Avoid These 10 Mistakes For Perfect Homemade Pretzels

We're not sure if it's their intricate shape or their flawless combination of a crispy shell and a soft, fluffy interior, but there's something about baking pretzels that can seem oddly intimidating. After all, there's a reason why they were apparently once known by the Latin word for "little rewards." These salty, doughy treats are so delicious that they've satisfied the masses for centuries, having first appeared on the foodie scene in the Middle Ages when they were (supposedly) invented by monks and handed out to the poor. While the soft pretzel is arguably its most popular form, there are multiple kinds of pretzel on the market in the U.S. today. We can thank the Pennsylvania Dutch for this phenomenon Stateside. Centuries after German-speaking settlers brought pretzels to the U.S., soft pretzels are as much of a mall staple today as actual stores.

As much as we love indulging in Auntie Anne's Pretzels when the mid-shopping hanger strikes, we couldn't help but imagine how great it would be if we could satisfy our own pretzel cravings. Determined to overcome that voice in our mind that tells us pretzels are simply too complex to whip up for ourselves, we turned to two experts who've mastered the skill. Jonathan Davis, Vice President of R&D/Culinary Innovation at La Brea Bakery, and Hannah Dela Cruz, founder of Make It Dough, shared their insights into the art of good pretzels. Avoid these mistakes to nail your next attempt at pretzel perfection.

Like any baked good, the quality of your pretzel is only ever going to be as good as your dough. On paper, pretzel dough is pretty straightforward. While recipes may differ (just see the existence of the birthday cake pretzel for proof of how wildly they can vary), your most basic building blocks will always be water, yeast, sugar, flour, and salt. Nailing its texture, however, isn't quite as straightforward. As per Jonathan Davis, one of the most common mistakes he sees in pretzel baking is over-hydrating the dough, which can have catastrophic results for your finished pretzels.

"Pretzel dough is meant to be stiffer than other artisan breads, which gives it the dense, chewy texture of a good pretzel," Davis explains. If you add too much water, you risk compromising its structure and texture. "Adding too much water can result in a sticky, slack dough that's difficult to handle, harder to shape, and less likely to hold its form during boiling and baking," he says. "It can also lead to a softer crust and a breadier texture, rather than the firm, chewy bite pretzels are known for."

While some recipes may state that you can add more water as needed, take that with a pinch of salt. There will almost certainly be some instances where you do need more water, it's all too easy to go overboard and sabotage your pretzels before you've even really begun.

Yeast is the MVP of the pretzel ingredients list. While flour and water are all necessary factors, it's the yeast that produces carbon dioxide and helps bread rise. Without it, you'll end up with something edible, sure, but it definitely won't be anything close to the definition of a soft-baked pretzel. Should you accidentally use expired yeast, that may provide equally negative results. "It's important to make sure the yeast you are using is not expired," stresses Hannah Dela Cruz. "Commercial yeast has a shelf life and using it past its prime will result in pretzels that are too dense and tough."

For context, most of the yeast sold in supermarkets is instant yeast. If this is what you find in your pantry, the good news is that it's usually good to use for around two years. However, it should've ideally been kept away from heat or moisture during that timeframe. If you have already opened it for another project in the past, its shelf life will be much shorter. Stored in the refrigerator or freezer, it should still be okay to use for a few months. Active dry yeast has a similar viability.

If ever in doubt, you can always conduct a quick test to see if your yeast is still alive. Add yeast to some warm water and sugar. If it's frothy after 10 minutes, good news. If not, you'll want to pop to the store and pick up more before starting your pretzels.

There's a reason why some people say baking is a science. Technically, a lot of what goes on in the kitchen is some kind of chemical reaction. That's why accuracy is key when it comes to measuring out ingredients. Scientists don't go ham measuring out the hydrochloric acid in the lab, and the same light hand is key when baking. As Jonathan Davis says, inaccurately scaling ingredients can easily "throw off hydration, salt balance, and yeast activity."

