It’s been such a reallyreally long time since I baked pretzels that I almost forgot how to shape them, but it all came back pretty quickly as soon as I started rolling.

Pretzels are so easy to make, it’s something everyone should try, especially now that it’s officially fall. I like them simply salted and plain or served with a vibrantly spicy mustard dipping sauce.

Easy Soft Pretzel Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast (1 packet)
• 1 Tablespoon brown or white sugar
• 1 and 1/2 cups warm water, not too hot
• 2 Tablespoons oil or melted vegan butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 and 3/4–4 cups all-purpose flour plus more as needed
• coarse salt, for topping

Baking Soda Bath
(Some recipes use lye but I think that’s not healthy, so I never have tried it and wouldn’t recommend.)
In a large pot, add 1/2 cup baking soda to 9 cups water, stir, and bring to a boil.

Instructions

1. Whisk the yeast and sugar into warm water.
2. Cover and allow to sit for a few minutes.
3. Whisk in the oil and/or vegan butter and salt.
4. Add 3 cups of flour.
5. Mix with a wooden spoon (or dough hook attachment if using a stand mixer) until combined.
6. Add 3/4 cup more flour until the dough is slightly tacky and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If it is still sticky, add up to 1/4 cup more flour, one tablespoon at a time.
7. Knead the dough. Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 3 to 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 3 to 5 minutes. If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Don’t add more flour than you need because you don’t want a dry dough.
8. Shape the kneaded dough into a ball. Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rest for 10 to 30 minutes or longer.
9. This is a good time to start the water + baking soda boiling.
10. Preheat oven to 400° degrees.
11. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If using parchment paper, coat with nonstick spray.
12. With a sharp knife, cut dough into twelve equal balls.
13. Roll the dough into a 20–22-inch rope.
14. To shape a classic pretzel, roll dough into a long rope, form it into a U-shape with the ends pointing away, then cross the ends over each other twice and bring them down to the bottom of the U, pressing to seal.
15. There are lots of great YouTube videos that explain in detail how to shape pretzels if you need help.
16. When the baking soda water has come to a rolling boil, drop 1–2 pretzels in for 20–30 seconds. Any longer than that and your pretzels will have a GROSS metallic taste.
17. Using a slotted spatula, lift the pretzel out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off. Place pretzel onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with coarse sea salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels.
18. If you want, you can cover and refrigerate the boiled/unbaked pretzels for up to 24 hours before baking.
19. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until dark golden brown.

I used my stand mixer to knead, placed in another bowl, let rise for about 30 minutes, and cut into 12 equal balls.

Roll to about 22 inches. This is the fun part.

Not perfectly shaped, but it doesn’t really matter as long as they taste good.

Drop into the boiling baking soda water for only 20-30 seconds. The water isn’t dark gray, not sure why the photo shows that color.

Bake 15 minutes or so depending on your stove.

They won’t win any awards for beauty but they were DELICIOUS.

Tip: Don’t forget to put the salt on before you bake or it won’t stick.