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I’ve made several German recipes for my kids’ high school German classes over the last few years. My daughter decided she wanted to try real homemade German pretzels when she was a Freshman. Previously I had made Bretzel Rolls , so luckily I was already prepared for this. The Bretzel rolls were amazing so I set out to find a genuine German pretzel recipe.
I hit Foodgawker.com first where I found the delightfully amazing blog La Cerise. This blog is run by Astrid, she lives in Zurich and bakes up some true masterpieces. This German pretzel recipe was originally adapted by Astrid from a German website. I’ve calculated the adjustments from metric to standard, so I was very pleased that our homemade German pretzels came together so well.
The first time I made them they were considerably smaller than I expected. Mine looked quite a bit fatter than Astrid’s, so when I made these again, I made sure to roll out my ropes longer.
That was back in February of 2009. Fast forward a few years and I’ve made these homemade German pretzels several times.
Authentic German pretzels are a little smaller and not as fat as the kind you get at the county fair or local food stand.
They are delicious though and you should definitely try them!
More Pretzel Recipes
Ham & Cheese Pretzel Roll Sandwiches
Bretzel Rolls (Pretzel Sandwich Rolls)
Homemade Pretzel Dogs – What Megan’s Making
Rosemary Sea Salt Pretzels – Two Peas and Their Pod
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 2 pkgs active dry yeast
- 3 tbsp butter
- Coarse salt for sprinkling
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 2 quarts water
Instructions
- Dissolve yeast in the lukewarm water. Mix flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Form a well in the flour mixture then add the sugar to the center of the well. Pour the yeast/water mixture into the well. Let it rest for 15 minutes before mixing.
- Add the softened butter to the mixing bowl and knead everything to a smooth dough. I used the dough hook on my Kitchenaid for about 6 minutes on speed #2, I did have to add about a tablespoon of additional water as it was not quite gathering all the dry ingredients. Remove the dough hook and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
- Cut the dough into twelve equal parts, then roll each piece on the table (don't flour the surface, you shouldn't need it) to about 20 inches, tapered toward the ends. Don't make it smaller than 20 inches as it's impossible to get a good shape with a short, thick rope of dough. The dough should not get too warm as you roll it out, or it might tear.
- Place the pretzels without covering them in the fridge for about an hour. This helps build a skin that will absorb the dipping solution better and make a beautiful shiny crust.
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Note: an authentic German recipe calls for a lye solution, but baking soda is a perfectly acceptable and widely used substitute.
- Fill large stock or pasta pot 3/4 full and bring the water to a boil. Carefully and slowly add the baking soda to the boiling water. There will be a reaction when the baking soda hits the water and it will bubble furiously for a moment and then relax. Stand back a bit just to be safe. Using a slotted spoon, gently drop each pretzel into the bath for 10 seconds, then turn over for another 10. Astrid called for a total of 10 seconds only. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Score the dough once like for a baguette with a razor blade or sharp knife.
- Sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake the pretzels for about 15 to 20 minutes (mine took 20 minutes for a nice dark crust), depending on how dark you like them.
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Wowo looks so beautiful.
Your pretzels came out beautifully Amanda! Thank you so much for your kind words about my blog. Nothing makes me happier than to see a recipe I post being tested with success by someone else.
They look wonderful. Can I have one please!!!
I have never made pretzels but have always wanted to try. Thanks for the recipe.
I haven’t made pretzels in awhile. Thanks for the reminder. They are a great snack!! Yours look delicious!
That’s a cool assignment for your daughter to have to do! The pretzels look great. We love German food!
goodness these sound awesome :)
Happy Cook – Thank you! I was hoping for an even darker crust, but didn’t want them to burn. Will try again soon :)
Astrid – You are quite welcome, I love all the goodies on your blog! Thanks for the great recipe :)
Debbie – It’s funny, my daughter took them to school, put them in the room with the other food items, and they were gone next time she came in LOL
Cheri – Would love to see them if you do, you’re a great cook!
Maria – Time to fire up the oven and baking soda bath again :)
Tami – I thought it was pretty cool. So many recipes to choose from but we needed something that would keep from the night before. So making something like Schnitzel was out :-P
thecleanveggie – They were! Thanks for the comment ;)
of all the things you could’ve possibly made for a german class, i wouldn’t have expected this…but i love it! gimme a little mustard and i’m set to go. :)
I love homemade pretzels with a heaping pile of mustard!
