Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Evenly sprinkle the baking soda over the prepared baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter.
Meanwhile, pour one cup of warm water into a large bowl. Whisk in the granulated sugar until dissolved. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let sit until the yeast becomes frothy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the salt and the 2 tablespoons of melted better.
Add the flour, stirring in a bit at a time, until a dough forms and loses most of its stickiness. Knead the dough until smooth, then lift from the bowl and oil the bowl with vegetable oil. Place the dough back into the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm spot until doubled in size, about 45 minutes to an hour.
Remove the baked baking soda from the oven and set aside. (Make sure not to breathe it in or handle it with your bare hands as it can be irritating.) Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Spray nonstick spray on your counter or large cutting board, or use parchment paper to cover. Pour out the risen dough.
Cut the dough into strips approximately 1-1/2” wide and 8” long. Then, stretch and roll the dough strips until they are long, thin ropes, about 36" each.Shape the ropes into the classic pretzel shape (as demonstrated in the video above).
Pour 3 cups of hot tap water into a large, non-reactive bowl. Whisk the baked baking soda into the hot water until dissolved. Briefly dip each pretzel, one at a time, into the baking solution and then place on the prepared baking sheet. You should be able to fit 6, barely touching pretzels on the sheet. Sprinkle the pretzels with pretzel salt.
Bake for 8 minutes, turning the tray 180° half-way through. Melt the remainder of the butter.
Brush the freshly baked pretzels with melted butter and serve warm.
Reviews
Geena on 2018-10-17 (5 stars): These pretzels turned out amazing and they were so simple to make. I always veered away from making soft pretzels because I didn't want to buy lye, but baking the baking soda is a genius solution. As recommended by Morgan in her reddit post, I subbed active dry yeast for 2 tsp of instant yeast. I'll be making them again this Friday and I'm super pumped for more fresh pretzels!
Liz on 2019-02-03 (5 stars): Fantastic! Tastes just like Auntie Anne's. I never knew how easy it was to make. Just a suggestion to others. Use tongs when dipping in the baked baking soda water. I used my hands for the first one and it made my hands feel wierd. I quickly washed them and then used tongs for the rest.
Emma on 2019-04-20 (5 stars): I made these and they were delicious! And so easy to make. Everybody in jut family loved them, so much in fact that I had to make second double batch an hour later!
Tracy on 2019-04-22 (5 stars): I tried a couple different recipes before settling on this one. My observations:
While other recipes call for briefly boiling pretzels, this recipe calls for just a brief warm bath. I tried it both ways and I'm happy to report that the brief bath is sufficient to get a good crust that is crispy and nicely browned with a subtle pretzely baking soda taste. Boiling resulted in a much darker, thicker crust with an almost bitter taste. Some might like the stouter taste, but we enjoyed the recipe as written.
I've made the recipe 3 times now, and so far I have not added all 3 cups of flour...the dough gets to a point where it's silky and satisfied and I just don't want to force any more flour into the dough.
All in all a very good, very easy recipe!
Kris on 2019-12-18 (5 stars): It's a process that's worth while! My family loved these and dipped them in velveta cheese.
Sarah R. on 2020-02-24 (5 stars): I have made this recipe a couple times and absolutely love it! Soft pretzels are my bread weakness. I do have one question; have you ever used this recipe to make like pretzel hotdog buns? I know you have a pretzel roll recipe but it is different than this and I would like to stick with this recipe but not sure if it would work for pretzel buns. Thanks!
Kelly Anthony on 2020-03-10 (5 stars): I can already smell these baking in my oven. So glad I don't have to go to the mall to get a pretzel anymore.
Lauren on 2020-03-10 (5 stars): I absolutely love soft pretzels and am always on the hunt for the perfect Auntie Anne's copycat recipe! I can't wait to try these.
Jessica Formicola on 2020-03-10 (5 stars): We made these pretzels for a party over the weekend and everyone loved them! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!
Chloe on 2020-03-10 (5 stars): I love hot pretzels but this was my first time attempting to make them myself. They came out amazing!
Marko on 2020-03-15 (5 stars): The pretzels were awesome, I served mine with mild cheddar and mustard. I think your recipe is amazing, it was easy and worked really well. My only question was the amount of Baking Soda dip for 8 pretzels - it seems like I could have made 1 cup and easily coated all of my pretzels - it felt like I did something wrong i went back and double checked. They were so popular I'm going to have to make a double batch next time.
Lisa on 2020-03-20 (5 stars): Amazing!!!! PERFECTION! Found this during our Forced home spring break staycation! The college girls all created their own masterpiece and said it was better than Annie’s at the Mall!!! Thank you!!!
Kayla on 2020-03-27 (5 stars): Today was my first attempt at using yeast in a recipe and these turned out great! Perfect in every way! I was nervous to make them at first but they were actually super easy. Thanks for the great recipe! Definitely will be making again!
Emily on 2020-03-28 (5 stars): THANK YOU for creating this recipe! IT IS SO GOOD! I am RIDICULOUSLY happy!
<3
Rob on 2020-04-08 (5 stars): What can I say? I’m shocked! I followed the recipe, exactly as specified, and the pretzels that I made were indistinguishable from those of Auntie Anne’s!
Morgan,
Thank you for taking the time to create such a well-written and easy-to-follow recipe!
