The Best Homemade Mini Soft Pretzels
These mini homemade soft pretzels are honestly the best I've ever had! They are fluffy, chewy, buttery, and small in size, so you'll end up with 12-16 individual servings. Serve them with beer cheese dipping sauce, mustard, and cold beer for game days and parties with friends!
Ingredients
Soft Pretzels
- 360 milliliters warm water, 105°F/41°C (1 1/2 cups)
- 25 grams brown sugar (2 Tablespoons, packed)
- 8 grams active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons/1 packet)
- 30 grams unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, plus more for serving (2 Tablespoons)
- 600 grams all purpose flour, plus more as needed (5 cups)
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt, I use Morton
- Neutral oil or cooking spray, for greasing
- 2 liters water (8 cups)
- 150 grams baking soda (1/2 cup)
- 1 large egg
- Pretzel salt or coarse salt, for sprinkling
- Beer cheese and mustard, for serving
Equipment
- 2 thick sheet pans
- Dutch oven or large pot
- Stand mixer with dough hook - optional
Instructions
- Mix the warm water, brown sugar, and active dry yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let the mixture sit until it's foamy, about 5-10 minutes.
- Add the melted and cooled butter, all purpose flour, and salt. Use a dough hook to mix the dough until it's shaggy. Continue adding more flour 30 grams (1/4 cup) at a time until the dough is smooth and slightly tacky but not sticky.
- Knead the dough on medium speed for 6-7 minutes until it's smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. To test if the dough is properly kneaded, give it a firm poke with your finger. If it springs back slowly, it's ready to go. If it springs back right away, knead it for another 1-2 minutes.
- Lightly coat a large bowl with neutral oil or cooking spray. Shape the kneaded dough into a ball and place it in the oiled bowl, making sure to coat the ball of dough in oil so it doesn't dry out. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and place in a warm spot. Let the dough rise until it's doubled in size, about 40-45 minutes.
- While the dough is rising, combine the 2 liters (8 cups) of water and baking soda in a Dutch oven or large pot. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Line two thick sheet pans with parchment paper. Then, whisk the egg with 15 milliliters (1 Tablespoon) of water to make an egg wash.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, tip it onto a very lightly floured surface. Use a bench scraper to cut it into 16 equal portions, about 65 grams each (but it doesn't have to be perfect). Working one at a time, roll each piece of dough into an even, 18-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope. Twist the ends of the rope twice, and then fold the twist over, pressing the ends into the bottom of the U. (See the blog post for photos.) Place the shaped pretzels on a parchment-lined sheet pan (or another clean surface) and cover them with a linen. Repeat with the remaining dough until you have 16 mini pretzels.
- Use a slotted spoon to drop 3-4 pretzels into the boiling water. Boil for 30 seconds, gently pressing the pretzels into the water so they get fully coated. Use the slotted spoon to remove the pretzels, letting as much excess water drip off as possible. Place the boiled pretzels on the prepared parchment-lined sheet pans, and repeat with the remaining pretzels.
- With a pastry brush, brush the tops of the pretzels with the egg wash. Sprinkle the pretzels evenly with pretzel salt or coarse salt, to taste. Bake for 12-15 minutes, flipping the pan halfway through, until they are deep golden-brown. (For extra buttery pretzels, brush the tops with more melted butter right out of the oven.) Serve the pretzels immediately with beer cheese and mustard. Enjoy!
Notes
I highly recommend using a scale to weigh the ingredients. This helps ensure that you don't use too much flour for fluffy and soft pretzels.
For chewier, German-style pretzels, you can also use bread flour.
Feel free to make the dough by hand if you don't mind a little arm workout! Use a dough hook or rubber spatula to mix the dough together. Then, knead the dough by hand on a lightly floured surface for 8-10 minutes.
The egg wash is optional, it just helps the salt stick! But feel free to sprinkle the pretzels with salt right after they come out of the boiling water instead.
If you don't have thick sheet pans, I would double them up to keep the bottoms of the pretzels from burning. You can also use non-stick baking mats (like Silpats) which keep the bottoms from burning.
Pretzels are best served day-of, because they get hard quick. If you want to save them for later, wrap the pretzels in parchment paper and store them in a paper bag. Seal the bag tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, place the frozen pretzels on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake at 350°F (177°C) for 8-10 minutes, just until they're warmed through.
Nutrition includes just the pretzels and not the baking soda bath or additional salt sprinkled on top.
Serving: 1mini pretzel, Calories: 158kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 4mg, Sodium: 369mg, Potassium: 50mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Calcium: 9mg, Iron: 2mg
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