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How to make the Best Homemade Soft Pretzels
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5 from 3 votes

Soft Pretzels with Cheese Sauce

Homemade Soft Pretzels recipe made with pantry ingredients & SO delicious! Step-by-step instructions for how to make soft pretzels and an easy cheese sauce to dip! 
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Rise Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 32 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Best Homemade Soft Pretzels
Servings: 8
Calories: 481kcal

Ingredients

  • 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups water lukewarm
  • 1 TBSP brown sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • ¼ oz fast-acting dry yeast 2.25 tsp
  • 4 TBSP unsalted butter melted
  • coarse salt for sprinkling

Baking Soda Water Bath

  • 10 cups water
  • cup baking soda

Egg Wash

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp water

Cheese Sauce

  • 8 oz cheddar cheese grated
  • 1 TBSP unsalted butter
  • 1 TBSP all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • How to Make the Pretzel Dough: Combine the warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Whisk to dissolve the yeast. Leave for 5-10 minutes until foamy.
  • Add the flour, salt, and butter. Mix thoroughly until a dough forms. Knead on low using the dough hook attachment on your mixer, until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 4 to 5 minutes. You can knead the dough by hand with a wooden spoon for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough is smooth.
  • Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
  • To make the cheese sauce: Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour over the butter, stirring constantly, and cook for 1 minute. Wisk in the milk and cook until slightly thickened.
  • Remove from heat and slowly stir in the cheese. Stir until smooth, add salt and pepper.
  • Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • Shape the Soft Pretzels: Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other twice and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the prepared baking sheets.
  • Cook the pretzels: Combine the water and baking soda in a large pot. Bring the mixture to a boil.
  • Gently lower the pretzels into the boiling water, 2 at a time, for 10 seconds on each side.
  • Place the boiled pretzels back on the baking sheet, brush the top of each pretzel with the egg wash and sprinkle with coarse salt.
  • Bake until dark golden brown, about 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve with the cheese sauce.

Video

Notes

Yields 8 large soft pretzels. 

Nutrition

Calories: 481kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 3528mg | Potassium: 159mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 585IU | Calcium: 267mg | Iron: 4mg