Gluten Free Soft Pretzels, just like everybody else’s Soft Pretzels, Bavarian Pretzels, Ball Park Pretzels, and Pretzel Bread … can be the same knots of delicious, soft, salted bread you remember!
The best part? With gfJules #1-rated gluten free flour, you can make gluten free soft pretzels anytime you like!
Remember those ball park soft pretzels, still warm when the vendor handed them to you with tongs?
Sprinkled with copious amounts of salt, smeared with mustard … just the thought of those treats transports me back to so many fond summer memories.
The taste and aroma of these amazingly soft, chewy gluten free pretzels will create all sorts of new fond memories. Double this recipe if you care to share!
Don’t skip the baking soda bath step. It’s crucial to getting the pretzels to be pretzel-y, rather than bread-y.
The alkaline bath created by adding baking soda to the water for boiling helps to create a slight skin on the pretzels which prevents them from puffing up like mad when you bake them afterwards.
Brushing with oil or egg before the final bath also gives them the sheen you need in a real soft pretzel.
The steps aren’t complicated, but they are important to making great gluten free soft pretzels!
This recipe is easily doubled, but remember: gluten free soft pretzels, just like wheat soft pretzels, are best enjoyed fresh. Next day soft pretzels just aren’t the same.
And in case you were wondering … yes! This recipe makes fantastic gluten free pretzel hot dogs (aka pigs in a blanket).
This photo, thanks to customer Tim Viets, shows just how yummy these gluten free hot dog pretzels turn out when you follow the directions just as written, except you wrap the dough around a hot dog first.
Tim says he takes time to dry the hot dogs off well first, then wraps the gluten free pretzel dough around the hot dog, wetting the ends to make sure he can press it together well to help it stick.
Then he rises the them in the oven and dips them in the soda bath (remember that crucial step!), then brushes them with melted butter, sprinkles with salt, and bakes!
However you choose to shape your gluten free soft pretzels, happy gluten free pretzel making!
Homemade Soft Pretzels Gluten Free Recipe
Homemade gluten free soft pretzels make you feel like you're at the ball game any time of day, any day of the year!
Ingredients
- 7 Tbs. room temperature gluten free beer OR club soda OR 7UP
- 1 tsp. granulated cane sugar
- 1 package rapid rise/bread machine yeast, gluten free (e.g. Fleishmann's or Red Star
- 1 egg (or egg substitute like 1 Tbs. flaxseed meal steeped in 3 Tbs. warm water)
- 1 Tbs. honey or agave nectar
- 1 1/3 cup + 2 Tbs. (197 gr.) gfJules All Purpose Gluten Free Flour
- 3/4 tsp. sea salt
- oil for brushing on top of soft pretzels
- (1/4 cup baking soda for soda bath)
- coarse sea salt, sesame seeds, or other toppings of choice
Instructions
In a small bowl, mix liquid, sugar and yeast and let stand for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg and honey with the proofed yeast mixture. Slowly stir in the dry ingredients. Beat on low speed of an electric mixer for one minute, or until well-blended. If the dough is dry, add an additional 1 tablespoon gluten free beer or soda and mix well. The dough should hold together well without being overly sticky.
Turn dough out onto a clean surface or pastry mat very lightly dusted withgfJules™ All Purpose Gluten Free Flour. Divide dough into 4 even balls, then begin to gently roll each into long, skinny logs approximately 1/2 – 3/4 inch in diameter.
Take both ends of each log and twist into the middle.
Gently dab water under each of the ends of the twist to help them stick together, or they may release during the boil. Lay each pretzel onto a parchment-paper lined baking sheet.
Use a pastry brush to dust off any excess flour, then liberally brush the pretzels with more water. Cover with a damp cloth and proof for 10-15 minutes in a warm place like an oven preheated to 200° F, then turned off.
Preheat the oven to 375° (static) or 350° (convection).
Prepare a soda bath in a narrow, but tall pan, as the soda will make the water frothy. Add 1/4 cup baking soda to 6-8 cups of water (you can also add the remaining beer from the open bottle, if you like) and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir until the soda is completely dissolved.
Once the soda bath has achieved a rolling boil, gently submerge pretzels individually into the bath for 15-30 seconds on each side.
Remove with a slotted spoon or skimmer, drain and return the pretzels to the parchment-lined baking sheet.
Brush the boiled pretzels lightly with oil or egg wash (1 egg whisked with 2 tablespoons water) to help them brown, and top with coarse sea salt or other toppings.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until light golden brown. Do not over-bake!
Serve warm with your favorite gluten free mustard!
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Could this recipe be used to make small pretzel buns?
If so any suggestions? Thanks
Hi Kathleen, I know other readers have done so, and I don’t think the modifications are complicated, but I haven’t done it myself. The dough would be the same, the only difference would be the amount of bake time in the oven since the bun would require more time to cook through than the pretzel itself. Depending on the size you make, probably in the neighborhood of around 15 or so minutes. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
~jules
First of all Jules- full disclosure: I didn’t have any of your flour so I used King Arthur gf. The pretzels tasted good but fell apart in the soda bath. I did follow your directions carefully but dough was so soft I could barely roll each one out to twist. Help
Also forgot to add that I used Aquafaba powder for egg…wondering if that was the culprit.
Hi Shelley, hopefully you could still enjoy some gluten free soft pretzel BITES even though they fell apart in the soda bath!!
There are probably a couple issues with the ingredients that caused them not to hold together, so don’t worry: it wasn’t you and it’s fixable!!
First off, the flour. My gfJules Flour has ingredients that give dough stretch and help to hold gluten free doughs together much better than others, so I’m sure that was the main thing. Here’s more about the difference between different gluten free flours to explain what to expect.
As for aquafaba, that probably did affect it somewhat; maybe try flaxseed meal and water next time and see if that makes a difference. Sometimes different egg replacers just work better in different recipes than in others. Here’s an article on egg replacements for you.
Hope that helps for next time!!
~jules
These are wonderfully delicious and easy to make. I used the 7Up and honey as you suggested. These are definitely going on my must-have list. I am a disabled veteran and wheelchair-bound, yet had no problems. They were actually fun to make! Thank you for this recipe.
I’m so happy you loved this recipe, Mark, and also that it was so easy to make! Hopefully that means you’ll make them again soon!!!
Thank you for taking the time to let me know how much you enjoyed the recipe, and thank you for your service to our country!
~jules
Amazing!
These am turned out soooo good. And they were easy for the kids to help.
So fantastic – I’m thrilled that you got your kids involved, too! Making memories AND awesome gluten free pretzels! WIN WIN!
~jules
Just made this recipe tonight along with an easy dipping sauce. My husband said the only bad thing was that I only made 4! My whole family LOVED these. What a treat as we’ve missed soft pretzels. Soft on the inside- nice and chewy on the outside. AND, quite quick and simple to make which is an added bonus. I think these would be great sliced in half and used as a pretzel bun for hot sandwiches.
As a FYI- It was a last minute decision to make these and I did not have GF beer on hand. In its place I used 7UP and it worked wonderfully! No- you do not get any lemon-lime flavor in the pretzel. I will definitely try these with the beer when I have some, but I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to use 7UP again.
Will definitely make these again- probably tomorrow!
SO happy you went for it, even without the gluten free beer! Smart idea to sub with the 7Up and so glad it worked out! Oh and yes, I agree about the pretzel bun idea – I keep meaning to try that sometime but we never have enough left from a recipe because we all just devour them as gluten free soft pretzels! I need to be intentional and make them as gluten free pretzel buns next time. 🙂
Thanks much for letting me know how much you all enjoyed the recipe! Happy baking!
~jules