Barbara on 2020-04-26 (5 stars): I've made a lot of pretzels in my days. This is by far the most magestical pretzel making experience I've ever had. The pretzels were not only tasty, they were also good. Here's a helpful tip from Karen that I tried myself: use the dough to make one giant pretzel. You'll need to double the bake time but the results are unfathomable. The pretzel filled me up real noice ;)
Gloria Elizabeth logsdon davis on 2020-05-30 (5 stars): I just made these. Amazing. I had to eat one right away. Just wish I had cheese sauce to go with it. Also my son had fun playing with a piece of dough. Held its shape. So yummy. I recommend. Memories of the mall hit me and can’t wait for the van to be lifted. You have to try. So easy. So tasty. So just right!!!
Sarah R. on 2020-07-14 (5 stars): This is my absolute favorite pretzel recipe, I’m making it for probably the 6th time. I had someone request these pretzels for a party so I plan on baking them then freezing on a tray before putting into a ziplock bag to stay in the freezer. Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Simran on 2020-07-28 (5 stars): They were amazing and tasted just like the mall pretzels. I made them with a cheese dip. Definitely going to save this recipe. Thanks.
Shanda Scott on 2020-09-30 (5 stars): OMG... These pretzels are freaking awesome and soooo easy!! I've literally made three batches in a row... literally one after the other...lol
Thank you for posting... ❤️✌️❤️
Ellen on 2021-01-26 (4 stars): Flavor was awesome. Recipe pretty easy. Only problem I had was they all stuck to the parchment paper. I went back several times to read the recipe again and do not see that it states should spray the parchment before laying pretzels??
Also felt 36 inches was too long and rolled mine shorter. Again delicious!
Danielle Warner on 2021-02-07 (5 stars): Very easy and my family said they are by far the best they have ever had!
Paige on 2021-02-24 (5 stars): I have made these several times now. They are excellent. A few times I have made the dough ahead of time, put on a sheet and refrigerated the dough until I got to my parents house - then did the baking soda dip and baked. Perfection
But would it be possible to make the dough ahead of time - form AND dip in the baking soda bath then refrigerate a few hours. Then put in the oven? Or do you think they need to be dipped in the baking soda bath just before the oven?
Colleen on 2021-03-02 (5 stars): I've made dozens of soft Pretzels. This recipe has been by far the tastiest! I doubled the recipe and made half regular half dessert. Not a single one left!
Stacey Carpio on 2021-04-26 (5 stars): These came out so well. I thought I messed up because the baking soda clumped in the water instead of dissolving. I had to keep mixing it between pretzels. They taste almost exactly like mall pretzels. Glad I tried it and will be making them again.
Serena on 2021-05-07 (5 stars): Hi! I was wondering if you can pre-make this
Monica on 2021-11-08 (5 stars): This recipe is ACTUALLY incredible. I LOVE mall pretzels and have tried countless recipes over the years... I will never stray away from this recipe! Everyone in my house said they are the best they've ever had too. Thank you!
Elizabeth on 2021-12-28 (5 stars): Second time I’ve made this; great recipe! Question though: about how long do you hand knead the dough to make it elastic and smooth? I was trying to use the poke and windowpane tests and it did appear to be getting more elastic but it’s always hard to know how far to go.
Marianna on 2022-12-01 (5 stars): They're the only pretzel I'll make now and everyone I've made them for say that they're the best they've had! They've become my special occasion food now just because everyone loves them so much!
Hannah on 2023-11-11 (5 stars): I have been making these every week for about two years. According to myself and everyone who has ever tried these, they are the best pretzels ever — even better than the ones from the mall. I’ve got the recipe memorized now!
Tosha on 2024-01-21 (5 stars): Made these today and I’m so happy with how they turned out! My first time ever making homemade pretzels. They are pretty and tasty!
Susan Sims on 2024-01-29 (5 stars): 5 Star! Delicious and easy. I tried another recipe some time ago and we all hated them. Horrible, bitter taste. Not these! Yummy! Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Angie on 2024-09-22 (5 stars): I made these today and they were perfect and delicious.
One note I wanted to share about the baked baking soda. You really have to be whisking it when you add it to the hot water. I found out the hard way that if you add it in and let it sit for the time it takes to throw the foil away, it instantly solidifies into a rock hard mass. It was like cement and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to dissolve it. Luckily microwaving the bowl of water for a couple of minutes and then taking a plastic potato masher to it, I was able to break it up and dissolve it with about 10 minutes of muscle. Just thought I’d share so others can be saved some trouble!
paul on 2024-12-02 (5 stars): i love pretzels thankes for this!
Stacy on 2025-01-31 (5 stars): It says "watch the how to video" but then there is no video? was it taken down??
AB on 2025-03-05 (5 stars): Bruh.... this is what I'm talking about.
I ordered Kaufman's sour cream & onion powder since Auntie Anne's discontinued that flavor.
If you make these and drench them in melted butter after they're baked, sprinkle that powder and *voilà*
Lez on 2025-11-01 (5 stars): DAMN! These were freaking INCREDIBLE. Thank you for sharing the recipe. The hard crispy crust on the outside, and the smell was unreal. So good!!
Harlee on 2026-01-06 (5 stars): Can you make the dough in advance and store it in the fridge? Looks delicious can’t want to make it for a “board night” with a few different dips!!
Christina on 2026-04-12 (5 stars): These were so time consuming but absolutely worth it! So delicious, 10x better than auntie annes.
