What’s greater than sliced bread? Sliced PRETZEL bread, of course! This idea was stirring in my mind for ages before I finally tried it. Now, I probably make it too often. Nah… not possible!
All I did here was whip up my favorite soft pretzel dough recipe (a piece of cake when using my KitchenAid stand mixer) and shaped into two medium sized loaves. Bake for a little longer than you do for soft pretzels, and {voila!} you have two pretzel loaves!
There’s only one bad thing about this bread. It gets eaten up way too quickly. Between the three of us, we scarf it down. But, that’s largely due to our own lack of self-control. Seriously. Judah gets so excited to help me make the “pehtzel bwead” and then when it’s done, he keeps asking for more and more and more! I’ve learned to keep one loaf out, and immediately freeze the other to try and reduce our immediate consumption. 🙂
Stay tuned for an upcoming post on one of my favorite ways to use this bread…
- 4 Tablespoons butter , melted
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt , plus more for topping
- 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees F)
- 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
- 22 ounces (about 4 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil (nonstick) spray, for pan and bowl
- 10 cups water
- 2/3 cups baking soda
- 1 large egg yolk , beaten with 1 Tablespoon water (for egg wash)
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In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter, sugar, salt and 1 1/2 cups warm water. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Add the flour and mix with the dough hook attachment on low speed. Once the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix for another 4 to 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Remove the dough from the bowl, wipe the bowl and then spray with the vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, turning once to cover both sides with the oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for approximately 45-50 minutes, or until doubled in size.
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Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and adjust the oven rack to the lower third of the oven. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with vegetable oil; set aside. (Alternatively, you can use a silicone liner with no spray.)
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Turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface or pastry mat. Divide into two equal halves. Shape into loaves and place side by side onto the lined baking sheet. Cover lightly with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
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Bring the 10 cups of water to a boil in a large sauce pan or stock pot, then add the baking soda.
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Carefully place one loaf in the boiling water for 30 to 40 seconds, turning once. Use a large slotted spoon or spatula to remove from the water and return to the pan. Repeat with second loaf. Brush the top of each loaf with the egg wash then sprinkle with kosher salt. Use a sharp knife to score a shallow "X" on the top of each loaf.
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Bake in the preheated oven until dark golden brown and the sound of tapping the loaf is hollow (approximately 20 to 25 minutes.) Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
If you do not plan to consume the bread the same day, then I would suggest freezing immediately after they hit room temperature. The more fresh they are when you freeze them, the better. Throw them in a freezer bag and freeze up to 1 month. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 to 10 minutes (until heated through). This is what I do, and they taste just as fresh!
Just checking before I attempt this, you don’t need to let yeast sit, just add it then add flour?
Thank you, looking forward to trying this
That’s right. 🙂 The beauty of instant yeast.
I made this last weekend and it turned out great. This weekend I am going to try to use this dough and make hamburger buns!
Thanks, Jeremy! Glad you liked it! I use this dough for buns all the time with great results. ENJOY!
Seriously, what could be better than this? I’d love a warm loaf with butter. But then I’d never leave the house.
This looks so good! I will be making this soon! Looking forward to seeing your favorite way of using it!
This looks awesome!! Love this idea!
I’m trying to watch the carbs so of course this looks so amazing. How do you stay so tiny! This bread is gorgeous.
I’ve been really disappointed with the pretzel bread sandwiches at Sheetz, so I’m going to give this a try. It’s got to be better homemade, right? :0)
Oh man, this needs to happen in my kitchen. I bet it makes one mean grilled cheese sandwich.
ding ding ding!!! 😉
Or even an awesome tuna melt!! Great looking loaf..
Wow, this pretzel breaf sounds fantastic! Is this the same dough as those large soft pretzels and can this dough recipe be used to make some bread sticks? I have never made a pretzel dough before and have only recently tried a soft pretzel….a lot different than the bagged crunchy pretzels!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! :). 🙂
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Lee Ann H
Hi Lee Ann,
Yep! This is made using soft pretzel dough. You could most definitely make it into breadsticks! At least, that’s one of the ways I’m going to try next! 🙂
Pretzel rolls are probably one of my favorite rolls so this sounds magical. Less work = a happier me. But me being me, I’d probably convince myself that the loaf is just a big roll and therefore eat it like a roll. In one sitting. Bad girl!
