These soft pretzel knots are exactly like regular homemade soft pretzels, but shaped and tied like garlic knots. There’s more compacted surface area, which means there’s more room for toppings such as cinnamon sugar, garlic parmesan, or jalapeño cheddar. The dough requires just 6 ingredients and there’s hardly any rise time, so this is a wonderful recipe for yeast beginners. Have fun shaping the knots (they don’t need to be perfect!) and enjoy warm, flavorful homemade pretzels within an hour.
Warm pretzels! Toppings! Dips! All the good stuff in life is right here today!
Soft Pretzel Knots Details
- Flavor: If you enjoy soft pretzels, you’ll love today’s soft pretzel knots. They’re completely homemade, so unlike store-bought frozen soft pretzels, each has that soft, warm, and fresh-from-the-oven taste and texture. You can keep the pretzels traditional with a sprinkling of coarse salt or try various toppings. There’s a detailed list of options below.
- Texture: The difference between pretzel-shaped (or knot-shaped) bread and soft pretzels/soft pretzel knots is an alkaline bath. This is when shaped soft pretzel dough takes a dip in boiling water and baking soda, a surprisingly easy step that provides the iconic chewy pretzel texture and adds a deeper, richer color to the baked pretzels. The boiling water also locks in the shape so they don’t over-puff in the oven. (Without the baking soda bath, you lose texture, that deep brown color, and flavor. So, basically, you will have bread instead of a pretzel.) We do this key step when making regular soft pretzels, soft pretzel rolls, and soft pretzel bites, too.
- Ease: My recipe for soft pretzels has become one of the most reader-loved recipes on this website because the pretzels are relatively quick, extremely easy, and deliver great taste. Same story with these pretzel knots! Though the recipe requires yeast, I always say that this pretzel dough is a terrific starting point for yeast beginners because there’s very little rise time. Shaping takes a little practice, but the knots do NOT need to be perfect. No matter the shape, they’ll still taste like pretzels. Still, if you’re a perfectionist, this recipe yields 14-15 knots so you have opportunity to get the shape right.
Soft Pretzels with a Slightly Different Shape
The goal for today’s soft pretzel knots recipe was to make a soft pretzel with more compacted surface area for toppings and for holding onto dips and sauces. I never stray from the original soft pretzel dough, so that’s what you’ll use as the base for these pretzel knots. You need just 6 basic ingredients to get started including warm water, yeast, a little sugar to feed the yeast, melted butter, salt, and all-purpose flour. (If you have it, the same amount of bread flour works too!)
The dough doesn’t require extended rise time and the baking soda bath is pretty quick, so besides the baking step, the longest stretch of time this recipe requires is shaping.
- Divide the dough into 14-15 pieces, which is about 1/4 cup (about 2 ounces) of dough each. Roll each into 14-inch ropes. Tie the ropes into a knot like you do when making garlic knots, then tuck the ends underneath. The ends are quite long so rather than tucking the ends straight underneath, I curve them around the pretzel before tucking under. You can see me do that in the video below.
Here are photos so you can visualize the process:
Whisk the warm water, yeast, and sugar together. Cover and let the mixture sit for a few minutes until foamy on top. Waiting for it to foam isn’t totally necessary, but it helps us see that the yeast is ready and active. The right photo below shows the dough before kneading.
Knead the dough, using my How to Knead Dough video tutorial as needed. Cut the kneaded dough into 14-15 sections, roll into ropes, and then shape into knots. The video tutorial located in the recipe shows these steps as well.
The following photo shows the knots after the baking soda bath. At this point, they are ready to bake.
Topping Options
Immediately after the baking soda bath while the pretzel knots are still wet, sprinkle with coarse salt. Or if you’d like a different topping, skip the coarse salt and try:
- Cinnamon Sugar: Bake the pretzels completely plain without salt. Once done and still warm out of the oven, brush with melted butter then dip into a mix of cinnamon and granulated sugar.
