Wow your guests and break out that bubbly sourdough starter with these soft sourdough pretzels that pair beautifully with beer cheese dipping sauce! Golden brown, chewy texture, with coarse salt sprinkled over them–this recipe is going to be a hit! These guys are perfect for game day or as a potluck appetizer.

Several sourdough pretzels sitting on a wooden cutting board with a bowl of beer cheese dipping sauce.

I am so excited to finally get this recipe out into the universe! This sourdough pretzel is golden brown, brushed with egg wash, and sprinkled with coarse salt for the chewiest and most delicious snack.

This pretzel would pair well with beer cheese or honey mustard, but also does great on its own! Perfect for game day, the Super Bowl, a holiday party, or just a good old-fashioned get-together as we Minnesotans like to call ’em!

You’ll need an active, bubbly (fed) sourdough starter, which helps with the rise and provides the natural fermented yeast (no active dry yeast needed).

No stretching or folding is required for this recipe. You will need to knead the dough, either with your hands or a stand mixer, You’ll then let the dough rise at room temperature for a few hours before transferring to the fridge overnight.

The next day, you’ll roll out the pretzel dough and shape them. These pretzels also require a baking soda bath, which consists of water, baking soda, and brown sugar. This recipe *does not* use lye.

After the baking soda bath, you’ll bake them and in under 20 minutes you’ll have the chewiest, softest sourdough pretzels!

Looking for More Sourdough Recipes?

Ingredients

Active Sourdough Starter – This provides the rise that we need for these pretzels, so it must be active, fed, bubbly sourdough starter.
Warm Water – Not too hot, not too cold. Lukewarm is perfect.
Honey – Regular flavored honey is great here.
Bread Flour – This gives these pretzels their soft, chewy texture. You may use all-purpose flour in a pinch, but it will not yield the same results.
Unsalted Butter – Unsalted butter is what works best in this recipe, but if you only have salted butter, simply add half a teaspoon of extra salt instead of the full teaspoon.
Salt
Baking Soda – This will be poured into the pot of boiling water when you are ready to boil the pretzels the next day right before baking.
Brown Sugar – This will join the baking soda bath for the pretzels. If you don’t have brown sugar, honey also works.
Egg – You’ll beat the egg and add a tablespoon of water to it before brushing it over the pretzels as the egg wash.
Coarse Salt – Sprinkle this over the egg washed pretzels before they go in the oven. It adds that classic soft pretzel flavor and look.

Closeup of one sourdough pretzel with beer cheese and other pretzels in the background.

Step-By-Step Instructions (With Video!)

Sourdough pretzel dough ball being kneaded in a stand machine with a dough hook attachment.

Step One: Combine all ingredients (sourdough starter, warm water, butter, honey, bread flour, and salt) into the bowl of a stand mixer. Knead the ingredients with the dough hook attachment for 7-10 minutes).

Sourdough pretzel dough ball sitting in a metal mixing bowl.

Step Two: You can check if the dough is done by pushing your finger against it. If your finger sticks, it needs a bit more flour (I add a couple of tablespoons at a time until I get the desired results).

If it doesn’t stick, transfer the dough to a medium-sized bowl that has been greased with olive oil. Place plastic wrap or a kitchen towel over the dough ball and let it sit in a warm spot at room temperature for 3-6 hours (or until it’s nearly doubled in size).

Once it rises, transfer the bowl to the fridge where it will ferment overnight (8-24 hours).

Sourdough pretzel dough rolled out and twisted before being twisted again into the pretzel shape.

Step Three: The next day, line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Take out the dough and divide it evenly into 10 dough balls.

I like to use a kitchen scale to measure the total weight of the dough and divide it as evenly by 10. For example, my dough usually weighs around 860 grams, so each dough ball will be 86 grams.

Use your hands to roll out each dough ball until you get a rope that is about 20-24 inches long. I start in the middle with both hands and work my way out as I roll the dough.

While I’m rolling out the other dough balls, I gently press down on the ends of ropes to get them to stick to the counter because the dough loves to spring back and shrink in length.

If you find the dough is too sticky, place a tiny bit of olive oil on your hands and that will prevent the dough from sticking.

Sourdough pretzel dough shaped as a pretzel.

Step Four: Then you will shape pretzels. Start by creating a big U shape with the rope. Then you will cross the two ends of the rope, wrapping them around each other twice.

Flip the ropes and bring them down to the bottom of the U to make the shape of a pretzel.

Place five pretzels on each baking sheet and allow them to rest and puff up for up to an hour.

Three sourdough pretzels being boiled in the baking soda bath.

Step Five: Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

While the pretzels are rising on the baking sheets, prepare the baking soda bath.

Place a large saucepan or medium-sized stockpot with water, baking soda, and brown sugar on medium-high heat over the stove. Allow it to get to a boil.

Boil each pretzel for 30-40 seconds on each side. Depending on the size of the pot, you can boil about 2-3 pretzels at a time.

I use my spider strainer to flip and pick up the pretzels. If they sink to the bottom, gently nudge them with the strainer to bring them back up to floating.

Drain the water as you pick up the pretzels and place them on the baking sheets.

Three sourdough pretzels lay on a parchment paper lined baking sheet as they get brushed with egg wash.

Step Six: In a small bowl, whisk together an egg and the water to make an egg wash. Brush the egg wash over each pretzel and top with a sprinkle of coarse salt or pretzel salt.

Bake the pretzels for 13-18 minutes. I bake both baking sheets at the same time, but I rotate the pans halfway through to ensure the pretzels are all baked evenly.

The pretzels are done when the tops are golden brown.

Let them cool a bit and enjoy with beer cheese or honey mustard!

Top over picture of five sourdough pretzels sitting on a wooden cutting board. A ramekin of beer cheese topped with freshly chopped chives sits next to the pretzels.

Tips for Making the Best Sourdough Soft Pretzels

Oil your hands while managing the dough. The dough can get sticky–especially as it comes to room temperature as you’re rolling and shaping the pretzels. A little olive oil on your hands will help a lot as you roll them and handle them.
When preparing the baking soda bath, add the baking soda and brown sugar before the water starts to boil. Just…just trust me on this, okay? 😉
If you want jumbo pretzels, double the size of the pretzels by making 5 of them instead of 10.