Soft Beer Pretzels

Total Time

Prep: 1 hour + rising Bake: 10 min.

Makes

8 pretzels

Updated: Jun. 30, 2023
I'm always looking for new ways to combine fun flavors, and what goes together better than beer and pretzels? Not much that I can think of. That’s why I put them together into one delicious recipe. —Alyssa Wilhite, Whitehouse, Texas
Soft Beer Pretzels Recipe photo by Taste of Home

Ingredients

  • 1 bottle (12 ounces) amber beer or nonalcoholic beer
  • 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 10 cups water
  • 2/3 cup baking soda
  • TOPPING:
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • Coarse salt, optional

Directions

  1. In a small saucepan, heat beer to 110°-115°; remove from heat. Stir in yeast until dissolved. In a large bowl, combine butter, sugar, 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, yeast mixture and 3 cups flour; beat on medium speed until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (dough will be sticky).
  2. Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
  3. Preheat oven to 425°. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide and shape into 8 balls. Roll each into a 24-in. rope. Curve ends of each rope to form a circle; twist ends once and lay over opposite side of circle, pinching ends to seal.
  4. In a Dutch oven, bring water and baking soda to a boil. Drop pretzels, 2 at a time, into boiling water. Cook 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain well on paper towels.
  5. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. In a small bowl, whisk egg yolk and water; brush over pretzels. Sprinkle with coarse salt if desired. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove from pans to a wire rack to cool.

Can you freeze Soft Beer Pretzels?

Freeze cooled pretzels in freezer containers. To use, thaw at room temperature or microwave each pretzel on high until heated through, 20-30 seconds.

To Make Pretzel Bites: Divide and shape into eight balls; roll each into a 12-in. rope. Cut each rope into 1-in. pieces. Boil and top as directed; bake at 400° for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Yield: 8 dozen.
To Make Traditional-Shaped Pretzels: Divide and shape dough into eight balls; roll each into a 24-in. rope. Curve ends of rope to form a circle; twist ends once and lay over opposite side of circle, pinching ends to seal. Boil, top and bake as directed. Yield: 8 pretzels.
To Make Pretzel Rolls: Divide and shape dough into 8 balls; roll each into a 14-in. rope. Starting at 1 end of each rope, loosely wrap dough around itself to form a coil. Boil, top and bake as directed. Yield: 8 pretzels.

Nutrition Facts

1 pretzel: 288 calories, 4g fat (2g saturated fat), 16mg cholesterol, 604mg sodium, 53g carbohydrate (6g sugars, 2g fiber), 7g protein.