I made two loaves this afternoon and you are right, they are so delicious! Visually, mine don’t look nearly as good as yours (I’m still a bit of a bread novice), but I’m still happy with the final result. Cheers!
I am sure that all you need to make your loafs just as pretty is slicing an “X” in the middle of the loaf and then when it bakes it makes a pretty design in the middle. I will be trying this soon! Looks and sounds AMAZING.
bookmarked!!!
I saw this on PInterest and made it last night. HOLY YUM.
This was easy to make and so incredibly yummy.
I linked your blog from mine so I could share this great recipe.
Seriously amazing. Thank you!
I made this today and it was incredible! It was so easy to make. Well, except getting the loaves out of the boiling water. I served it with sweet potato soup and it was delicious! Thanks for a great recipe.
hi, i’m from malaysia. i would like to ask why do you put the loaf in the boiling water (water + baking soda)? can we omit this process? thanks….
Hi Ivy,
I would not eliminate this step because the baking soda bath affects the flavor and the color. If you skip it, you end up with just regular baked bread.
Can u make this in a bread maker?
Hi Tanya,
I have never used a bread maker for any recipe, so I’m the wrong person to ask! Sorry!
You can make the dough using the bread maker but the key that makes this pretzel dough and different than regular bread is the boiling water. so no, you cannot do this start to finish in a bread maker.
You should be able to use just the dough setting on a bread machine, it mixes, kneads, and lets rise without being removed, it will beep and then it’s ready for the water bath. I plan to try this out tonight.
Just wondering if this’d work with regular yeast and how I’d have to adapt the recipe?
I’ve used regular yeast a lot-yes, you can use it with regular yeast. normally you let the yeast, water, sugar “proof” (ie, sit) for 5 minutes. Make sure it bubbles up, then proceed as normal. May need extra rising time for both times but otherwise it will work the same.
actually went ahead and experimented with that not long after I posted. Works great with the adjustment. Such great bread.
Loved this! So easy just to boil 2 loaves, instead of numerous rolls. I especially liked it as the base for grilled cheese.
How would you suggest making this without a stand mixer?
Hi Collette, You can just prepare the dough with a wooden spoon and then knead it with your hands.
I made this bread yesterday and it turned out fabulous! I always dread the boiling step for some reason, but it was so easy only having to boil two loaves rather than a bunch of pretzels or tons of pretzel bites. We used these to make grilled cheese on the panini press with beer cheese and it was a delicious combination!
Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks, Stephanie! I also like boiling only two loaves. Much quicker! 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it.
I followed the recipe, but the loaves completely fell apart when getting them out of the baking soda bath water. I scooped it out and continued on anyways hoping they would taste ok. But, the overwhelming taste of baking soda after baking made these completely inedible.
Do you fold the edges under in order to form into the loaf? I did not do that and the dough just flattened out into an oval and it wasn’t very high. I think it didn’t do very well mixing with the hook for some reason and I probably should’ve kneaded it a bit before letting it rise. It was still pretty sticky.
Hi Misty. The dough will be tacky, not sticky. If it’s too sticky, you can gradually add more flour until its the desired tackiness (pulls away from the bowl). Different climates and different days will make various results for this step. I do fold edges under when shaping my dough, but very carefully so as to not pull too much on the rest of the loaf (if that makes sense). This loaf isn’t a very high loaf to begin with, but maybe these tips will help. 🙂
I want to use this as a bread bowl for a dip. I plan to put the dip into a bowl and set it inside the pretzel loaf. Are the loads large enough to do this or should I consider combining the 2 loafs into one?
Hi Andrew! I wouldn’t combine into one large loaf because I think one of the two would be large enough and then you can dice the other one up for dipping. 🙂
Is there a recipe out there for pretzel bread that can be made (mixed and baked) in a bread machine?