How To Make Vegan Pretzels
This soft vegan pretzel tutorial will show you just how easy it is to make pretzels at home!
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On the very long list of most intimidating foods to make at home, pretzels are definitely included. Even as a baker, I sometimes find myself being wary of making any kind of bread or bread-adjacent product at home because something about it just looks complicated. Maybe it isn’t actually complicated at all, but anything bread-y usually looks like it’s going to take me all day and ten pounds of flour to make.
I’ve been in the mood for soft pretzels ever since I caught of whiff of Wetzel’s Pretzels at the mall a few weeks ago. As a baker, my mind immediately jumps from “I want this” to “I want to make this.” I have made pretzels in the past, but they were not that great because I skipped out on the crucial baking soda bath step that I’ll share more details about further down.
But this time, I made vegan pretzels at home and they were not only so soft and so fluffy, but they had that deliciously crunchy pretzel exterior that we know and love in our pretzels. These homemade vegan pretzels are so good, I ate them by the handful. They’re not at all hard to make, but you will definitely need some elbow grease in order to roll them out thin before shaping into pretzels. That’s the only hard work, really. Before and after that, it’s a smooth sail into pretzel nirvana.
The recipe for this vegan pretzel dough is ridiculously easy because there is no rising time required! You can have soft, warm, vegan pretzels in your mouth in about an hour and a half. The recipe I used is adapted from Handle The Heat, and it is so ridiculously easy because you likely have all of these ingredients at home. I used a baking soda bath instead of a lye bath, and my pretzels had a wonderfully crunchy exterior. Once they’re baked, brush some melted butter on top and sprinkle with sea salt for classic pretzels, or a cinnamon-sugar mixture for cinnamon-sugar pretzels. You can’t go wrong either way!
What are the ingredients for these vegan pretzels?
Fun fact: most pretzel recipes are naturally vegan! You may find a few recipes that call for adding softened butter, but this one does not need it. For this recipe you’ll just need:
Active dry yeast - Saf is the brand I love and trust!
Brown Sugar
Water
Salt
Baking Soda
You may think I’m missing another ingredient, but that’s really it! Pretzel dough is very simple and easy to make.
How do you shape pretzels?
This part is ridiculously easy, too! The first thing you’ll do is divide the dough into six equal balls. Roll out the balls on the counter until it forms a long rope. The size of your pretzels will be based on the size of your rope. Once that’s done, follow these steps:
Curve the rope into a U shape.
Pick up both ends of the U, and twist the tips around each other once.
Pull the tips down to the base of the U, and press in so they stick.
Congrats, you just made a pretzel!
What is a baking soda bath?
Boiling the pretzels in a quick baking soda bath is essential in order to get that classic pretzel taste and texture (thanks to a tasty thing called the Maillard Reaction)! If you skip this step, your pretzels will just taste like regular ol’ bread… nothing wrong with that, but if we’re making pretzels why not go all the way?
Here’s what you need for the baking soda bath:
Pour water into a large pot - imagine you’re boiling a box of pasta. That’s the amount of water you want.
Pour in about 3/4 c of baking soda. I honestly did not measure it, but I used most of a box.
Bring to a boil, and keep this ready to go while you’re preparing your pretzels.
Once the pretzels are shaped and ready, dip them into the baking soda bath in small batches and allow them to soak for about one minute, pushing them down so they’re completely submerged. The bath will start to foam up a bit, so be careful while you’re doing this.
Remove the pretzels from the bath and drain before placing on your baking sheet.
Are these pretzels baked?
Yep! These pretzels will be baked in a 400 F oven for about 15-20 minutes.
Do I need any special equipment to make these vegan pretzels?
A stand mixer certainly helps, and your hands will come in handy too when it’s time to roll them out!
Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes / Active Time: 20 minutes / Cook Time: 20 minutes / Yield: 6 pretzels
INGREDIENTS
Pretzels
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 c warm water (about 110°F)
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
Melted vegan butter, for brushing
Baking Soda Bath
2 liters of water
3/4 c baking soda
DIRECTIONS
Pretzels
Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add in the yeast, sugar, and 1/4 c warm water. Stir, and allow to sit for 5 minutes so the yeast can activate.
Add in the rest of the water along with the flour and salt.
Mix on low speed to combine, and then increase the speed to medium and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. The dough will be very thick.
Turn the dough out onto the counter (do not flour). Divide into 6 pieces, and roll each piece on the counter until it forms a long rope at least 12” long.
To shape the pretzels, curve the rope into a U shape. Pick up both ends of the U, and twist the tips around each other once. Pull the tips down to the base of the U, and press in so they stick. Repeat for all pieces.
Baking soda bath
Prepare your baking soda bath by bringing the water and baking soda to a boil in a large pot.
Working in small batches, dip one or two pretzels into the bath, being sure to keep them submerged as they tend to float. The water will start to foam, so be careful while you’re doing this.
Boil for one minute, then remove from the pot and set aside on paper towels to drain. Repeat for all pretzels.
Bake
Place the pretzels on your baking sheet.
Brush the pretzels with some melted butter and place in the oven to bake for 15-20 minutes. Pretzels are done once they’re nice and golden brown.
Remove pretzels from the oven and brush with more melted butter.
Sprinkle pretzels with sea salt, if desired, or with some cinnamon-sugar!
Adapted From: Handle the Heat