Soft Pretzels
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Fun to make and even more delightful to eat, these buttery, slightly sweet soft pretzels taste just like Auntie Anne’s.
Every parent and grandparent should have a go-to soft pretzel for those rainy days when you need a fun baking project—just be prepared for a light dusting of flour all over the kitchen! My kids adore these homemade soft pretzels. They’re slightly sweet, buttery, and almost identical to Auntie Anne’s famous mall pretzels. The real enjoyment for kids comes from rolling and twisting the dough into classic pretzel shapes, though can shape the dough into pretzel bites, too. While I prefer using a stand mixer, kneading the dough by hand is just as effective.
“I made these for a party. They were amazing. I love Auntie Anne’s pretzels and these tasted just like them.”
Homemade soft pretzels are easily customized. For those who love the traditional salted version, follow the recipe as is. If you’re in the mood for something sweet, skip the coarse salt, brush the pretzels with butter after baking, and then sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar. And for the adults, pair these pretzels with mustard or beer cheese dip for extra flavor.
What You’ll Need To Make Soft Pretzels
Step-by-Step Instructions
Warm the milk and 2 tablespoons of the butter in the microwave until the butter is just melted, about 90 seconds; do not boil. (Alternatively, warm the butter and milk in a small saucepan.)
Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved; set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour with the yeast and salt.
Mix on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute.
With the mixer on low, gradually add the warm milk mixture to the bowl.
When the dough forms a cohesive mass, switch to the dough hook.
Knead, adding more flour as needed, until the dough is smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes.
Shape the dough into a ball, place in a clean, lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.
Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
Punch the dough to deflate it, then turn it out onto a clean work surface. Shape the dough into a log and cut into six equal pieces.
Roll and stretch each piece with the palms of your hands into a 24-inch rope, holding the ends and slapping the middle of the rope on the counter as you stretch.
Combine the baking soda with warm water in a 2-quart baking dish and stir until dissolved. Gently dip each “rope” into the soda solution. This alkaline solution is what gives the pretzels their signature dark brown, shiny crust and distinctive flavor. The solution causes a chemical reaction called the Maillard reaction, which results in browning and a distinctive taste. Without this step, the pretzels would not have the same taste, texture, or appearance that we associate with them.
Let any excess liquid drip off, then form the dough into a pretzel shape directly on the prepared baking sheet (form a U-shape, then holding the ends of the rope, cross them over and under each other — making a twist in the middle — and press the ends onto the bottom of the pretzel). Sprinkle evenly with the coarse salt.
Bake until golden, 8 to 12 minutes. Melt the remaining three tablespoons of butter and brush on the baked pretzels.
Enjoy the pretzels warm out of the oven, or reheat them in an oven or microwave.
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Soft Pretzels
Fun to make and even more delightful to eat, these buttery, slightly sweet soft pretzels taste just like Auntie Anne’s.
Ingredients
- 1 cup milk
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 2¼ teaspoons instant/rapid-rise yeast (1 package)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- ¼ cup baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon coarse salt
Instructions
- Warm the milk and 2 tablespoons of the butter in the microwave until the butter is just melted, about 90 seconds; do not boil. (Alternatively, warm the butter and milk in a small saucepan.) Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Mix on low speed until well combined, about 1 minute. With the mixer on low, gradually add the warm milk/butter mixture to the bowl. When the dough forms a cohesive mass, switch from the paddle attachment to the dough hook. Knead on medium-low speed until the dough is smooth but still slightly tacky, about 5 minutes. (Alternatively, the dough can be mixed and kneaded by hand.) Shape the dough into a ball, place in a clean, lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm spot until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a 2-qt baking dish, combine the baking soda with 2¼ cups warm water. Stir until the baking soda is dissolved; set aside. (Dipping the pretzel dough in a baking soda solution gives the pretzels a nice golden brown crust.)
- Punch the dough to deflate it, then turn it out onto a clean work surface. (If the dough seems sticky, you can dust it with a bit of flour as needed.) Shape the dough into a log, then cut into 6 equal pieces; cover with a damp dishtowel so the dough doesn't dry out. Roll and stretch each piece with the palms of your hands into a 24-inch rope, holding the ends and slapping the middle of the rope on the counter as you stretch.
