Take your homemade pretzels to the next level with this classic snack! Our Homemade Hard Pretzel Rods have all of the crunch and the flavor you want from a homemade hard pretzel but are made (easier than you may think) at home!
This is such a fun one, friends! We absolutely love our Homemade Soft Pretzels and our Soft Pretzel Bites, but hard pretzels take our homemade snack-making to the next level! Our Homemade Hard Pretzel Rods are one of our favorite new snacks from scratch to make. They have all of the crunch, all of the flavor, and all of the fun in this homemade snack from scratch!
Ingredients Needed
- Bread Flour and All Purpose Flour - We love the combo of both, but you could absolutely make these with all one or the other.
- Instant Yeast, Sugar, and Warm Water - The first step of the dough.
- Melter Butter and Sugar- Just a little fat and sugar for the dough.
- Baking Soda - A key ingredient to creating the right texture and flavor from giving the dough a baking soda bath before baking.
- Egg Wash and Pretzel Salt - To finish the pretzels with. You can of course use a coarse kosher salt to finish the pretzels, but we absolutely love this bagel/pretzel salt!
Easy to Make
Activate Yeast
Add the sugar and warm water to the bowl of your stand mixer and give a good whisk. Then add the yeast and let it activate, until it's nice and bubbly.
Create Dough
Once you have your activated yeast, it's just a matter of adding the rest of your ingredients to create a nice smooth dough.
Cut Dough
Give that dough a couple of kneads and then use your trusty dough cutter to separate the dough to then have it rolled out.
Roll into Rods
Rolling out the dough into the pretzel rods is the most time-consuming part of this homemade hard pretzel recipe, but also one of the most fun - especially with kids!
Baking Soda Bath
Now this is a key step to getting the right pretzel flavor is the baking soda bath - which is basically just giving the rods a quick boil in some baking soda water.
Egg Wash, Salt, and Bake
The final step is to give those rods a quick egg wash with a pastry brush and then a generous sprinkle of that pretzel salt before baking until nice and dry and crunchy!
Homemade Hard Pretzel Rods! No, they're not as perfect as the ones you buy in the store, but those aren't hand-rolled, either! Plus these pretzels from scratch have the added look of being handmade and with love.
Pretzel Making Tips
This recipe takes some time and some space. Make sure that you have enough clean surfaces to roll out the rods and to have a place to put the rolled-out dough before you give them the baking soda bath.
Keep in mind that the pretzel rods will thicken a bit while they boil, so you want to roll them a little bit thinner than you want. We like to do long 12-inch rods and then give them a slice in half to 6 inches. This will help save time while rolling.
You want to make sure that you have a pot big enough for the length of your pretzel rods. We make 6 in rods so you'll need a pot that's big enough to let those rods boil straight.
This is a key step! While commercial pretzels often are made in a food-grade lye bath, to get a flavor that's close, you need to add baking soda to your water for the prebake poach.
When you add the rods to your boiling water, they will bend a little and won't stay perfectly straight. That's ok - when you remove them from the water, you'll be able to mold them back to a straighter shape.
You Also Might Like
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- Soft Pretzel Bites with Hot Honey Mustard
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- Healthier Homemade Corn Nuts
Happy snacking, friends! These Homemade Hard Pretzel Rods are perfect to serve for some football watching, holiday party appetizer, or to use to make some chocolate-dipped pretzels! Or just a delicious homemade lunchbox snack for the kiddos! My girls absolutely love them.
Enjoy! As always, if you make this recipe or any of my others, I love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below, email me, or you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
If you want to see more, be sure to sign up for my 5 Easy Ways to Start Cooking From Scratch!
Homemade Hard Pretzel Rods
Equipment
- Large Stock Pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 163 g
- 2 cups bread flour 272 g
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast 10 g
- 1 tablespoon white sugar 14 g
- 1 1/4 teaspoon table salt 8 g
- 1 1/2 cup warm/hot water about 90-110 degrees F
- 1 tablespoon salted butter melted
Baking Soda Bath
- 10 cups water
- 2/3 cup baking soda 152 g
Topping
- 1 egg whisked
- 1 tablespoon pretzel salt 16 g
Instructions
- Prep Baking Soda Bath: Add water to a large pot and add baking soda, whisking to dissolve the baking soda. Place on the stovetop, but do not heat yet.
- Prep Baking Trays: Place one baking tray next to the pot. Line the two others with parchment paper and set aside.
- Create Dough: Activate yeast by adding water and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer, giving a whisk to dissolve the sugar, and then add the yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes until the yeast is bubbly. Add melted butter and salt and give a quick mix with the hook attachment. Slowly add the flour to the bowl and mix on medium-low until a dough starts to form. Slowly add the rest of the flour until the dough is no longer sticky and begins to pull away from the bowl and then when you give it a poke it bounces back nicely.
- Knead Dough: Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes until a smooth dough forms.
- Heat Baking Soda Bath: Give the water and baking soda another whisk and then heat on high to start to bring the water to a boil.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Create Space: Ensure that you have ample workspace, either on a clean counter or table. You will need space to roll out the dough and space for cutting boards or trays to place the dough when rolled out. This recipe creates enough dough that fills 2 large cutting boards or baking trays.
- Cut Dough: With a dough cutter, cut the dough in half, then halves in half, and continue until you have 16 pieces. Working one piece at a time, cut it in half and then roll it out into a long thin log (between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick) about 12 inches long. Place the log on a lightly floured large cutting board or clean surface. Repeat until half of the dough is rolled out or your large cutting board/surface is filled with 15 12-inch rods. Then use the dough cutter to cut them all down the middle to create 6 inch rods. Repeat with all of the dough.
- Baking Soda Bath: Once the water is boiling, add 4-5 pretzel rods at a time to the water. Poach for 15-20 seconds and then use a slotted spatula to gently remove rods, shaking off excess liquid, and place on the baking tray without parchment paper.
- Reshape and Add to Baking Tray: Some of the rods may bend a bit, so while they are still warm, shake off excess water and then add them to the parchment paper lined tray and gently reshape straight, if needed.
- Egg Wash and Salt: Whisk the egg in a small bowl and brush the rods. Sprinkle with pretzel salt.
- Bake: Gently cover the tray with aluminum foil leaving space between the foil and the pretzels. Bake for 40 minutes and then uncovered for another 25-35 minutes until the pretzels rods are well browned. If baking both trays at the same time, bake in the two center racks of the oven and swap after the first 20 minutes of baking. For the final 25-35 uncovered, swap racks again after the first 15 minutes of baking.
- Enjoy!
carrie
I am excited to try this! My husband discovered honey mustard pretzels and we have found a seasoning mix to make and add to store bought pretzels. I have wondered how to make them homemade so this is perfect.
Tracy
That sounds awesome! Let me know what you think!