- Garlic Parmesan: Bake the pretzels completely plain without salt. Once done and still warm out of the oven, brush with melted butter then dip into a mix of grated parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and Italian Seasoning. Italian Seasoning is a store-bought item, but you can make your own homemade Italian seasoning. You need 1 and 1/2 teaspoons.
- Jalapeño Cheddar: When the pretzels are still wet from the baking soda bath, sprinkle with coarse salt as if you were making plain salted pretzels. Just like when you make regular jalapeño cheddar pretzels, arrange 2-3 thin slices of jalapeño on top and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with cheddar cheese, then return the oven to finish baking.
Detailed instructions for these toppings are available in the recipe Notes below. I bet you could have fun with even more toppings such as everything bagels seasoning instead of coarse salt. Heavily sprinkle on the pretzels while they’re still wet from the baking soda bath before baking.
Make-Ahead Tip
If you are making pretzel knots in advance, do not top them with coarse salt before baking. The salt draws the moisture out of the pretzels, and once you’ve placed the baked and cooled pretzel knots in an airtight container or bag, it doesn’t take long before you’ll notice water droplets forming inside and the pretzel knots become soggy and wrinkled. Yuck!
If you won’t be serving the pretzel knots the same day you bake them, omit the salt-topping step. Bake as directed, then allow to cool completely before placing them in an airtight container, and store at room temperature. When you are ready to serve them, place the pretzel knots on a baking sheet and brush them lightly with water, then sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake them in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 5–10 minutes, or until warmed through.
Same goes for freezing soft pretzel knots: wait to top with salt until you’re ready to serve them. Cool the unsalted baked pretzel knots completely, then freeze in an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. To reheat, brush frozen pretzel knots (no need to thaw) with water and sprinkle with coarse salt, then bake at 350°F (177°C) for 20 minutes or until warmed through.
Great for Dipping & Soaking Up Sauce
The knot shape yields a doughier pretzel than the traditional soft pretzel shape, so they require longer in the oven. And because they have more interior, pretzel knots are perfect for dipping and soaking up sauce. Serve with:
- Tomato Sauce (great with the garlic parmesan pretzels)
- Garlic & Bacon Spinach Dip (tasty with the salted pretzels)
- Spicy Nacho Cheese Sauce (pictured above and delicious with the jalapeño cheddar or salted pretzels)
- Pepperoni Pizza Dip (wonderful with the garlic parmesan or salted pretzels)
- Stone Ground Mustard (always great with salted pretzels)
- Homemade Pesto (try with the garlic parmesan or salted pretzels)
- Maryland-Style Crab Dip (love this with salted pretzels)
I always serve cinnamon sugar pretzels plain, but you could try vanilla icing if you wanted to serve them with a dip. Lots of options here, so have fun!
See Your Soft Pretzel Knots!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
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Soft Pretzel Knots
- Prep Time: 35 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 14-15 knots
- Category: Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These soft pretzel knots are exactly like regular homemade soft pretzels, but shaped and tied like garlic knots. There’s more compact surface area, which means there’s more room for toppings such as cinnamon sugar, garlic parmesan, or jalapeño cheddar. Review recipe notes and watch the video tutorial before starting.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water (lukewarm around 100°F (38°C))
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 3 and 3/4 – 4 cups (469-500g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
- toppings: coarse salt/coarse sea salt or toppings described in notes
Baking Soda Bath
- 1/2 cup (120g) baking soda
- 9 cups (2.13L) water
Instructions
- Make the dough: Whisk warm water, yeast, and sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle or dough hook attachment. (If you do not have a stand mixer, just use a regular large mixing bowl and a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.) Cover yeast mixture and allow to sit for 5 minutes or until foamy on top. Add salt, melted butter, and 3 cups (375g) of flour. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula if needed, then add 3/4 cup (95g) of flour. Beat on low speed until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. If dough is extremely sticky after 1 minute of mixing, add remaining 1/4 cup of flour and continue to beat for 1 more minute. (You can see in the video that I add the remaining flour.)
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer (and switch to the dough hook if using the paddle) and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) 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. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rest for 10-30 minutes. (Meanwhile, I like to get the water + baking soda boiling as instructed in step 5.)