- Using two hands, gently dip each "rope" into the soda solution. Let any excess liquid drip off, then form the dough into a pretzel shape directly on the prepared baking sheet (form a U-shape, then holding the ends of the rope, cross them over and under each other -- making a twist in the center -- and press the ends onto the bottom of the pretzel). Sprinkle evenly with the coarse salt. Bake until golden, 8 to 12 minutes; watch the bottoms carefully as they can burn.
- Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and brush on the baked pretzels. The pretzels are best enjoyed warm out of the oven or fresh on the same day (reheat in the oven or microwave).
- Note: Active dry yeast may be used instead of instant yeast, however, the dough will take longer to rise. To give active dry yeast a boost, you can dissolve it in the warm milk and butter, let it sit until frothy, about 10 minutes, and then proceed with the recipe.
- Note: If you prefer a cinnamon sugar topping, omit the coarse salt. Brush with butter after baking and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar (½ cup sugar plus about ¾ teaspoon cinnamon)
- Make-Ahead Instructions: After the dough has risen, it can be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for a few months. Thaw the frozen dough in the refrigerator before using. The dough can be shaped into pretzel bites while still cool, but allow about 30 minutes for the bites to puff up a bit before dipping and baking.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 pretzel
- Calories: 331
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 49 g
- Sugar: 9 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 7 g
- Sodium: 2540 mg
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Multiple issues. I don’t trust any baking recipe that publishes flour and water in volume, and this is why. Even with the estimates provided by the metric toggle, hydration was very wet. The unnecessary double enrichment from both butter and milk made dough handling seem even wetter. The pretzels taste of baking soda not unlike a biscuit, with four tables it’s no wonder. Using more yeast action (instant yeast is not for serious baking) instead of baking soda rise would get you a more neutral-tasting crumb and you can still get the sour snap on the skin if you go to my next point. Use a proper base reaction! Baking soda is too weak, there should be a washing soda or lye dip that would give you more, and correct, texture. Pass on this amateur hour stuff.
This comment is unnecessarily harsh.
If you’re so advanced then why are you using recipe websites? Maybe you should spend more time learning how to speak to people and less time up on that high horse of yours 🙂
This snotty ugly comment is so out of place, I hope it can be removed and this person be blocked. I doubt many followers of this wonderful site will ever wish or care to hear from this person again.
I made these for a party. They were amazing. I love Auntie Ann’s pretzels and these tasted just like them. They went very quickly at the party.
OMG!!! ARE THESE amazing!! I took a trip with my husband to PA. We had pretzel logs and I have been looking to purchase them everywhere. Until I saw this recipe and thought, “OMG!! I COULD’VE MADE THESE A LONG TIME AGO!! GREAT RECIPE! easy to remember!! Bravo! This is a must-try!!
Can I substitute almond milk for regular milk? My granddaughter is dairy-free.
Hi Evelyn, that should work. Hope you enjoy!
Just curious about the sugar. I avoid any kind of bread with enough sugar to taste. Don’t care for it. Not that I avoid sweet foods. Would taking out all the sugar affect the recipe?
Hi Harriet, The pretzels don’t taste sweet; if you’re concerned about the sugar, instead of omitting it, I’d cut it in half. Hope you enjoy!
My second time make pretzels first time with this recipe. So good! Crispy on the outside chewy on the inside. Don’t have a mixer, did it all by hand. Very fun. I love kneading dough. 10/10 recommend.
I made these for Father’s Day to have with beer before dinner. An excellent recipe! They have a mild pretzel taste more subtle than the boiled kind, and I prefer it that way. The ropes of dough were surprisingly easy to form, without frustrating spring back. Delicious dipped in mustard.