Hi Amanda,
I made the pretzels and they turned out pretty good over all. I did have trouble with the dough, though. I was confused about the water amount. Was there supposed to be additional water from the yeast? It said 1 cup luke warm water but then it said use warm water for the yeast. I'm thinking there was supposed to be a separate measurement for that. I reworked the dough a few times adding more and more water. Probably about a 1/4 cup. Anyway, I finally managed to get the dough feeling right. Because the dough was so tight it was hard to roll it out long enough to make the nice big pretzel shapes so mine look a lot like yours.
Just a word of warning about the baking soda bath. I don't recommend adding the baking soda to boiling water. I've never done this before so I just followed your directions. And after dumping in the baking soda in to the boiling water it immediately boiled up like volcanic eruption and overflowed and dumped about a liter of soda water all over my stove and floor in a matter of seconds. BIG MESS and a pain to mop up. So, might I suggest adding it to warm water and then bring it to the boil.
After all that I also brushed the tops with egg whites which gave it a nice shiny crust and also helped the salt to stick. Anyway, I'm going to try this again and adjust the water amount. Hopefully they'll turn out the way they should. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Michele! I'll adjust the recipe so that it's less confusing. There's not a separate measurement for the water, the lukewarm water in the ingredient list, and the warm water in the instructions are one in the same. Sorry for the confusion. As for the dough be overly tight, did you use the scoop and sweep method for measuring the flour? Just wondering if you may have had too much. Another thing I have discovered with yeast recipes is the climate and barametric pressure indeed play a role in the end result. I live in the midwest, so it tends to be more humid here than say, southern California. Just thinking about some possible reasons for your dough results :)
As for the baking soda, I'm so sorry that happened to you! I will add a note about that in the instructions as well. I did have an "eruption" so to speak, but I didn't have it boil over. I'm thinking your pot may have been filled higher than mine? I filled mine about 3/4 full.
At any rate, so glad you enjoyed them and thanks so much for this helpful feedback!
Thanks, for making the adjustments, Amanda! That's much more clear. Time for round two!
Amanda,
I visited Germany for the first time in September and fell in love with their pretzels. I tried you recipe and it is GREAT! I am going to make them for Thanksgiving. I want to surprise my mother-in-law who is from Germany.
Thanks
DeVon
That's wonderful DeVon! How fun you got to visit Germany, I am envious :)
So…were these soft pretzels or hard pretzels? They look delicious!
Hi Debbie, they are soft! :)
I am making these for my son’s school project.. lets hope all goes well.. they look fantastic.
Hope it goes well Katy and that you enjoy them!
Hi Amanda! I made these for my son’s cultural feast at school yesterday and they were a huge hit! I’m not really sure how to store them though. I stored them in sealed Tupperware containers, and they got “moist” and kind of tough to eat. How do you store them? I apologize if this has already been answered, I read most comments, but not all.
Thanks for your help, and the wonderful recipe!!!!
-Julie
Well they actually didn’t hang around long enough to be stored, but I can certainly see how a closed container would cause moisture. I think a safer bet would be to store them in paper lunch or grocery bags, just like when you buy bagels from a bagel shop :) Yum, now i want a fresh bagel!
Thanks so much! This was my first time making anything like this, so I really had no clue. :-)
[...] made soft pretzels before. A few years ago my daughter and I made Homemade German Pretzels for her German class assignment, and these Bretzel Rolls I made around the same time. They are [...]
Hi Amanda! I just made this recipe today and they are finishing up in the oven as I type. I substituted half whole wheat flour (purely because I was too lazy to go to the store and get more regular flour, even if it is only 2 blocks away!) I ended up going to the store anyways because I only had German Backpulver (I live in Germany, btw) and no actually baking soda (called Natron in German). They still look wonderful and I think they will taste great as well! I will be making them again in the US for my german themed graduation party in August (I am graduating from University here in Germany in a few weeks) and I hope my American family will love them as well. Thanks for the great recipe!
That’s great Alyson, so glad you liked them!
Hi Amanda,
I came across your website when I typed German Pretzel Recipes in the search box.
My aunt and I went to Germany to visit my brother and we went every morning to the bakery to eat their pretzels that they split and spread them with Irish butter.