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Silicone baking mats are highly recommended over parchment paper. If using parchment paper, lightly spray with nonstick spray or grease with butter. Set aside.
- Shape: With a sharp knife, pizza cutter, or bench scraper, cut dough into 14-15 pieces, which is about 1/4 cup (2 ounces) of dough each. Sprinkle work surface very lightly with flour. (Tip: The heavier you flour the work surface, the harder it is to roll the dough. A little stickiness actually helps. You only need *a very light* dusting of flour.) Roll each piece of dough into a 14-inch rope. Tie the ropes into a knot, then tuck the ends underneath. The ends are quite long so rather than tucking the ends straight underneath, I curve them around the pretzel before tucking under. You can see that in the video below.
- Baking Soda Bath: Mix water and baking soda together in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Place 2-3 pretzels into the boiling water for 20-30 seconds, flipping halfway through. (Any longer than 30 seconds and your pretzels could take on a metallic taste.) The knot shape makes the dough heavy, so if the pretzel knots are sinking, use a spatula to get them off the bottom of the pot. Using a slotted spatula or spoon, lift the pretzel knots out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off. Place pretzel knots onto prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle each with coarse sea salt while each are still wet or leave plain if using other toppings detailed in the notes below (you still need to salt them if doing the jalapeño cheddar pretzels). Repeat baking soda bath with remaining pretzel knots. If needed, you can cover and refrigerate the boiled/unbaked pretzels for up to 24 hours before baking.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes or until golden brown. I usually bake mine for the full 24 minutes to obtain a very deep color as pictured.
- Remove from the oven and serve warm.
- Cover and store leftover pretzels at room temperature for up to 3 days. They lose a little softness over time. To reheat, microwave for a few seconds or bake at 350°F (177°C) for 5 minutes.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: If planning to freeze baked pretzel knots, do not top them with coarse salt before baking. Cool completely, then freeze in an airtight freezer-safe container or zip-top bag for up to 3 months. To reheat, brush frozen pretzel knots (no need to thaw) with water and sprinkle with coarse salt, then bake at 350°F (177°C) for 20 minutes or until warmed through, or microwave frozen knots until warm. The prepared pretzel dough can be covered and refrigerated for up to one day or frozen in an airtight container for 2–3 months. Thaw frozen dough in the refrigerator overnight. Refrigerated dough can be shaped into pretzel knots while still cold, but allow some extra time, about 1 hour, for the pretzel knots to puff up before continuing with the baking soda bath and baking.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer or Large Glass Mixing Bowl | Rubber Spatula | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Sharp Knife, Pizza Cutter, or Bench Scraper | Large Pot, such as a Dutch Oven | Metal Slotted Spatula | Coarse Salt
- Flour: If you have it, the same amount of bread flour works instead of all-purpose flour. Do not use whole wheat flour.
- Cinnamon Sugar: Bake the pretzels completely plain without salt in step 7. As the pretzel knots bake, melt 4 Tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter. Set aside. Combine 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon. Set aside. Once the pretzels are done and still warm out of the oven, brush each with melted butter then generously dip into cinnamon sugar. Cinnamon sugar pretzel knots are best served that day because the melted butter topping causes them to become soggy after a few hours.
- Garlic Parmesan: Bake the pretzels completely plain without salt in step 7. As the pretzel knots bake, melt 4 Tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter. Set aside. Combine 3/4 cup (about 68g) grated parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1 and 1/2 teaspoons store-bought or homemade Italian Seasoning. Set aside. Once the pretzels are done and still warm out of the oven, brush each with melted butter then generously dip into parmesan garlic mixture. Garlic parmesan pretzel knots are best served that day because the melted butter topping causes them to become soggy after a few hours.
- Jalapeño Cheddar: When the pretzels are still wet from the baking soda bath, sprinkle with coarse salt as if you were making plain salted pretzels. Place 2–3 very thin slices of jalapeño on top of each, pressing them down to adhere as best they can. Bake for 15 minutes in step 7. Remove from the oven, use 1 cup (125g) shredded cheddar cheese and sprinkle each partially baked knot evenly with cheese, then return the knots to the oven to finish baking for the remaining time in step 7.
