Soft, tender, buttery and brushed with a garlic and herb butter… these soft pretzel sticks from scratch taste amazingly good!
I have a confession to make… and one that you may be shocked to hear. I can not stand going to the mall. I actually can’t stand shopping in general. I detest it. Yes, I am a woman… who hates shopping. I feel like I should turn in my woman card lol. But on the rare occasion that I do find myself at the mall… the only part I enjoy is stopping by a certain pretzel shop and getting a soft pretzel to scarf down and enjoy every delicious bite!
So of course I’ve been wanting to make my own pretzels for a while now… I mean, why torture myself with the mall just so I can have a yummy soft pretzel? For some reason, I’ve always been a little scared to try making pretzels. Which is kind of ridiculous… I mean if they turn out badly, it’s certainly not the end of the world right? But like most things, I end up talking myself out of trying it lol.
Well, no more… I finally put on my big girl pants and tried it. And you know what? They. Were. Amazing! It’s a little bit of work, but totally worth it, I promise you! Seriously, insanely good.
I didn’t feel like messing with making the classic pretzel “shape”, so I decided to go with pretzel sticks instead! They’re great for dipping 🙂
Of course I made it a little more decadent by brushing the pretzels with a garlic and parsley butter when they came out of the oven… because, well, I can 🙂
Some of you may have been to various restaurants nowadays that serve soft pretzel sticks (T.G.I.Friday’s being one of them) as an appetizer, and they’re always a hit. I have to say, these will be a huge hit with your family as well, I promise!
Start by adding the water, sugar and salt in the bottom of your stand mixer (fitted with the dough hook), and sprinkle the yeast right on top. Let it sit for about 5 minutes or so. It will foam slightly and smell “yeasty”. Add your flour and melted butter and mix at low speed until mixed together well. Switch speed to medium and mix about 4-5 minutes (mine only took 3), until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and looks smooth.
Place dough into an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit about an hour in a warm place.
Bring a large stockpot of water mixed with baking soda to a boil. Preheat oven to 450 degrees, and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Spray a plastic cutting board or your counter with cooking spray and turn dough out onto your work surface. Work it into a ball and cut in half. Cut each half into 8 pieces. Roll the pieces out into 10-12″ ropes.
Boil the pretzel sticks, one at a time, for 30 seconds each. Remove with a strainer and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Beat an egg yolk with a bit of water to make an egg wash, and brush each pretzel stick with the egg wash, then sprinkle with salt. I didn’t have pretzel salt as the recipe called for, so I used sea salt instead.
Bake for 14-15 minutes, turning over after about 8-9 minutes, until they are dark golden brown. Once they are finished, remove from oven and brush with some melted butter that has been mixed with some garlic powder and fresh parsley.
As you can see, they’re a little free-form and rustic looking… which I like 🙂
These taste… dare I say it… BETTER than that certain pretzel place in the malls!! And they’re from scratch, so you can feel better about what’s in them 🙂
Obviously I paired these with my Beer Cheese and Onion Soup and it was a match made in heaven!
Sooooo soft and fluffy on the inside!
These would be a great appetizer, side dish, or snack for the kids after school (or anytime).
Recipe modified slightly from Alton Brown
I hope you all try this one!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 2/3 cup baking soda
- 1 Tbsp egg yolk beaten with 1 water
- Sea salt
OPTIONAL GARLIC BUTTER:
- 3 Tbsp salted butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- pinch of minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Combine the water, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Let to sit for 5 minutes or until it foams slightly and smells "yeasty".
- Add the flour and melted butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low until well combined. Switch to medium speed and knead about 4 minutes, until the dough is smooth, elastic and pulls away from the side of the bowl.
- Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.
- Bring a large stockpot of water mixed with baking soda to a boil.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly spray with cooking spray.
- Spray a cutting board or your counter with cooking spray and shape dough into a ball. Cut dough in half, and cut each half into 8 pieces (for a total of 16 pieces). Roll each piece into a 10-12" rope.
- Beat egg yolk with tablespoon of water and set aside.
- Boil each stick one by one, for 30 seconds each. Remove them from the water with a strainer or large spatula. Place on prepared baking sheets, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, about 14 minutes (flipping over after about 8-9 minutes). Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
- If desired, combine garlic butter ingredients and brush onto cooked pretzels.
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Jen says
How early can I prepare the dough bs when I want to bake it? These sound great for the game tonight.
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve not prepared the dough other than written in the recipe.
Heather says
This was definitely a bit more work, BUT TOTALLY WORTH IT! My family went crazy for them. Paired with Zuppa Toscana. We are all in a pretzel coma.
Beth says
Omg, made these today as a snow day snack. Wow.. so yummy. Next time, I will braid them to make them prettier!
Jarod Falk says
Can you make this recipe into pretzel bites by cutting up the dough into smaller chunks and decrease baking time in the oven?
The Chunky Chef says
You absolutely can! Without testing it myself, I can’t say exactly how long to bake them, but I would estimate around 10-15 minutes (depending on the size of the pretzel bites).
Rebecca Hunt says
What yeast did you use?
The Chunky Chef says
I use Fleischmann’s or Red Star Platinum (my personal favorite – but my grocery store doesn’t carry it).
Jarod Falk says
Would the beer cheese sauce work for these pretzels like the one you use for the pigs in the blanket or is it better if I use the beer/onion cheese soup but prefer thicker.
Catie says
I make this into bites all the time! Just watch them till they are as dark as you want them, I also half the recipe and it makes enough bites for my family of five
Kristin says
I made these this afternoon for the first time. My family LOVED them! This recipe is a keeper. They are super delish. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Marianne Bennett says
These pretzel sticks came out delicious! Highly recommend
Amy wald says
When do you add the baking soda??
The Chunky Chef says
In step 4 of the recipe, you add the baking soda to the boiling water.
Cara says
These are delicious mine don’t look as nice but taste is great
Christine says
How can I print the recipe?
When I click on the print option, the page is set up to print but there is no option to print that page.
The Chunky Chef says
What browser are you on? I’ve tried it in both Chrome and Safari and it automatically opened the print function. If it doesn’t automatically pop up, once on the print page, you should be able to go to File > Print in your navigation bar.
Jeannette says
I love the sticks for dipping – but I’m thinking pretzel bites would work too. Yes?
The Chunky Chef says
Absolutely! Not sure on the baking time for those though, you’ll have to play with it a bit 🙂
Paige Rappleye says
Did you try this if so how long did you bake them and how did they turn out?
Maggie says
Has anyone tried adding pepperoni? Or cheese?