I have been looking for a recipe as the soft pretzels that are made here in America are nothing compared the an authentic German pretzel.
I will be trying your recipe soon when the weather starts to cool down.
Kind regards.
Oh how fun, I hope they turned out great for you!
Wow Amanda, thanks! They turned out perfect!
That’s great! :)
[...] part bread, perfect for a party, hence the name. For Kristen’s first year in German we made Homemade German Pretzels, and they were sooo good! So this year we decided something sweet was in order, but Frau’s* [...]
Hi there,
I am of german descent living in the US and my fave food is pretzels, any kind, any way!
But I especially love the hot pretzels served in Germany.
Authentic ones are hard to find in the US. Most are just bagel recipes made into the shape of pretzels. Still yummy but not exactly what I am craving.
Have you been to Germany and had them there? I heard they use some kind of malt flour to get that brown on the outside and that unique flavor. What are your thoughts? Suggestions?
Best,
Astrid
I have not been to Germany, though I wish! I have a niece in Germany, but she’s still in her early twenties and isn’t really a seasoned cook, otherwise I would ask her. Sorry!
I visited Germany in 1982 as a class trip. I had my German pretzel experience in Munich. It made an impression on me that lasts til today. Just this week my father and I made our first pretzels. We used barley malt syrup. They were tasty but I wanted to umprove texture so I started searching for more information. I will be making some adjustments to my techniques based on what I have been reading from others like yourself. Thanks for sharing.
They look so perfect and yum….
Pretzels are one of those recipes that I’ve never attempted in my own kitchen. I’ve really never had a good step-by-step guide for doing them. Until now! Thanks, Amanda – I can’t wait to give this a shot.
Such a beautiful and fabulous recipe!
Ok silly question, are these soft pretzels?
Yes they are soft :)
They are my favourite! You did a fantastic job in creating these soft pretzels.
Homemade pretzels are on my bucket list this year. Yours turned out so pretty Amanda
These look so good Amanda – pretzels or pretzel roll are on my try list for this winter, and you might have inspired me to get to them sooner rather than later!
I am soooo excited to find this recipe. Being German and the fact that I LOVE soft pretzels makes this a win-win :) Thanks for sharing!
These look so good!!! I love those hot pretzels that we get at the mall. I’ve never made them before but I’m going to try to make these. Thanks for posting the recipe.
Is this a hard pretzel or a soft pretzels?
Soft :)
We spent ten years in Bavaria, so we are never satisfied when we try to find an authentic pretzel stateside. I am eager to try your recipe. A question – is the baking soda bath supposed to be boiling at the time you dip the pretzels in it? Or do you bring it to a boil, turn it off, then dip the pretzels? If I recall correctly it’s the lye (in this case the baking soda) that yields the dark color, but I could be wrong about that. I remember seeing the clerks in the bakery just brushing it on before baking.
Hi Matt :) The baking soda bath should be boiling when you drop the pretzels in. Keep it going the whole time, until you are done dropping in and removing pretzels to the baking sheet. I hope you like them!
Hello,
Thank you so much for this recipe. I have one question, can I freeze them
After shaping them into pretzels ? If ‘yes’ then do I freeze them before
Or after the soda bath?? Thank you
I don’t think that’s possible unfortunately. Yeast doughs only freeze well if they have been par-baked. You wouldn’t be able to par-bake them without doing the soda bath first, so that would kind of defeat the purpose. However, and remember I haven’t tested this, you should be able to do the soda bath and then bake them partially, until the dough just starts to firm up and get a crust, but not brown. Very, very light brown is okay though. Then you would cool and freeze them, then bake at the called for temperature from a frozen state for the full time (give or take a few minutes).
[...] heard tell of homemade pretzels before and now proof, it can be done! When I spotted this homemade pretzel recipe from Amanda’s Cookin’ at the Make and Take’s Spotlight, I knew it was a sign. [...]
Hello,
I made these this past weekend and they were delicious…well the tops of them. lol. I used parchment paper and they got stuck to the paper in the baking process. Is the parchment necessary?
Thanks!
Hmm, the parchment is supposed to keep them from sticking! You’re positive it wasn’t waxed paper? You can make them without the parchment, yes. :)
I just made these and they were so great! Really fun to make, thanks for the great recipe!
Thanks Sara, so glad they worked out and you enjoyed them!