Just a couple questions. Why do you not recommend whole wheat flour – can I do a 50/50 mix to get the fiber nutrients from the whole wheat? You say the butter ones (cinnamon/sugar and garlic/parmesan) are best served the day of, but I really need to freeze – can I still freeze with the butter or what can I do for these to freeze them?
Hi Sean, whole wheat flour would yield very dense pretzels. You could try a blend of half and half, but keep in mind that they’ll still be denser than intended. We would freeze the pretzels plain, then warm them up a bit after they’re thawed to add your toppings. Hope you enjoy them!
Hi,I don’t have much time on the day these knots are going to be served, so I want to to save as much time as possible and do most of the work the day before. In order for that to work… Could I also leave the dough in knot shapes to rise overnight and then the next day put them in the bath and finish them in the oven?
Btw I love your blog.
Hi Missy, we don’t recommend refrigerating the shaped knots overnight for fear they will puff up too much. It’s best to refrigerate the dough and then shape the next morning. Hope they’re a hit!
These are amazing! A family favorite and often requested. The spicy cheese sauce is top notch, too.
I would love to try this recipe! So many positive reviews!! I have one question, though. Can you make other shapes, too? I feel like the knots would be larger than what I’d want (I’ve got medical problems.) I assume that the only issue is making sure the dough is secured together for the water bath and watching bake time? Or could I do smaller knots?
Hi Diana, absolutely! You may also enjoy our soft pretzel bites using the same dough.
So easy and fun to do! I’m thinking of making bagel bites to coat with butter and salt for poppers
I like the idea, but only keep whole wheat flour around the house. Why does the recipe specifically say not to use it?
Hi Dave! Whole wheat flour would yield very dense pretzels.
Omgggg!!! These are absolutely scrumptious!!!! I made a double batch using bread flour, and the results are an amazing chewy bit of yeasted wonderfulness!!!! I did half of them with cinnamon sugar and the rest as jalapeno cheddar. If I ever serve these at a dinner party as an appetizer, my guests won’t have any appetite left for dinner because they are irresistible!!!
Just made them yesterday! Super easy! Mine didn’t look like the recipe because I never could get the knot down right —even watched video several times—haha! So I did my best pretzel shape. When I baked them at 24 minutes, they were a little hard on the first batch. Second batch, I baked at 19 minutes, which was perfect.
These turned out really good.
But:
Make about 20 because they’re quite large
400⁰ in my oven is too hot to cook for 20-25 min.
I cut down on the soda and still could have cut down more.
Can you half this recipe?
Hi Sara, yes, this recipe could be halved. Though for best results and ease, we would recommend making the full batch and freezing the leftovers. See recipe notes for details. Enjoy!
I love this recipe!! I could make it over & over again. I was wondering if it would it be possible to use sourdough starter in place of the yeast? Someone gave me some & I’m looking for ways to use it.
Hi Cate, we haven’t tested it, but let us know if you do! So glad you’re enjoying these pretzel knots.
This is the easiest recipe and you will make the so many, that you will have it memorized in no time. They are delicious!
This is the easiest recipe and you will make the so many, that you will have it memorized in no time. They are delicious
Would these work well for small sandwiches or is the dough too tough to bite through for sandwich?
Hi Kathy, these definitely work for sandwiches, or you might like our pretzel rolls, too.
Hi, I’m trying out this recipe! Sounds amazing. I just made the dough and am letting it rest, but it seems to tough. It never became sticky at all and it gave me a little trouble when kneading. Did I do something wrong or is that okay?
I just wanted to update and let you know that they turned out fine! I do have a question though, what do you think of bread flour instead of AP flour
Hi Ellie, the same amount of bread flour works instead of all-purpose flour.
I really want to try making these pretzel knots. They look so yummy! I’m wondering if I could use self-rising flour instead of all-purpose flour. Have you used self-rising flour for this recipe before?
