Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels (Small Batch)

Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels that can be made sweet or savory! This is a small batch recipe for 6 perfect pretzels that are chewy on the outside and soft on the inside. These pretzels are an easy snack to satisfy your sweet and salty tooth!

homemade soft pretzels

Pretzels are just for the mall anymore! Though – the one thing I loved about mall pretzels was the variety of flavors you can get. Aside from the fact that they are perfectly soft and chewy. The good news here – you can re-create those mall memories right at home with these Easy Homemade Soft Pretzels.

And more good news – they are very easy to make and you can have your very own batch in under an hour. This is another recipe I had help with from CourseHorse. Let’s just say I was very delighted with the outcome and enlightened with how easy it is to make pretzels.

soft pretzels are easy to make

I was a little worried the first time I made these. I thought I’d be in the kitchen for hours kneading and proofing the dough to perfection. Then the thought of how to shape the pretzels – I was certain it would take me more hours to figure out the signature knot.

That said, don’t be like me. There is no need to worry when making these pretzels.

First – you only need a few ingredients and most you already have in your pantry.
Second – the kneading and proofing I was worried about are super easy. So easy, you will wonder why all bread recipes aren’t this easy!
And lastly – the shaping is easier than tying a bow. But if you are uncertain, I’ve added a helpful link in the recipe.

tips for making homemade soft pretzels

Active or Instant yeast will work – I lean towards active yeast because I like to make sure the yeast is going to work – and letting it get foamy in the water reassures me of that. The flip side of that is if the yeast does not get foamy, it could be old or the water could be too hot and killed it.
You can make and knead the dough by hand or in the mixer – I prefer by hand because I like to feel the gratification of making the dough by hand.
All-purpose flour works just fine – even though this is a chewy bread, we are not using bread flour. To be honest – I have not tested the recipe with bread flour, therefore, I don’t want to speculate how it would turn out.
You can make these into pretzel bites too – if you want bite-sized pieces, cut into 1-inch pieces once you have rolled out the dough strips.
The baking soda wash gives the pretzels color and chew – this works much like boiling bagels in a baking soda bath. The baking soda wash assists with the sturdy chewy exterior of the pretzel. Not to mention the wash is much easier than boiling in a bath!
Shaping the pretzel - here is a great link that shows pictures.