soft pretzel knots

These soft pretzel knots are exactly like regular homemade soft pretzels, but shaped and tied like garlic knots. There's more compact surface area, which means there's more room for toppings such as cinnamon sugar, garlic parmesan, or jalapeño cheddar. Review recipe notes and watch the video tutorial before starting.

Soft Pretzel Knots

(7 grams) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)

brown sugar or granulated sugar

teaspoon salt

butter,

toppings: coarse salt/coarse sea salt

cup (120 grams) baking soda

cups (2,160 milliliters) water

Make the dough

Whisk warm water, yeast, and sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle or dough hook attachment. (If you do not have a stand mixer, just use a regular large mixing bowl.) Cover yeast mixture and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until foamy on top. Add salt, melted butter, and 3 cups (375g) of flour. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula if needed, then add 3/4 cup (95g) of flour. Beat on low speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If dough is extremely sticky after 1 minute of mixing, add remaining 1/4 cup of flour and continue to beat for 1 more minute. (You can see in the video that I add the remaining flour.)

Knead the dough

Keep the dough in the mixer and beat on low speed for an additional 2 minutes or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 2 minutes. Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rest for 10-30 minutes. (Meanwhile, I like to get the water + baking soda boiling as instructed in step 5.)

Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Silicone baking mats are highly recommended over parchment paper. If using parchment paper, lightly spray with nonstick spray or grease with butter. Set aside.

Shape

With a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper, cut dough into 14-15 pieces, which is about 1/4 cup (2 ounces) of dough each. Sprinkle work surface very lightly with flour. (Tip: The heavier you flour the work surface, the harder it is to roll the dough. A little stickiness actually helps. You only need *a very light* dusting of flour.) Roll each piece of dough into a 14-inch rope. Tie the ropes into a knot, then tuck the ends underneath. The ends are quite long so rather than tucking the ends straight underneath, I curve them around the pretzel before tucking under. You can see that in the video below.

Baking Soda Bath

Mix water and baking soda together in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Place 2-3 pretzels into the boiling water for 20-30 seconds, flipping halfway through. (Any longer than 30 seconds and your pretzels could take on a metallic taste.) The knot shape makes the dough heavy, so if the pretzel knots are sinking, use a spatula to get them off the bottom of the pot. Using a slotted spatula or spoon, lift the pretzel knots out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off. Place pretzel knots onto prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle each with coarse sea salt while each are still wet or leave plain if using other toppings detailed in the notes below (you still need to salt them if doing the jalapeño cheddar pretzels). Repeat baking soda bath with remaining pretzel knots. If needed, you can cover and refrigerate the boiled/unbaked pretzels for up to 24 hours before baking.

Bake for 20-24 minutes or until golden brown. I usually bake mine for the full 24 minutes to obtain a very deep color as pictured.

Cover and store leftover pretzels at room temperature for up to 3 days. They lose a little softness over time. To reheat, microwave for a few seconds or bake in a 350°F (177°C) for 5 minutes.

Anytime I make pretzels I think... wow, so achievable, yet so impressive! These would be perfect to bring to a potluck. Or midday snack. Or dinner. :D

Loved this recipe Sally! The shaping was a challenge too - which was fun! I used these like slider buns and made mustard, ham and cheese sandwiches with them. I also sprinkled smoked sea salt on top, which is kind of ugly but DELICIOUS. Thanks for another fun baking challenge!

So good! Definitely will be making these again and again!

What a great recipe! I’ve just made these soft pretzel knots and they turned out AMAZING!! Super soft on the inside and crispy on the outside - Delicious!
Thank you so much Sally for your perfect recipes!

These were delicious! The knot form made it feel slightly easier to boil and bake than the actual pretzel form. I didn't do any fun toppings, but next time I will!

This recipe is easy to follow and so versatile! Make them sweet or savory--all of them are winners. 

I used the Everything But the Bagel seasoning mix from Trader Joe's to make the perfect knot for for my egg sandwich.

This pretzel recipe makes UNBELIEVABLE pretzels!! I impressed my family and guests when I made this recipe for Labor Day. Everyone was WOWED by how they looked on the serving plate and then once they dipped the pretzel into the cheddar cheese dip and tasted -- incredible! This is a keeper!! Thank you!