Hi Gabby, we don’t recommend using self rising flour in this recipe. It would take additional recipe testing to ensure accurate results.
Hi Michelle, I just gave it a shot with the self-rising flour and they came out delicious!! We almost finished the whole batch. I will make them again soon and use the all-purpose flour. I‘ll see if it makes a difference.
I have been wanting to try out more yeasted baked goods/breads/desserts.. this was my first attempt at soft pretzels & they came out pretty darn good! I think my dough was slightly on the sticky side after kneading in my mixer with a dough hook, but I let it rest for the 30 minutes & eventually kneaded it by hand too. My knots were not too shabby for a first go at these. I baked for 20 minutes in my convection oven & they were the nice dark brown color!
I loved this recipe and it turned out great! It was an easy way to learn how to make pretzels and my family really enjoyed them. I brushed all the pretzels after baking with melted butter which made them even better! My only complaint was that the dough was very sticky and hard to work with. I can’t wait to make them again!
I made 2 batches, both times my dough was extremely sticky, i couldnt knead it because it stuck to my hands and surface. What did i do wrong?
Hi Corinna, There are a lot of variables that go into the consistency of dough, even down to the weather and humidity in the air. There’s nothing wrong with adding just a little more flour to bring the dough into a less sticky and knead-able consistency. Try adding additional flour a tablespoon at a time until it starts to come together. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
Another WIN Sally…THANK YOU!!
These were so easy and fast. I made the parmesan toppling and WOW!! I love soft pretzels so much and now I can make at a moments notice. Thank you
I loved the recipe and it turned out great, but during the baking soda bath some of my pretzels began to lose their shape. Any suggestions?
Hi Hadley! The dough should be sticky enough to hold together once shaped. Make sure not to use too much flour when handling the dough and seal the ends under the knot. So glad you enjoyed them!
Hi, can I use a vegan substitute for the butter?
Hi Katharina, we haven’t tested that but it shouldn’t be an issue in this recipe.
These are delicious and really easy to make! They were a hit here and I will be making many more!
Can I use salted butter to make soft pretzels
Hi Joan! Yes, you can use salted butter here.
Parchment paper at 400° burns
These came out well, and were delicious with the Nacho Cheese Sauce mentioned. My friends thought they could have been even crunchier on the outside, so I may need to bake them longer, but I liked them just as they were. The only problem I had was that the salt did not stick to the pretzels, even though I sprinkled them with sea salt immediately after removing from the boiling water/soda. Next time, I may have to brush with butter and sprinkle the salt prior to baking.
I have made this recipe several times now and it is always a huge hit! My family loved them so much they even requested I make it for Thanksgiving last year. Yet another wonderful recipe from Sally!
I am a little new to bead making, and wondering if it would be recommended to use bread flour in this recipe, or if there is a reason all-purpose flour was chosen. Is that just so people who only have all purpose are still encouraged to make this? Just checking before I waste my flour and want to make the best tasting knots :0).
Hi Jackie, If you have it, the same amount of bread flour works instead of all-purpose flour.
Actually I think it’s better to use bread flour. Bread flour has more protein in it that gives it that chewy texture you expect in a pretzel.
Made these pretzel knots as part of the baking challenge. I ended up having to put 4 3/4 cups of flour to get the consistency shown in the videos. Wished the recipe stated that. I had to look up other recipes to see what I did wrong. After that, things went well. The video was extremely helpful in shaping the dough.
These pretzel knots are delicious. They are big enough to use as sandwich buns. I would make them smaller next time. I did proof them twice, based on Paul Hollywood’s recipe. I also punched a hole in the middle with a knife while baking. This seemed to help during the baking process (Also a PH tip). I will definitely make these again.
The full time on the bake really sets that color in and the inside is still soft. I did these for my kid’s breakfast sandwiches in the morning and topped them with Everything But the Bagel seasoning from Trader Joes. This replaced their everything bagel they usually like. Big hit!
Can this recipe be doubled or would i need to make the batches separately? Thank you!
Hi Lisa, for best taste and texture, we recommend making two separate batches.