October means Oktoberfest! As soon as October hits, I immediately start craving pretzels, beer, and find myself baking up a storm. My homemade soft beer pretzel hits the spot, and I’m showing you how to twist a pretzel…which is much less complicated than you may think!
Team salty pretzel?
My hubby doesn’t like salt on his pretzels. Please tell me he’s the only one out there who feels that way. I’m team salty pretzel, but hubby likes them with sesame seeds…Is that even a pretzel anymore? Pretzels need salt. And mustard. Mmmk? But being the nice person I am (sometimes) I did a little experimenting…some with salt, black garlic salt, habanero salt, poppy seeds, and black sesame seeds. I’m still team salt, but maybe habanero salt…yum! And that Colman’s Mustard really brings the punch! What team are you on?
Click here to shop a mixed pack of flavored artisan salts.
How to twist a pretzel:
First, roll your pretzel dough into a 2 ½-foot rope. Place the rope on your board in the shape of a U.
Next, cross one arm of the U over the other. Repeat so you have it twisted twice per the photos below.
Then, press the two ends into the opposite side of the U to form the pretzel
Next, place the pretzel on your prepared baking sheet. Then, boil the pretzels 1-2 at a time for ~30 seconds.
Next, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with your desired toppings: salt, seeds, etc. Bake at 450F until golden brown, 11-14 minutes. Make sure to allow the pretzels to cool for at least 5 minutes.
Pretzel Tips & Tricks
- If the yeast doesn’t foam, it is dead. DO NOT USE IT. Your recipe will fail.
- Feel free being a little rough with the dough. It won’t get hurt. When pressing the two ends of the U to form the pretzel shape, you can really press them in there if they aren’t sticking easily.
- The recipe works best with sunflower seed or canola oil. You can use any flavorless oil, but I have found that avocado oil does not work well for this recipe.
- Use a timer for perfect results! You don’t want to over-boil the pretzels.
Feel like making more breads now that you’ve mastered this soft beer pretzel?
Some of my favorites include this challah recipe here and the best pizza dough you’ll ever have!
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Soft Beer Pretzel with Mustard
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm 110 to 115 degrees F water (I use closer to 1 cup in the summer and somewhere in between during the fall/spring)
- 3/4 cup beer it’s October so grab your favorite seasonal pumpkin beer!
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 packet or 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- ½ stick unsalted butter melted
- 4 ½-5 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- flavorless oil for greasing (like sunflower seed, canola, or vegetable)
- 10 cups water
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
- Sea salt or pretzel salt to finish
- Colman’s Mustard for dipping
Instructions
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water. Mix by swishing with your hand. Cover with a kitchen towel and let sit for 5 minutes. If it hasn’t foamed, your yeast is dead and you need to try again with new yeast.
- On low speed with the dough hook attachment, add the beer, melted butter, flour, and salt. When combined, turn up the speed to medium. Knead until the dough is smooth and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl, 4-5 minutes. If the dough is still too wet, you can add 1 tbsp of flour at a time.
- Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl, and then lightly oil the bowl with a flavorless oil, like sunflower seed, canola, or vegetable. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap or seal the container with a lid, and place in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, ~50-60 minutes.
- Preheat to 450F. Bring the water to boil with the baking soda.
- Line two baking sheets with a silpat or parchment paper. Lightly grease with oil. Set aside.
- Lightly oil the surface you plan to use to work the dough. Turn out the dough on the surface, divide into 8 equal pieces, and roll each piece out into a long rope, ~2 feet long.
- To shape the pretzels, make a U-shape with the rope, twist the parallel arms across each other twice, and press the ends into the bottom of the U to form the pretzel.
- Boil the pretzels, 1-2 at a time, for ~30 seconds, ladling the warm water over the tops of the pretzels.
- As they finish, transfer them to the prepared sheet pans, brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle with salt.
- Bake until golden brown, 11-14 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
- If the yeast doesn’t foam, it is dead. DO NOT USE IT. Your recipe will fail.
- Feel free being a little rough with the dough. It won’t get hurt. When pressing the two ends of the U to form the pretzel shape, you can really press them in there if they aren’t sticking easily.
- The recipe works best with sunflower seed or canola oil. You can use any flavorless oil, but I have found that avocado oil does not work well for this recipe.
- Use a timer for perfect results! You don’t want to over-boil the pretzels.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in October of 2018, but was republished with new pins and tips October of 2019.
I feel like your pictures and instructions aren’t in order. You put the toppings (like the sesame seeds) on AFTER the boil, correct?
Hi Susie… thanks for asking! The toppings are put on AFTER the boil, as you suspected. The post has been updated.. thanks, again!
Wow Candice! I really love this recipe–
The step-by-step photos were so helpful!
I am going to make these for every sports ball game party I attend!
Go pretzels! Go sports!
Hooray! Everyone will love these. Every time I make them, I have to hide one for myself or hubby will eat them all in one sitting!
These pretzels are amazing, I definitely want to make them again! And I like salt on my pretzels, but other toppings you mentioned sound good too!
So glad to hear you loved them, Biana! Next time try a different one… you may be pleasantly surprised!
Yes please!! I have always wondered how to twist a pretzel, and you explain it so perfectly. Was a breeze to make. Love this recipe 🙂
Happy to hear it was a breeze, Cathleen. Enjoy!
These Pretzels are so delicious! I made these pretzels once and it was so fun! Definitely a great thing when homemade!
That is awesome to hear, Shanika! Nothing beats homemade bread.
I love a good soft pretzel and homemade is always best. Thanks for the tutorial. It made it really easy to make.
Glad to hear the tutorial worked great for you, Jill!
Thanks for the lovely photo instructions. It’s a tremendous help for newbie pretzel baker like me. 🙂
You are so very welcome, Anita… and congratulations, you are no longer a newbie!