Homemade Everything Bagel Pretzels

Their name may be a mouthful. But make ‘em once and you’ll crave these tasty homemade everything bagel pretzels again and again. These are a tasty twist on homemade pretzels, with full-of-flavor everything bagel seasoning + flaky sea salt.

Homemade pretzels had long intimated me. The baking soda bath sounded complicated, but let me tell you – that step was easy peasy! As simple as bringing water + baking soda to a boil and popping the pretzels in there for 30 seconds each before baking. Easy stuff here, you guys.

And the soft interior with the golden chewy crust of these homemade everything bagel pretzels are SO worth the extra few minutes. These really do come together in 30 or so minutes, with a 15 minute bake time.

And no need for fancy equipment, here! I mixed with a wooden spoon and hand kneaded the dough for three minutes. I promise- you’ve got this! These pretzels will be ready to dip in no time.

Need a good cheese sauce recipe? Make my Beer Cheese Sauce, or try my Skinny Queso recipe!

What you’ll need to make homemade everything bagel pretzels:

• Active Dry Yeast. I just used the ready packets here, like these.

• Flour. Regular old all-purpose will do! Make sure to lightly scoop into your measuring cup and scrape the top, to get an accurate amount of flour. As your flour sits in the canister, it can settle. Which would alter your results a bit. Always measure with loose (not compacted) flour.

• Brown sugar + unsalted butter.

• Baking soda – you’ll add half a cup of the stuff to 9 cups of water for the baking soda jacuzzi that our pretzels will soak in before baking.

• One beaten egg for the egg wash – this will give our pretzels a nice finished touch. So soft and chewy on the inside, and the perfect golden brown outside.

• Everything bagel seasoning. I buy this one made by Trader Joe’s! It definitely gives these pretzels an out of this world flavor that you have to try!

So as you can see with the list above, these homemade everything bagel pretzels can be made with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry. Don’t be afraid, get in there and make some deliciousness appear right in your very kitchen.

Ultimate tips for making homemade everything bagel pretzels:

• You’ll first whisk your yeast into warm water to activate it. This step is like waking the yeast up, helping it get ready to work.

• Next, you’ll stir in your flour with a wooden spoon. Like I said, no fancy equipment needed today! Make sure to loosely scoop your flour into measuring cups to get an accurate read. Too much flour will result in a tough pretzel. So give it a stir in the canister and scoop into the measuring cup, making sure not to pack it in.

• Kneading– if you’ve never done it, don’t fret- it’s very easy! You’re just “working the dough” and handling it with a heavy hand in order to develop the gluten. If you need an example, this video here is a quick lesson.

• Once kneaded, let your dough rise for 12 minutes in a bowl, covered with a towel. I usually preheat my oven at this point and place my bowl nearby so it’s guaranteed to be in a warm area.

• While it’s working it’s magic, bring 9 cups of water + 1/2 cup baking soda to a boil. This is important! The baking soda step gelatinizes the surface of the pretzel dough, helping it to have that distinct pretzel crust and flavor.

• Once that’s done, you’ll place your dough on a lightly floured work surface. Then, cut your dough into 12 equal pieces. If you flatten it into a disk, you can slice it with a pizza cutter like spokes of a wheel.

• Roll each piece into roughly an 18-20 inch piece with your hands. Just like making a snake out of play doh. It really is that easy you guys! If you’re having trouble rolling, try moistening your hands a bit to have more grasp on the dough as you roll. Put some pressure on each side as you roll, as if you’re pushing the opposite ends apart.

• To fold into pretzels, grab an end in each hand and form a circle with plenty of length leftover at your ends. Give it a twist and press the ends into the bottom of the circle. This video here shows how easy the technique is!

• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. You’ll pop each formed pretzel into the baking soda bath for 30 seconds and then right onto the lined baking sheet. You should be able to fit 6 on each sheet.

• Brush pretzels with a beaten egg wash. The fats in the egg will help the finished pretzel crust be even more golden and delicious! I wasn’t sure that was possible, but I tested a batch with and without the egg wash, and the egg-washed homemade everything bagel pretzels were even better!

• Top with the everything bagel seasoning and some coarse pretzel salt, or coarse flaked sea salt. Bake for 15 minutes.

Serve and dip into my homemade beer cheese sauce, or mustard!

Goodbye hectic mall parking lots and boring mall pretzels, hello shopping amazon from your couch and making homemade everything bagel pretzels! Easier than they you’d think and absolutely delish. Make ‘em once and you’ll see!