooked mine till they were golden and they were super dry and crispy. Also my mom said they taste a little like saltine oyster crackers. I will most likely not make them again.
Great recipe I have made 8 batches of these and every single time perfect. I’m from jersey so I’m a pretzel critic theses are great.
Wow these were amazing and disappeared quickly. I didn't have parchment paper so I greased cookie sheets with butter flavored shortening. Luckily I had coarse salt left over from margarita night. Next time I'm trying seasoning in the dough for more flavoring. I used more baking soda in the water for that pretzel taste which was a tip from another review. We will be making these often. Thank you for the awesome recipe.
Very tasty pretzels I am very pleased with how easy this recipe was to follow, it is a consumption of time because of the waiting. I still loved the pretzels only thing I did differently was I added more baking soda to the water. Great recipe thank you for sharing.
Delicious! Time consuming but easy directions to follow. With the exception to the baking temp, I made as instructed. I lowered the temp to 450 and they were done in about 11 minutes. I made 8 fat pretzels. The salted pretzels I brushed with melted butter after baking and the others I topped with garlic salt, Italian seasoning and an Italian cheese blend before baking. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
It turned out great! Super simple and good. I topped some of them with cinnamon sugar (although the sugar ended up burning a little) and a few with garlic powder and parmesan!
I must have messed up the recipe. Mine fell apart when I tried to take them out of the boiling water
I used bread flour instead, also bake the 12 minutes, turned the cookie sheet and bake an additional 3-4 mins
I made these last night, went well with mustard and beer. Not that bad at all
These were wonderful. Will make again. Followed the advice of another review and added more baking soda to the boiling water, had wonderful flavor and very soft and chewy.
This was my first time ever working with bread dough, and making pretzels. I could not believe how well they turned out as I was paranoid that I was going to do something wrong with the yeast. As a matter of fact, I went through about 4 yeast packets because I was so worried that the water was too warm or not warm enough. BUT, after that the rest of the instructions were so accurate and perfect and my pretzels turned out perfect. I made a homemade beer cheese sauce for dipping to top it off.
This was my first time making pretzels and this recipe is definitely a keeper and saves me from searching for and trying a bunch of recipes.
I followed this recipe end to end except for one thing and it was perfect! The one exception was the "baking soda bath" as called from previous reviewers. I added regular sized about 5 spoonfuls instead of 2 tablespoons and after each spoonful turned the heat down quickly to prevent over-boiling then turned it back to normal.(be careful with this) I think the baking soda helped the pretzel flavor a lot and it tastes great nothing like regular white bread. I also love this recipe because compared to all other recipes this one is soooo easy and soooo good! If you want to add a little something extra add popcorn seasoning (I used Kernel Season's
These pretzels were amazing. Subbed melted butter for the oil but otherwise followed the recipe. My ten-year-old son had so much fun making these with me.
They were decent enough. I greased the pan and even still they stuck to the pan to the point that they were impossible to scrape off the pan without loosing the bottoms of the pretzels.
Great recipe! Came out just as expected. I used instant yeast and didn't let them rise, came out perfect!
I made these using 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose and they turned out well. I wasn't sure about the temp of my water and the yeast didn't really turn into a "creamy foam" but my dough still raised. I brushed my pretzels with an egg white but they didn't change color as much as I expected. I dropped them in the water by hand but slide out using a spatula. The first one I tried to use bbq tongs or chopsticks and it broke apart.
These are a hit at my house! I'm still trying to work on my pretzel technique, but I hear no complaints from the family. I recently bought a cooking spider to help speed up the retrieval from the baking soda bath. I'm looking forward to trying different toppings!
it was delicious! use less salt if you don't want it over powering, and cook for a little less than twelve minutes. If you want cinammon pretzels, mix butter and cinammon together and use that to substitute the salt.