This is especially true during one of the most important steps of prepping pretzels — the alkaline bath. This involves dipping the pretzel into a solution that raises its pH (we weren't kidding when we said that baking is a science). For traditional German pretzels, this is done with lye, but one of the most common alternatives today is baking soda. This helps to darken the exterior, perfect the crust's texture, and give pretzels their iconic shiny finish. Davis stresses that nailing the ratio of baking soda to water is necessary to successfully pull off this step. "A solution that's too weak won't create the desired caramelization, while one that's too strong can overpower the flavor or even damage the dough's surface," he says.

There's a learning curve to kneading dough. The act itself is required to form gluten, which is why the texture changes so much throughout the kneading process — and why under- or over-kneading is a mistake that can kill your bread before it even hits the oven. When it comes to pretzels, both Jonathan Davis and Hannah Dela Cruz claim that your goal should be kneading your dough to the point that it's perfectly smooth to ensure high-quality pretzels. "It will appear smooth, indicating that all ingredients have been fully incorporated," says Davis of the perfect raw pretzel dough.

Kneading the pretzel dough shouldn't be an overly lengthy affair, taking less than 10 minutes to complete. Davis' top trick for assessing when enough is enough? "When you press the dough lightly with your finger, it should also spring back slowly, showing elasticity," he explains. "This is a key sign of proper dough development that's strong enough to hold shape during pretzel-shaping and baking."

Dela Cruz follows a similar ethos when it comes to the texture of unbaked dough. In her opinion, once the dough no longer feels sticky, you're in the clear. It's also a good indicator that the necessary chemical reactions are complete to help your pretzel retain its structure while baking. "This is a great indication that a strong gluten network has formed, and your dough will be able to capture all of the CO2 released during fermentation," she says.

If you're a perfectionist who likes to go the extra mile when baking to ensure the best result possible, we've got you. Or rather, Hannah Dela Cruz has got you. The baker has plenty of experience producing high-quality pretzel dough and reveals that she uses a simple trick to ensure that it's up to standard: the windowpane test.

This test is used to avoid stumbling into failure with other kinds of bread, too. However, it is primarily used for breads that, like pretzels, don't sit out and rise for hours post-kneading. Dela Cruz uses this test post-kneading to assess whether the dough is ready to move on to the next step, and while it only takes a matter of seconds, it can make a huge difference in ensuring stellar texture. "Gently pinch a portion of your dough with damp fingertips and stretch it out as thin as possible," Dela Cruz says. "If you can see your fingers through the translucent dough, then you've passed the windowpane test. If the dough tears, then you should continue kneading or developing your dough."

Knead, windowpane test, repeat. Simple. Once you've kneaded your dough to the point that it passes the windowpane test, consider that the green light to leave the dough to rest for a while before moving on to what's possibly the toughest part of pretzel-making: shaping your pretzels.

Like most kinds of bread, pretzel dough needs time to let the yeast do its thing. In other words, it needs time to rise. Should you cut this time short, you can say goodbye to soft pretzels and hello to something much more unpleasant. "Pretzels can become too dense or tough if the dough isn't allowed to rise sufficiently before and after shaping," Jonathan Davis points out. "A lack of yeast or not enough water in the dough can also contribute to a tough texture. But we still want them a little chewy! And just one of these mentioned can lead to a too dense or too tough pretzel."

But on the other hand, you don't want to leave this pretzel dough to rise for too long. Hannah Dela Cruz feels passionate about this fact, warning prospective bakers against the risks of over-proofing their pretzels. "Unlike regular bread, pretzels don't need to rise. This imparts the chewy texture and tight crumb that is characteristic of a soft pretzel," she argues. "What seems like a normal proofing time for other types of bread makes pretzels too soft (like dinner rolls) and gives them a wrinkly, dull crust."

Finding the right balance between giving it too much time or not enough time may take some trial and error. However, if your ultimate goal is to achieve instant popularity for your homemade pretzels, it's worth the effort.

It's deceptively easy to accidentally use too much flour when baking any kind of bread. While you may initially follow the recipe to a tee, it's all too tempting to start grabbing extra handfuls to cancel out stickiness or throwing some down onto the countertop once it's time to shape your doughy treat. Take this as your sign to resist the urge — as per Hannah Dela Cruz, it may end up doing more harm than good.

