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These Everything Soft Pretzels are delicious, baked soft pretzels sprinkled with the famous bagel seasoning: “everything.” Perfect for game day or otherwise!
Everything bagels are my everything; hence the reason why I figured it’d be a slam dunk of an idea to put that everything topping on soft pretzels. It’s like one of those duh-this-will-taste-good-moments. I’m not sure I can properly express my excitement for this recipe because if you can’t sense it then I’m doing a v v bad job articulating how freaking excited I am!
Some people are sesame bagel people. Some people are asiago bagel people. But then…there are everything bagel people and that is where I fit in. My home belongs in between the poppy seeds and the onion flakes and the sesame. It’s a glorious place to be that makes your mouth smell terribly and there’s a good chance you’ll have dark seeds stuck in your teeth but whatever! Basically, everything bagels aren’t first date material. But they’re good life material.
How to Shape Everything Soft Pretzels
- Roll a piece of dough into a rope; you really want it to be about 18-inches long.
- Next, take the ends of the rope, one in one hand and the second in your other hand and create a circle.
- Twist the ends together one or twice.
- Next, bring the twist toward you, to the opposite end of the circle, making sure the ends of the rope go over the circle of dough.
- And that’s it!
How to Make Everything Soft Pretzels
I like to stick this recipe in the weekend category of recipe-making. They take a bit of time, patience but luckily for all of us, very little skill.
You just have to read the directions a bit and make sure the yeast has proofed; it helps that temperatures are getting warmer.
Forming pretzels aren’t too tough either (I used this video from like the 1970s as a good guide since I wasn’t completely sure).
Now, what to eat these with…
I’m not gonna lie, I thought it’d be an awesome idea to beat together softened whipped cream and mustard to make a spicy cream cheese. I showed it to Josh and he thought it was the most repulsive-looking thing in the entire world and nixed the idea, but friends, it was SO good. It did look a little unappetizing but who cares. Whatever!
I also ate one with normal cream cheese. Also awesome. But when it comes to pretzels, especially soft warm ones, whole-grain mustard always wins. Always.
Enjoy them how you like, but please promise that you’ll make them. They’re important!
Everything Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
Everything topping:
- 2 teaspoons white sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 2 teaspoons garlic flakes
- 2 teaspoons onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon large flaked sea salt, such as Maldon
Soft Pretzels:
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 scant tablespoon active dry yeast, from one packet or 7g or 1/4 ounce
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons vegetable or olive oil
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 cup baking soda
Egg Wash:
- 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon milk, in a small bowl
Instructions
- To make the everything mixture, add all of the everything ingredients to a small bowl and mix. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, set over medium high heat, combine the water, honey and salt; stir until the honey has dissolved and the water reads a temperature of 110 degrees F (if you don’t have a thermometer, the water should be warm to the touch—not hot!). Turn off the heat and sprinkle the active dry yeast atop the water mixture and allow to stand until foamy, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl of a stand-up mixer with the dough hook attached. With the mixer running, pour in the melted butter and slowly add the flour, about 1 cup at a time (you can eye ball this), until combined. Turn the mixer to medium speed and knead the dough until it’s smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 5 minutes. Rub the inside of a clean bowl with a teaspoon of oil. Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl and cover with a damp clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise for about 1 hour, until it’s doubled in size.
- In a dutch oven or large pot, pour in the 8 cups of water and baking soda; bring the water to a rolling boil and then immediately turn it down to medium low heat.
- Meanwhile, let’s shape the dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 22-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Reference the photos in the post for some additional help. Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Drop the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for about 30 seconds each. Remove from the water using a spider strainer or a large flat spatula. Return the pretzels to the baking sheet. Brush the top of each pretzel with the egg wash and sprinkle with the everything mixture. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool slightly and serve. I love a warm pretzel!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This looks amazing.. Is it really a 1/2 cup baking soda? U usually put a spoon or so right?
1/2 cup is right. I’ve never made pretzels (or seen a recipe) that uses only a spoonful.
Die-hard everything bagel fan here. I scrape up all the goodness that falls off during eating and put it on the second half (or on the cream cheese if I’m having it). These look fantastic, and thanks for the step shots for twisting. How are these different than if lye were used? They still look nice and dark on the outside…
I talk about baking with my friend Hourie a lot and lye is apparently THE only way to get that wonderful crunchy outside. These are softer. Lye is a bit tough to use in the home, there are some precautions that you need to keep in mind. But you can totally do it. I hear you can buy lye on Amazon in a super small quantity.
Here’s the food grade lye. I’m super curious to try it actually! Maybe that’ll be my upcoming project and I’ll update this recipe if I do!
http://www.amazon.com/Grade-Sodium-Hydroxide-Micro-Beads/dp/B001EDBEZM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1426990853&sr=8-1&keywords=lye+bagels
Thanks! So far the lye concerns have kept us from making any kind pretzels, but I love a good soft pretzel w/ hot mustard (and beer). The everything bagel toppings make this recipe irresistible. Making these in a couple weeks when we have spring break and I have the time to do it!
I’d love to hear how they turn out w/ lye if you or commenters try!
Yummy! What a great combination!
Kari
www.sweetteasweetie.com
Looks fantastic. I have try this topping next time I’m making pretzels.
Have you ever tried incorporating wheat flour into your pretzel dough? I did it on a whim one time because I didn’t have as much white flour as I thought I did and ended up really loving the flavor it adds.
I haven’t but I can imagine it being super awesome. Lately I’ve been having rye pretzel dreams topped with caraway seeds!
Mid-production and can’t wait to taste the final result! What temperature should they be baked at?
350 degrees F! Change made, sorry girlfriend!
All good! I guessed 350 and they turned out amazeballs. Perfect for the snowy day we’re having here. Sidenote: WHY IS IT STILL SNOWING?!?!?
VERY RUDE, SNOW! Hoping this carb situation helps with the snow! x
I need to make these. These look so so good! Do you think it would work without a mixer? Yumyum!
Yes you absolutely can! You’ll need to knead the dough by hand for about 10 minutes.
I make pretzels without a mixer all the time. It’s perfectly doable.
Wow those pretzels look so delicious! I too am an everything bagel person! This may have to happen this weekend!
I’ve never tired making pretzels but I want to give it a go. It looks like fun and they’re so pretty.
Well don’t these look fabulous! The rich color, the delicious toppings… I HAVE to copy these and cannot wait! Thank you for sharing! x Motte
http://mottesblog.blogspot.com/
OMG, these are so cute!! I must try this recipe. I’m definitely an everything bagel kinda girl too. 🙂