My oldest granddaughter asked to make pretzels this weekend. I’d tried other pretzel recipes in the past and was still searching for the perfect recipe. This is it! I prepared the dough the previous evening and refrigerated it overnight (after the first rise). At 10 a.m. I removed the dough, punched it down, and let it come to room temperature. When the girls arrived at noon, the dough was very pliable and ready to form into shapes. We had turtle pretzels, snowmen, hearts, and lots of nuggets. The simplicity of the baking soda bath (no boiling required) meant that the 6 year old could handle the job, which she was excited to do. The 5 year old did the salting. They baked to perfection! Everyone loved the soft texture and the slight sweetness. This recipe will now be my go-to pretzel recipe. We have found the perfect recipe for this family!
So easy & huge crowd pleaser!
These were so tasty! Thank you for a great recipe
These are SO GOOD. My boyfriend got the first taste and said “omg babe these are legit, they taste just like Kwik Trip (he loves Kwik Trip pretzels 😂). Ill definitely be making these again!
This recipe is A-mazing!! Capital A. I made it this morning and I’m making a batch tonight so I can try cinnamon sugar pretzels for breakfast. I literally only got 2 bites of one pretzel. My family devoured them! Thank you for the recipe! I used half all purpose flour and half bread flour because I ran out of AP. I’m going to do the same thing because they were so good! Don’t know what it changed. Everything else I followed exactly as written. I just printed this and I’m keeping it forever.
Wow! These are amazing. We made 3 with salt and 3 with cinnamon sugar and both were delightful. This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!!
WOW Jen…..so delicious! But when i punched the dough in the middle and the glass bowl shattered…..ouch. So after i got back from the ER and 18 stitches later i finished the pretzels….they turned out great even my guests loved them…..they thought the red swirls of blood were interesting and a bit crunchy because of the glass…..but they were a hit! I will definitely make them again. But i have zombie blood and now my friends are zombies cause i infected them…..bummer huh…..now they always want my pretzels.
LOL…….just kidding…….great recipie!
Oh my gosh — I’m glad you were kidding!! (Also glad you enjoyed the pretzels.) 🙂
Made these with my 3 year old granddaughter today. They were easy and turned out so soft on the inside and had a nice bite to it and had a great flavor. We melted butter and dipped them in cinnamon and vanilla sugar, what a treat!
I first made pretzels using a kit. They were good, so decided to look for a recipe online and came across this one. This recipe is easy, and absolutely delicious! Millions better than the kit! This will become a return to recipe for years! Thank you!
Made these pretzels for the first time and brought them to a party. Every person thought they were amazing. I brought cheese and mustard for people to dip them in but no one bothered – they ate them plain
Easy to make, the directions were very clear.
Will definitely make them again
These were delicious. Just as everyone described, they were soft and had a wonderful sweetness. I have read the comments on cutting down on the sugar to make them less sweet. However, what if I would like to make them denser next time? Would I just add more flour to the dough?
So glad you enjoyed, Danielle! Yes, adding a bit more flour should work.
I just made these. And they are so good! Do you think they’d make a good sandwich bun? I’m tempted to make another batch, roll them on balls, and see what happens.
Hi Amy, I do! Please LMK how they turn out.
Hey All-
Awesome recipe and I did make them as buns! They came out wonderful. Today is a snow day in Maine and my littles and I are making pretzels! We love this recipe so much. Thank you!
So glad they came out well as buns — thanks for taking the time to report back! 🙂
I made these a few days ago and they are delicious. I made a dipping sauce with fresh chopped garlic and butter. So good!
Also, if you can’t finish them in a day, freeze and reheat them in the air fryer. Tasted the same (if not better) than when I first baked them!
I am dairy free and it works great!
Hey there! I’m vegan, and was wondering if I could substitute the milk for almond or soy milk?
Sure, Rema, that should work. Enjoy!
First time making pretzels. ABSOLUTELY AHMAZING. Thank you for the recipe and such clear instructions!!
Absolutely fantastic. My 7 year old granddaughter followed her first recipe and made them. 😀😀
Do these pretzels freeze well?
Hi, I haven’t frozen them, but I think they would freeze nicely. I’d thaw and reheat in a 350 oven for 5 to 10 min. Hope that helps!