These were so easy and turned out great! I took them out after 20 minutes and they were a nice colour and so soft inside. I didn't put salt since I didn't have nice coarse salt, but I sprinkled some cheese halfway through baking. I'd definitely make these again, with some different toppings!

Great recipe! I used half tonight and froze half the dough for another time. Used salt and everything bagel seasoning. Great step by step instructions. I’ve made your garlic knots and soft pretzels so this was a breeze… and I appreciate that! 

Thank you for the care and detail you put into your recipes. Looking forward to October!

These were amazing! It was so nice they didn’t have to rise for long. They were so soft and chewy. I loved that I could make difference flavors too as I love jalapeño cheddar, but my family won’t touch them. The kids loved the cinnamon sugar.

We loved these pretzels! They were quick to make and so delicious! I made salted, cheese, and jalapeno cheese and they are all great.

These were great! I appreciate the detailed recipe info. Totally possible to make these and not crazy time consuming! My daughter loved them!

Easy to follow and very yummy recipe!!  My son hovered around the pan as they cooled a bit - he loved them!!

Surprisingly with all my baking experience, I have never made soft pretzels before- so this was something fun and new! So fast, easy, and delicious! The shaping part was easier than expected too. 5 stars!

these tasted GREAT. i must have done something wrong, though, because my dough was so sticky that I couldn't properly form the knots. pretty sure that was me not the recipe tho.

Big fan of the salted ones over cinnamon sugar. And normally I prefer sweet to savory! Tasty treat and loved the smells throughout.

Delicious and super easy.  First time I made 'em as per recipe, but forgot to take a picture.  The second time ( two days later), made 'em again.  This time I made the recipe with 1/2 bread flour, and divided it - 1/2 recipe knots and 1/2 recipe as rolls with an added eggwash. Didn't make toppings because they don't last long enough - we ate them for a snack and for dinner two days in a row!
Great Recipe!

First time to make pretzels and can't believe it that I did it!  :) I can still need help on making the knots; but added jalapeno and cheese as the topping and they are delicious!  Thanks Sally!

Very easy and fun to make recipe. Results in super delicious soft pretzels!

Super easy to make, and I quite enjoyed the baking soda bathing (very satisfying to see the texture change). I mixed up an "everything but the bagel" seasoning using poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried minced garlic and onion, and kosher salt, and sprinkled that on top before the oven. Next time I will sprinkle it after baking, and maybe brush some melted butter first.

I was in a bit of a rush to get through this recipe, but it was SO easy and they still turned out SO delicious! My family is going to dip them into some yummy mustard and melted cheese along with our cozy soup. Thanks!

This recipe was easier to make than I thought and it turned out fantastic! Thanks Sally for another amazing recipe.

Sally knows her knots! These are easy to make, followed her well-stated instructions faithfully, and they worked out beautifully. Took some to neighbors who needed a bright spot in their day, to a daughter who shares her freshly laid eggs  with us and saved some for my husband who was worried they would all be given away before he got more than a taste. I will definitely be making more!

Love these pretzel knots! Found they are actually easier to make than regular pretzels as they come out looking more uniform in shape and size (at least for me). Pay careful attention to the recipe as the flour is divided when added over 2 or 3 increments vs. all at once.

I can now mark making pretzels off my bucket list... and I'll definitely be making them again - who knew it was so easy?!?! Loved them!

I made  soft pretzels before that required a longer rise, and these were just as good (maybe better!) than my other recipe. Wow! I made the cheddar jalapeño, and I couldn’t be more thrilled by the results.

Delicious and easy to follow recipe! We had fun making this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOVr7uNa_C0

These soft pretzel knots are exactly like regular homemade soft pretzels, but shaped and tied like garlic knots. There’s more surface area, which means there’s more room for toppings. The dough requires just 6 ingredients and there’s hardly any rise time, so this is a wonderful recipe for yeast beginners.

Get the full recipe: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/soft-pretzel-knots/

• Ask your recipe question or leave a review over on the recipe page.

#baking #recipes #softpretzels

• More of our favorite recipes: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/

Top 1 soft pretzel knots recipes from across the web

The most viewed soft pretzel knots recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Soft Pretzel Knots

Top 1 soft pretzel knots recipes from across the web

The most viewed soft pretzel knots recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Soft Pretzel Knots

The most viewed soft pretzel knots recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine