Pretzel Bread
Pretzel bread is so easy to make at home! With just a few simple ingredients you can have buttery, salty, chewy homemade pretzel bread in less than two hours! This easy bread is perfect as a snack on its own or on the side of family favorites like Instant Pot Beef Stew or Corned Beef and Cabbage.
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Have you ever tried pretzel bread? It is soft, dense, and chewy like a fresh baked pretzel with a touch of sea salt on the top of that crisp crust. It tastes absolutely delicious!
I used to buy pretzel bread in the bakery section at the grocery store bakery but once I realize how easy it was to make soft pretzel bread at home I’ve never bought it from the store again!
Ingredients
- warm water
- light brown sugar
- active dry yeast
- butter
- milk
- all purpose flour
- salt
- baking soda
- coarse sea salt
Step by step
Bread making is not hard! This recipe is almost fail-proof, I promise!
- Activate the yeast for 5 minutes in warm water and sugar until warm and frothy.
- Combine yeast mixture with remaining dough ingredients and mix with a dough hook in a mixer until ball of dough is formed.
- Let the dough ball rise for an hour in a bowl covered with a warm damp cloth.
- Divide the dough into two loaves and boil for a few minutes in a baking soda and water wash.
- Sprinkle with salt and bake.
- Brush with melted butter and serve warm.
Bread maker instructions
To make this recipe in a bread machine, simply add the dough ingredients to the machine and run the dough cycle, then continue the recipe from step 5 in the recipe card below.
Tips for best results
- This bread only rises once, this gives the dense chewy inside pretzels are known for. Do not let the bread rise past the first hour.
- Immersing the dough in boiling water is essential to getting the texture right for this pretzel bread, do not skip this step!
- You can divide this dough up into homemade pretzel rolls for burgers or hot dog buns as well. Watch it while baking as the time will probably be reduced.
Serving suggestions
- serve with soup like Ham Bacon Potato Soup or for a lighter option Hibachi Clear Soup
- make smaller buns or slice the pretzel bread for sandwiches
- serve with bacon cheddar dip or Charleston cheese dip
You might also like to try this super easy Guinness Beer Bread, Homemade Naan, Amish White Bread, or Cheesy Spicy Cornbread!
If you try this recipe, please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
Pretzel Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
Description
Pretzel bread is so easy to make at home! With just a few simple ingredients you can have buttery, salty, chewy homemade pretzel bread in less than two hours!
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup butter (half a stick), melted
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
For the Baking Soda Bath:
- 1/2 cup baking soda
For the Pretzel Topping:
- 1 tablespoon butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
Instructions
- In a measuring cup, combine warm water and brown sugar and mix. Add yeast and set aside 5 minutes until nice and frothy.
- In a mixer combine melted butter and milk. Add yeast mixture and start mixing on low speed with a dough hook attachment.
- Mix flour and salt in a medium bowl and add to mixer bowl a little at a time until incorporated. Dough should be slightly tacky but not sticky. If dough is sticky add more flour a tablespoon at a time until it is no longer sticky.
- Spray a large bowl with nonstick spray and place the ball of dough in the bowl. Wet a paper towel with warm water and ring out. Place over the dough and cover with a towel. Allow to rise one hour.
- After an hour preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, add baking soda a tablespoon at a time until entire 1/2 cup is added. (It will foam as added so do not add all at once!)
- Divide the dough into two balls and add to the boiling baking soda wash. Boil for 3 minutes, turning often to ensure all sides are covered.
- Remove dough from pot and drain excess water. Place dough on a baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Immediately after removing from oven, brush with melted butter.
Notes
- To make this in a bread machine, add dough ingredients to the machine and run on dough cycle, then proceed to step 5.
- Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: bread
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 202
- Sugar: 2.9 g
- Sodium: 701.7 mg
- Fat: 6.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 31.8 g
- Protein: 4.4 g
- Cholesterol: 15.3 mg
I really liked this!
Wow! This was so good!
This is so interesting, Melissa! I have made plenty of bread at home but I have never boiled the dough before baking it. I will give this a go! Thanks so much for sharing.
Definitely try it Katerina! It’s so delicious and super interesting how that step changes the texture!