Homemade Pretzel Bread (Pretzel Rolls)
Posted Dec 20, 2017, Updated Nov 05, 2024
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The best Homemade Pretzel Bread (or Pretzel Rolls) recipe. Once you make this you will never be able to eat store-bought pretzel bread again! It’s dense, soft, chewy, buttery, salty and irresistibly delicious.
This Homemade Pretzel Bread is the best bread you will ever eat in your life. I am not exaggerating either.
It is one of my most requested recipes and everyone who tries it asks for the recipe. It’s dense, soft, chewy, buttery, salty and unbelievably delicious. Serve it with a side of this homemade cheese sauce and you’ll be in heaven!
I know making homemade bread can seem intimidating, but don’t worry! Follow our step-by-step photos and watch the video to learn how to make pretzel bread perfectly every single time! And if there’s a recipe that’s worth conquering your kitchen fears for, this is definitely it.
I have also included instructions for how to make pretzel rolls. Pretzel rolls are a great smaller serving size option. They also make delicious hamburger buns for homemade burgers.
Homemade Pretzel Bread: Ingredient Substitutions
As always I recommend making this recipe exactly as written, however here are a few possible substitutions!
- Whole Milk. 2% milk works well. I do this often with great results! Half & half or cream also work well!
- All-purpose flour. Bread flour is the only other flour I have used to make this recipe and it produces an incredibly delicious final product!
- Dark brown sugar. Light brown sugar works equally well in this recipe.
That’s it! I really don’t recommend tinkering with this recipe any more!
How to Make Homemade Pretzel Bread
If making homemade bread sounds intimidating to you…your’e in luck! There are two ways to make the dough.
- The first is to simply toss all the ingredients in a bread machine and set it to the “dough cycle.” Even the most sheepish bread-makers can do that, right?
- The other method involves mixing and kneading the dough using a standing mixer or your hands.
I like to do the latter because I can be sure every step of the process is going exactly the way it should be. However, I have used my bread machine with the same delicious results.
Make the Pretzel Bread Dough
To make the dough by hand, begin by proofing the yeast.
Then, add the rest of the wet ingredients and stir to combine.
Next, add the dry ingredients (flour and salt) and knead with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and slightly tacky.
Then, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with a damp tea towel to rise until doubled.
NOTE: Only 1 rise
Many breads call for two rises, but not this pretzel bread. There is only one rise. After this rise, the dough is formed into a loaf and then goes immediately into the baking soda bath.
Prepare a Baking Soda Bath
When the dough has risen, prepare a baking soda water batch. To do this, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. When the water is boiling, slowly add the baking soda.
Boil the Pretzel Bread Loaves
Once the baking soda bath is ready. degas the dough and form it into the size and shape you want. This recipe makes 2 large loaves, 4 small loaves, or 8-10 rolls/buns.
Boil the pretzel bread one portion a time in the soda bath for 60 seconds on each side. Use a slotted spoon to remove it from the bath and place it on the prepared baking sheet.
(Note: I use a skimmer spoon like this to take the dough out of the boiling baking soda bath and remove excess water).
Bake
Once the dough is removed from the boiling baking soda bath and formed into loaves or buns, immediately place it on a greased baking sheet, cut an X in the top and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Next, bake until the loaves are a deep golden brown and they sound hollow inside when hit with a wooden spoon (or until the internal temperature in the center of the loaves reaches 185 degrees Fahrenheit).
Then, remove the pretzel bread from the oven and brush the outside of the loaves with melted butter. Then, transfer the loaves to a cooling rack to cool just enough to eat.
Serve
This pretzel bread is best served warm and eaten the day it’s made! However, it does reheat well and makes a delicious sandwich bread for recipes like turkey cranberry sandwich, BLTs, hamburgers, chicken salad, etc.
Or serve it as a side to your favorite main dish recipes, soups, etc. We love dipping it in this homemade cheese sauce or slathering it with honey butter.
How to Make Pretzel Rolls
This recipe makes the best pretzel rolls. To make pretzel rolls, follow the recipe exactly, except make a few slight changes:
- Divide dough into eight equal pieces.
- Boil each dough ball for 30 seconds on each side, remove from the water, transfer to a baking sheet, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once halfway through.
That’s it! then brush each of the pretzel rolls with melted butter and enjoy as rolls or hamburger buns with the best burger recipe (YUM)!.
To Prepare in Advance
You can make the dough and store it in the refrigerator overnight or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
When you’re ready to bake the pretzel bread, remove the dough from the fridge or freezer to let it come to room temperature and rise. Then continue on with the recipe including the baking soda bath, baking, etc.
Store
You can store homemade pretzel bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. I suggest reheating it before eating it to restore it’s fresh-from-the-oven texture.
Freeze
You can also freeze baked loaves of pretzel bread. Let them cool completely then wrap in plastic wrap and foil and put them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw in the oven set to warm covered in foil or in a dutch oven.
Pretzel Bread Recipe FAQs
Yes, I often double this recipe to make 4 loaves when we have company, or to make 16 pretzel rolls.
Yes, the baking soda bath is necessary to create the outer pretzel crust.
A lot of people wonder how a soft pretzel is different from bread! The answer is that the dough is boiled before it is baked! Boiling the dough in the baking soda & water bath is the step in this recipe that gives this Homemade Pretzel Bread it’s pretzel-y identity!
