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Soft pretzels on a tray with salt and mustard

Sourdough Soft Pretzels

These Sourdough Soft Pretzels are so reminiscent of ballpark pretzels. Not quite as big, but certainly big on flavor, texture, and salt!
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Resting Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Course: All Recipes, Sides, Snacks
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 196kcal

Ingredients

Pretzel Dough

  • ¾ cup lukewarm water
  • 1 cup sourdough starter unfed/discard * (see substitution below)
  • 3 cups bread flour
  • ¼ cup nonfat dry milk
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 teaspoons instant yeast

Topping

  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • coarse pretzel salt
  • 2 tablespoons melted butter optional

Instructions

  • Prepare the Pretzel Dough: Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Grease the parchment with vegetable oil spray to make double-sure the pretzels won't stick. Mix and knead together all the pretzel dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a cohesive, fairly smooth dough. It should be slightly sticky; if it seems dry, knead in an additional tablespoon or two of water. Cover the dough and let it rest for 45 minutes. It will rise minimally.
  • Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface, fold it over a few times to gently deflate it, then divide it into 12 pieces, each weighing about 2 ¼ to 2 ½ ounces. Roll each piece of dough into an 18" rope. Shape each rope into a pretzel.
  • Dissolve the sugar in the water for the topping. Brush the pretzels with the solution and sprinkle lightly with coarse pretzel salt.
  • Bake the pretzels for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're a light golden brown. (Note: This is correct; there's no need to let the shaped pretzels rise before baking) Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush with melted butter, if desired.

Notes

  • If you do not have sourdough starter, you can omit it all together and substitute it with 4 ounces of additional bread flour plus 4 ounces of water
  • Store pretzels loosely covered at room temperature for 2-3 days
  • Recipe from King Arthur Flour

Nutrition

Calories: 196kcal | Carbohydrates: 33.6g | Protein: 6.6g | Fat: 3.7g | Saturated Fat: 2.2g | Cholesterol: 5.2mg | Sodium: 401mg | Fiber: 1.1g | Sugar: 2.2g
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