Soft Pretzel Knots With Various Toppings

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: 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!