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Homemade Pretzel Bread (Pretzel Rolls)
Ingredients
Pretzel Bread Dough
- 1 cup warm water (105-110 degrees F)
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons yeast
- 4 Tablespoons salted butter (melted)
- 2 Tablespoons whole milk
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Baking Soda Bath
- 4 quarts water
- ½ cup baking soda
Topping
- 1-2 Tablespoons coarse sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter (melted)
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Combine water, and brown sugar and yeast in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Let stand for 5 minutes (until foamy). (Or put it in a large bowl and mix by hand).
- Once yeast is proofed, add melted butter and milk to the yeast mixture and mix on low speed with dough hook until just combined.
- Add flour and salt and mix with dough hook until flour is fully incorporated.
- Knead in a mixer until the dough forms a slightly tacky, but firm ball.
- Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, cover with a damp towel and let it rise in a warm place for one hour or until doubled in size.
Prepare a Water Bath
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F, lightly oil or grease a large baking sheet, or line it with a silicone baking mat (do not use parchment paper).
- Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil.
- When the water is boiling, slowly add the baking soda a little bit at a time (Be careful not to add too much at once or the mixture will overflow).
Boil & Bake
- Remove the dough from the bowl and gently press out the air bubbles.
- Make two balls of dough the same size (note: The total weight of the dough comes out to be about 800 g, so each loaf should weigh about 400 g), forming them into the shape you want (Do not let it rise here).
- Carefully place one of the balls into the boiling baking soda water. Boil for 60-90 seconds on each side, turning it once to guarantee both sides covered. Drain the excess water from the dough and place it on an oiled baking sheet.
- Immediately sprinkle coarse sea salt over the bread to your specific tastes, and use a knife to cut a small "X" on the top of the bread.
- Repeat with second ball of dough. (Do not let it rise at all here! Straight from boiling into the oven).
- Bake the bread for 22-25 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once halfway through. You know the bread is done when the outside is deep golden brown, the loaf sounds hollow when hit with a wooden spoon, or the internal temperature is 185 degrees F).
- Once removed from the oven, immediately brush the melted butter over the loaves to guarantee a soft crust. Transfer to a wire rack to cool just enough to enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Divide dough into eight equal pieces.
- Boil each dough ball for 30 seconds on each side, remove from the water, transfer to a baking sheet, and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet once halfway through.
- Whole Milk. 2% milk works well! I do this often with great results! Half & half or cream also work well!
- All-purpose flour. Bread flour is the only other flour I have used to make this recipe and it produces an incredibly delicious final product!
- Dark brown sugar. Light brown sugar works equally well in this recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ritch absolutely adores this bread, and since it’s one of his favorite recipes of all time I thought I’d let him share his thoughts about it with you:
“My wife’s pretzel bread is one of the most amazing things that I have ever eaten. The only thing better than a loaf of this homemade pretzel bread is MORE loaves of pretzel bread! Sometimes when we have friends over to dinner— and Laura asks for meal ideas—I am torn as to whether or not to suggest this bread, simply because I can’t handle watching other people eat MY FAVORITE BREAD. (I smile, and politely pass the bowl, but secretly…I’m watching every movement…praying that they leave more for ME!) Fresh out of the oven, this bread beats any other meal that comes out of my home (IMHO), and a loaf of this stuff literally makes the “top 3 list” of things I would want with me on a deserted island. So basically, I HIGHLY recommend this recipe. -Husband”
(<-he signed it that way, not me! LOL!)There you have it folks, this Pretzel Bread is definitely husband approved! And I can attest to the fact that he will eat an entire loaf by himself if he doesn’t have to share.
i’ve made this recipe many times and it’s always a hit. however i think it would help to include metric measurements because every time i make it the dough is always very wet (like incredibly difficult to shape/handle). i made a double batch today and i had to add an extra 1 cup of flour and it was still barely workable. came out ok but wasn’t super firm so it spread out rather than rising a lot. not sure what went wrong but i think there’s too much liquid in the dough regardless. still very tasty.
This is a great recipe! I’ve been searching for and trying multiple recipes for pretzel rolls and this one far surpasses any other that I’ve tried. Definitely a winner exactly as written!
Thank you so much Courtney!
If making the pretzel dough over the course of 2 days, once the dough is formed and covered, it would be alright to refridgerate over night, and the next day, do the water boil and the rest of the directions?
Yes, I have done this before.
This is a terrific recipe, but for an authentic pretzel crust, I use a lye bath. It’s not too difficult to work with, just don’t put it into aluminum pots.
Have you tried using sodium hydroxide instead of bicarbonate of soda?
Hello Doug! I have not tried using lye, I prefer baking soda (bicarbonate of soda) because it is something most people keep on hand in their pantry.
I’ve made this recipe so many times. Literally the best. My only issue is I always have to add at least 1-2 cups of flour extra than what directed.
Hey Deanna! That seems like a lot of extra flour! I’d love t help troubleshoot the next time you make it! When you measure the liquid ingredients (mostly water) are you using a measuring cup for liquids (like a pyrex)?
Thanks for this recipe, I do make bread and rolls, but never Pretzel so will be trying this recipe soon. very well explained and looks simple to follow.
Holy cow, this is my all time favorite recipe I have EVER made besides dessert recipes. Our house smelled like Auntie Annes’s pretzels, and it wasn’t until I tasted the bread, I realized why, because this recipe is on par or BETTER!
Now we will try different flavors and shapes..
This recipe is fabulous! The 4.99 rating is totally justified. So simple, quick and delicious. My daughter said I could eat 20 of these and her husband said they should be illegal. This is the recipe I’ll use this summer for the county fair.
What type of yeast, Rapid Rise/Quick Rise?
When freezing… do I do this before the first initial rise? Or after they are rolled into balls?
I love this recipe but there’s only 2 of us and I hate to waste them.