Vegan Soft Baked Pretzels are a fun homemade appetizer or game day snack! Made with under 10 ingredients, they're cute & delicious dipped in mustard.
Jack here with my second recipe on the Love and Lemons blog. This recipe is one near and dear to my heart – big, doughy, German-style pretzels!
Now, while Germans tend to dip their Laugenbrezel in butter, that’s not how I do it. I dip them in spicy brown mustard. And when we started working with Sir Kensington’s, the first thing I said when I opened up the sample package of Ketchup and Mayonnaise was “Where is the mustard?” Sir Kensington himself has heard my call, and here is the mustard. And its best friend – pretzels.
The traditional recipe for Laugenbrezel is nothing short of terrifying. Why? Because they make the dough, twirl it up and dip it in lye. As in, the stuff that soap used to be made of. As in, the stuff you wear rubber gloves and eyewear to handle. We will not be doing that. But one thing we will be doing – and what does NOT terrify me – is making dough.
Dough has become one of my favorite things to work with. Many of you may not know this, but I’m a software engineer by trade, and I like things to be… measured. When I’m cooking with Jeanine, it’s always “a pinch of this, a splash of that.” Also, Jeanine has a fairly well documented problem with waiting in lines. Well, working with dough is full of exact measurements, and waiting for it to rise may as well be waiting in line to her. So I’ve found my “thing” for the blog now, and my thing is dough.
These pretzels are wonderful and simple, because you’re essentially making fairly standard dough, using baking soda and boiling water to smooth out the outside, then baking it. That’s really about it. The hardest part, probably, is twirling the pretzel. My main modifications from Laugenbrezel are to use maple syrup instead of barley malt syrup, oil instead of butter, and baking soda instead of severe burns and lawsuits (lye).
And of course, serve these wonderful vegan pretzels with your favorite spicy brown mustard. Might we suggest Sir Kensington’s?
Vegan Soft Baked Pretzels
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- ½ package (1/2 tablespoon) active dry yeast
- ¾ cup water (1/4 cup for proofing, ½ cup for dough)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil or canola oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons baking soda (this is for the boiling water NOT the dough)
- 6 cups water, in a pot (for boiling)
- Coarse salt (for sprinkling)
- Proof the yeast: Put ¼ cup warm water, maple syrup, and yeast into a small cup and stir until yeast dissolves. If yeast does not foam, try again with another yeast packet.
- Make the dough: If you have a mixer with a dough hook, put the flour, salt, oil, proofed yeast mixture, and an additional ½ cup of water (for a total of ¾ cups water) into the mixer. Run on medium low for about 5-6 minutes (until the dough pulls away from the bowl). If you don’t have a dough hook, mix and knead dough ingredients for about 8-10 minutes.
- Brush the inside of a large glass bowl with a little bit of oil. Form the dough into a ball and put it in the bowl. Cover and allow the dough to rise for about 40 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
- Uncover your dough and punch it down few times. Really let it have it.
- Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper on it. Set aside.
- Prepare an oiled work surface. Cut the dough into 4 or 6 equal sections (depending on the size you want your pretzels), and roll each out to an approx. 18-24 inches long rope.
- Grab the ends of each dough rope to make a U shape, then form into a pretzel shape.
- Put 6 cups of water into a pot and dissolve the 2 tablespoons of baking soda into the water and bring to a rolling boil.
- Drop pretzels, one at a time, into the pot (get close so it doesn’t splash!). Each should sink a little then rise up. Wait 30 seconds, then lift out using a slotted spoon and place each onto the cookie sheet. While still wet, sprinkle liberally with coarse salt. Take a sharp knife and cut a 4-6 inch slit along the bottom of the pretzel. (This slit will open up during baking).
- Bake for about 14 minutes. Watch them like a hawk – when they’re golden brown, they’re done.
This recipe is built up of some research of multiple recipes, but is mostly based on this recipe from Saveur.
This post is sponsored by Sir Kensington’s. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that keep us cooking!
2 table spoons baking soda? Is that an error? Sounds like a lot for this little dough…Anyway, I’m trying it now with 2 tea spoons baking soda and I’ll let you know how they turn out…great receipe and pictures! Thanks for posting!
The baking soda does not go into the batter for the dough, it goes into the water as a substitute for lye.