"The best way to shape pretzel dough is to use as little flour as possible," she says. "If your dough has developed a strong gluten network, you shouldn't need bench flour. This allows the dough to grip the surface, too much flour can cause it to slip and slide instead of stretching." If you desperately want to use bench flour, try to limit yourself to a sprinkle and save the rest for your next non-pretzel baking adventure. The alternative is potentially ending up with pretzels that are heavy, stiff, and far inferior to those whipped up by the professionals.

You've kneaded your dough, your alkaline bath is ready, and the oven is preheated, ready to bake your pretzels to salty perfection. The only thing left is the most intimidating step of all: shaping your pretzels. Achieving that knotted shape feels easier said than done, which is why it's best to approach the step with a methodical mindset.

Fortunately, Jonathan Davis has an exact roadmap you can use. "Divide the dough into equal parts by weight," he says to kick things off. Then, you shape the dough pieces into small ovals and allow them to rest for up to 10 minutes, preferably covered with cloth. You then take this dough and shape it into a tapered rope that is slightly thicker in the middle — or, in his words, has a "belly." Next, you'll need to "take the two ends, twist them once, and place them back onto the table." Finally, you "pick up the two ends again and press them on either side of the 'belly' of the rope, which will form your final pretzel shape." Et voilà.

Hannah Dela Cruz follows a similar approach, and has her own advice for nailing the iconic knot. "For the best results, apply downward pressure while gently sliding your palms outward," Dela Cruz says. "Avoid pulling or stretching the dough, as this can cause it to tear or snap back. It also helps to pre-shape the dough into short logs and let them rest for 15 minutes before rolling them out."

We've mentioned alkaline baths multiple times, and for good reason. There's no overstating their importance if you want to improve your pretzel game. It's this process that emphasizes the results of the Maillard reaction — which, in layman's terms, is basically what happens when proteins and sugars are exposed to heat, and the outside of your food begins to brown. Skipping an alkaline bath or not boiling your pretzels for long enough may leave you with edible pretzels, sure, but they'll look nowhere near as impressive as you most likely hoped. "[It] can result in a pale appearance and lack of flavor development," says Jonathan Davis."

As Hannah Dela Cruz stresses, "An alkaline bath is crucial for pretzels." This is true both in terms of appearance and texture. "It helps restrict the rise during baking, maintains the tight crumb structure, and gelatinizes the dough's exterior, giving pretzels their shiny, dark crust," she says. However, if you leave your pretzels to boil in the alkaline bath for too long, you also run the risk of ruining your pretzels in other ways. "The most common mistake is boiling the dough for too long, which results in a thick, tough crust and a gummy texture," she says. Amateur bakers, take note. Nobody ever described their favorite pretzel as "gummy."

While boiling your pretzels, be sure to do so evenly. "Uneven boiling, where some pretzels aren't fully submerged or exposed to inconsistent heat, can also lead to irregular coloring and texture," says Dela Cruz.

Baking is the last hurdle to clear en route to good pretzels. To do so, you should ideally exert as much precision with the temperature as when measuring out ingredients. "Pretzels should be baked at a high temperature, around 400 F to 450 F," says Hannah Dela Cruz. "This helps trigger the Maillard reaction, a chemical process between amino acids and sugars that causes the bread to brown. The high heat speeds up this reaction, allowing the pretzels to develop a deep, golden color quickly, even with a short bake time, so your pretzels end up soft without drying out."

Pretzels may thrive baked at high temperatures, but there is still a limit. As with any baked good, there comes a point when you may as well have tossed your dough straight onto a fire instead for all the damage it can do. "Baking pretzels at too high a temperature or for too long can cause them to darken too quickly, resulting in an exterior that's overdone while the inside remains undercooked," explains Jonathan Davis. "Getting the temperature and timing just right ensures a golden-brown crust and [a] soft, chewy interior."

Over-baking your pretzels is also something to avoid. In Dela Cruz's words, this can "cause them to become too browned and dried out." If "browned" and "dried out" is how you like your pretzels, then go for it. We won't judge (much). Otherwise, we recommend keeping a close eye on the timer while baking.