Yes thank you!
I did freeze them
I will try thaw them out tomorrow in the oven
I plan to freeze some as well. How did your turn out?
Hi Jen
I’m looking for a soft pretzel recipe to serve with a beer cheese dip as part of a fall season charcuterie appetizer. Would your pretzel recipe be too sweet? Can I eliminate/reduce the brown sugar??
These look so good!
Hi Lisa, the pretzels are not very sweet as is, but I’d cut the sugar in half. Hope you enjoy!
Hi Jenn!
Just waiting on my kazillionth Naan dough to rise, because your recipe is fabulous, and my kids LOVE IT.
So, am going to try these pretzels next, as they look amazeballs.
Though I did just want to check on your measurements as I vaguely recall some differences between tablespoon and teaspoon measurements between Australia and the US.
In Australia, our tablespoon is 20ml, and teaspoon is 5ml. Is this the same in your recipes?
Thanks and am signing up with you now to get my ‘home chef’ on!
Take care and keep well.
Jade (from sunny Australia) 😊
Hi Jade, so glad the naan has been a hit! I never really think of teaspoons and tablespoons in terms of milliliters, but I just looked it up and see that in the US, a teaspoon is 5 mL and a tablespoon is 15 mL. Hope that helps!
Somehow I missed the addition of the brown sugar to the milk/butter mixture but everything worked out and they were still delicious!
Also, I liked the fluffiness of the baked pretzel as a opposed to a dense pretzel.
These pretzels were delicious!!! 10/10 will be making again, probably immediately.
I’ve made these a few times and they have always turned out perfect. I most recently made them for a neighborhood cookoff. And they were the only dish that was completely gone, everything else had leftovers. I cut the dough into bite-sized pieces about 2 inches long. They cooked a little faster at around 5-6 mins in the oven. I also doubled the recipe with no issue. Thank you for the outstanding recipe.
This recipe was simple and easy to follow. I had all the ingredients on hand in my pantry, which is always nice. I followed the directions exactly and everything turned out perfect. I left three plain and put Parmesan cheese, onion powder, and sea salt on the other three. All were delicious! The inside texture was very soft and bread like.
If I want to make a cinnamon and sugar covered pretzel/pretzel bite what would I change/do/how?
Hi Kathleen, If you prefer a cinnamon sugar topping, omit the coarse salt. Brush with butter after baking and sprinkle generously with cinnamon sugar (1/2 cup sugar plus about 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon). And if you’d like to make pretzel bites, it’s definitely doable. Bake time should be less but it’s hard to say how much so I’d just keep a close eye on them. Enjoy!
Wow, Jenn, these are amazing!!!
Truly easy to follow.
I’ve made pretzels before but they didn’t turn out as soft and puffy as these did (and I consider myself seasoned in the kitchen).
These were SO GOOD that I had to comment. And this is my first time ever commenting on a recipe blog!
Congratulations on a job well done 👍 and thank you for sharing with us!
Delicious and soo easy to make. My 6 yr old inhaled the 1st one asap and asked to make more! Will definitely make again in the future. Thank you again for yet another easy winner Jen!
If I wanted a less sweet pretzel and used less sugar is there anything else that I should alter in the recipe?
No, I don’t think you’d need to make any other modifications. Hope you enjoy!
Wow!!! These are delicious! The recipe is easy and they turned out amazing! I can’t wait to make them again with the cinnamon/sugar topping.
Great pretzels, everyone loves them. They are definitely best eaten the day they are made, but they don’t usually last much longer anyway. I use the metric conversions for weighing the flour and have always had good results.
Wonderfully delicious!! Super easy to make! Thank you.
These were AMAZING! I love a good pretzel and these hit the spot! Very easy recipe to follow as this was the first time I ever made pretzels and they turned out fantastic.
I had my son make these today! Perfect project for a snowy day while I worked. They came out delicious! I wouldn’t change a thing!