So if you’re putting any baking soda into the dough, you’re putting in too much 🙂
Yeah, I just figured it out 😉 Oh, well, I have to read all the instructions next time. I’m making bagels weekly, and the recipe is similar (I use 1 tbsp organic barley malt syrup for those instead of the maple syrup). And that’s why I looked at the ingredient list and just speed read the rest. My fault, sorry for the confusion!
Nevermind, the baking soda goes into the boiling water 🙂
Wow! Thank’s for sharing this recipe! I’m excited to see how they taste different from the German Prezels!
Many greetings from the home of pretzels (or “Brezn” as we call them)
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
These are amazing! I made them yesterday and they are so so good! I was super surprised that they worked for me but they were super easy! Thanks so much they are delicious!
Yay, I’m so glad you liked them!
Oh i will definitely be trying this. I have been looking for good pretzel recipes and this looks like this is my stop 🙂
Hi, these look great! Do you think I could substitute the maple syrup for honey?
I don’t really see a problem with that. As long as you have a mostly-sugar syrup it should be ok. Most traditional recipes call for barley malt syrup, I just know that most people don’t have that.
I love you for this recipe.
I’ve been looking for something like this for my daughters packed lunch. And now I’ve found it.
They are perfect. So easy and so tastefull.
Thank you!
so glad you liked them!
These are out of this world I just want to eat the whole tray. I had every intention of smearing on some nice wholegrain mustard, but dear god straight out of the oven these were so beautiful plain. Also super easy. WIll definitely be making again, am thinking of doubling the next batch and doing half salty half sweet with cinnamon and a bit of sugar.
so glad you liked them! mmm… cinnamon sugar would be so delicious 🙂
Hi, I made these this morning and everything worked so well! 😀 Usually it doesn’t, but your recipe really is great! I used whole wheat and even that worked and well, just: Thank you so much for posting this 😀
Hi Ines, so glad you liked them! Thanks for the tip about whole wheat flour!
Oh my gosh these look incredible! Now I’m craving them!!
Made these last night. I am a HUGE mustard fan, so any excuse to eat it and I’m game! The recipe was easy to follow and although my pretzels turned out a little funkier than yours, they were delicious!
Great recipe. Can you tell me what you think of my website. loupinkitchen.wordpress.com
hi. can i substitute the all purpose flour with a gluten free one? thanks (:
I’m not sure if you can or can’t. The texture of a soft pretzel depends fairly heavily on the glutenous nature of flour, and some gluten free flours are better at approximating this than others.
Let me know if you’re able to get any to work and which ones do, but I’m afraid we can’t give you any real tips one way or the other on this.
Jack is right, I tried to substitute for 1-to-1 gluten free flour and it didn’t work 🙁
But oh man do the gluten-full ones from the recipe look tasty from those pictures!!
Literally drooling! these look delicious, and vegan too. Plus I am a mustrad freak, I could eat that mustard by the spoonful..
The recipe is absolutely perfect! I’ve tried pretzels a couple times and they’ve never come out as well as these, thanks so much!!!
I’m so happy they worked out for you!
I just made these and I have to say I love the recipe. They are very easy and the dough texture is amazing! I look forward to more.
Fantastic! Keep letting us know when our stuff comes out well 🙂
Beautifully!
Ahh…usually I love your blog, but since I’m German I’m a bit shocked about the mustard 🙂
Quick tip, you can use baking soda (1 cup hot water mixed with 2 tbsp. baking soda, spread a bit of it on every pretzel) instead of lye. It’s not absolutely the same, but not as dangerous 🙂
Well you do dough well! These are the cutest, chubbiest, fluffiest pretzels I have ever seen. I can’t imagine how soft and chewy they are on the inside!
Pretzels are literally the key to my heart. Although the ones I’ve had were from the concession stand at football/basketball games and had that preservative laden “cheese” 🙂 I must add that as Jack has posted his second recipe you’ve got to change the “about” page that says he’s only written one post. 🙂
ha! good catch, will do 🙂
Hi there,
Do you think I can make these with oat flour (grinded from rolled oats) instead of all purpose plain flour?
Hi Cher,
It wouldn’t be the same – so I’m not sure, it would definitely take some experimenting.