Easy Pizza Pretzels

Makes 8 large or 12 small pizza pretzels.

Course Bread

Cuisine Snack

Keyword homemade pretzels, homemade soft pretzels, soft pretzel recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 12

Total Time 45

Servings

Calories 412kcal

Author Melissa Rose

Ingredients

Pretzel Dough

1 ½ cups warm water
4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast Two (0.25 oz.) Packets
¼ cup salted butter (i.e. ½ stick) unsalted is fine but salted tastes way better in these!
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder

Water Bath

2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda (not teaspoons!)

Toppings

½ cup pizza sauce
2 cups mozzarella cheese One 8-ounce bag is enough
pepperonis (I used minis!) or toppings of choice

Instructions

In a large bowl, stir together 1 ½ cups warm water, 4 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast, 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, and melted ¼ cup salted butter (i.e. ½ stick). You can get the warm water directly from the faucet - no need to heat it up more. Let sit for 10 minutes or until there's a layer of foam/bubbles on the top.
*See notes below if your mixture doesn't foam or bubble.
Stir in the ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder and gently mix. Add the 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour and stir with a spatula to until shaggy.
Once all the flour is roughly incorporated, use your hands to knead the dough into a solid ball. This should only take 1-2 minutes tops (any longer and you'll overwork the dough).
Place the dough ball back into the bowl, drizzle with olive oil (optional), and cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or a clean dish towel) and let sit for 10 minutes. This will allow the dough to rest & rise a tiny bit (it won't rise much, which is fine).
Using a knife, cut the dough into 8 even sections. Once cut, use your hands to roll each ball into a long strip about roll ½ inch thick and 24 inches long.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, mix together 2 cups warm water and 2 tablespoons baking soda.
Dip each dough strip in the baking soda mixture for 1-2 seconds then quickly form into a pretzel and place on baking sheet. Poke the dough with your finger to create small imprints to hold the sauce.
Top with pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni (or desired toppings).
Bake at 400℉ for 12-14 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly golden brown.
Enjoy warm & dip in extra pizza sauce!

Notes

Yeast isnt foaming or bubbling? If your mixture doesn't foam or bubble after 10-20 minutes, your yeast is likely dead and you need to start over with fresh yeast.

Storing: These are best fresh, but can also be stored in the fridge for 1-2 days. Reheat in the microwave until heated through.

Freezing: Let them cool then freeze them in an airtight bag (for 1-2 months). To get them to taste the freshest again, pop them into the oven or air fryer at 300 degrees for 10-15 minutes until they're heated through.

Nutrition is just an estimate and auto-calculated from a directory. Based on 8 pretzels and does not include dipping sauces.

Nutrition