These turned out super great! Soft and fluffy on the inside and the crust was surprisingly good- so glad we can make such yummy pretzles at home without figuring out the lye method. I struggled a bit with making the shape but after a few funny shaped ones and a quick search on youtube we got the hang of it! They’re homemade so it looks the part 😛
I LOVE these pretzels! They are so easy to make. I usually keep a few to eat right away and then freeze the rest (individually wrapped in Saran Wrap) so I can have one whenever I have the craving. You just rub them with some water, put salt on top, wrap loosely in foil, and heat at 350 for a few minutes. Thank you for this recipe!
Ohhhh, at home we’ve gone to heaven and come back! They are sooooo delicious and easy to make!
I was going to refrigerate the dough and make it in the morning, but couldn’t resist the temptation and we had it as an evening treat.
Dangerously niiiice.
This is an easy to follow recipe. These pretzels turned out terrific. They really do taste like Aunt Annie’s Pretzels that are sold in the malls. Tasting these pretzels reminded me of fun times with family and friends. It will be fun to bring these treats when family and friends can get together in the future.
If I want to make them in the morning and refrigerate until ready to bake, do I need to do anything special like proof them before baking?
Hi Daphnie, I’ve never done it, but you can refrigerate the dough before shaping it into pretzels. Here are some tips that may help. Hope you enjoy!
So for this recipe when is the best time for Refrigeration, after rising or after dipping in the baking soda? Thanks
Hi, I’d refrigerate the dough before shaping it into pretzels and dipping them into the baking soda solution. Hope that helps!
Outstanding recipe. Easy to follow and delicious to eat. The whole family likes these, neighbors were stunned too. Definitely read the footnote if you want to opt for sweet over savory. Both are great! Also good to remember these are best when fresh out of the oven!
Your website and cookbook are always my go to sources when trying a new dish or ingredient. I don’t comment on every recipe I’ve made but this pretzel recipe was far easier and successful than I had imagined. I’m just starting to dabble in bread making so the detail and photos were much appreciated!
What a great recipe!! I’ve tried to make soft pretzels in the past but they never turned out at good as these did. Served them to two guys from PA that said they were awesome. This is a must have recipe. Thanks for sharing it.
I’ve made these several times. They’re great. Thank you. If doubling this recipe, should the yeast also be doubled?
Glad you like them! Yes, I’d double all the ingrdients.
Fun, delicious project to make with my 5 year old grandson on a cold Montana afternoon. Everyone loved them! The best!
Loved these! I used a lye bath instead of the baking soda but the color, flavor and texture were perrrrrfect.
Making these for a small Oktoberfest party. If I double the recipe will they turn out fine? Thx Jenn, love your recipes!
Sure – hope everyone enjoys! 🙂
Loved this recipe!! Was searching for a soft pretzel recipe to make to enjoy while watching Wisconsin Badgers football. They serve 2 types of pretzels at Camp Randall, the usual stadium pretzel and freshly baked ones. Yours was an almost identical match to the freshly baked! Delicious! “ALMOST” made me forget I wasn’t sitting in my seat at the game! Thanks and #onwisconsin
I decided to try and make pretzels like I buy at the mall, so I took to the internet and discovered many copycat recipes. I came across yours and there was no longer a question of which one to use because none of your recipes have ever failed me. These pretzels were perfect! Buttery, lightly salted, slightly sweet with a bit of a crunch on the bottom, but warm and soft on the inside. They were exactly like what I get from the mall, and my family devoured them immediately.
In my internet research I did discover that using food grade lye is the best way to get authentic results in flavor, color, and texture. I went ahead and bought a big jar of lye for $9 on Amazon. You only need to mix 37 grams of it with 4 cups of cold water and use that for the “bath”. I took the necessary precautions as far as using rubber gloves etc. Also, I made my ropes 3 feet long, formed them into pretzels, and then dipped them. I’m so excited to have nailed pretzels my first try!! I will be using this recipe again and again. Thanks!
Question: Are they soft or more bread-like and tough pretzels? because i really want to make some soft pretzels and i don’t want to set myself up for disappointment.
They are a little softer (so more like Annie Anne’s than what you’d get at a baseball game if that helps). 🙂