Soft Sourdough Beer Pretzels

These dark brown, salty, and slightly bitter sourdough beer pretzels get their tangy flavor from a combination of dark beer and sourdough starter. They're a great easy weekend baking project and excellent snack for game day TV watching, picnics, and just-for-fun.

I like these best in a classic pretzel shape but I've tested this dough with so many shapes; you really can't go wrong. I've included notes in the post below for how to make different shapes and different boiling and baking times too so you can really get creative and make whatever shape of sourdough beer pretzels you like best.

Given how much my husband loves pretzels (it's his family's #1 snack), it's honestly shocking that's taken this long to get a pretzel recipe up on the site (he loves my pretzel bagel recipe, but they're just not the same as real pretzels).

He also loves craft beer — he's always trying new beer flavors and brands and has a massive collection of interesting beer bottle caps that he swears he's going to do something with someday. So for me, a recipe for soft sourdough beer pretzels was really about combining two of his favorite things.

I usually serve these with my raspberry honey mustard pretzel dip. The sweet-tart-tangy flavors pair so well with the sour beer flavors of the pretzels!

🥨 About This Pretzel Recipe

I've had some bad pretzel making experiences before, so I used my favorite reliable sourdough discard pretzel recipe as a starting point for my own recipe. I've adapted the instructions and ingredients to accommodate the beer and make the dough a little easier to handle.

Instead of five pretzels, this sourdough beer pretzel recipe makes six respectably medium-large sized soft pretzels.

I also added a short autolyse stage (a 10 minute rest for the starches in the flour to hydrate) before adding the salt which gives the dough a little more structure and strength as you roll and shape it.

This sourdough discard pretzel dough is really smooth and soft and elastic and just a dream to work with. Like I said, I've had so-so luck with other pretzel recipes before, but this soft sourdough beer pretzel dough never lets me down.

It's easy to shape and roll; not so sticky that it sticks to your counter, but sticky enough to stick to itself when you're shaping it.

The combination of the dark beer and sourdough flavor with the baking soda bath gives the crust just the right amount of pretzel-y bitterness.

The baking soda solution is a no frills situation, too. Just a single dip in a mixture of simmering baking soda and water — no need for baked baking soda or a complicated boiling-then-rinsing set up.

🍺 Ingredient Notes

Here's what you'll need to make these soft sourdough beer pretzels. The ingredients are all pretty easy to find, nothing too fancy! See recipe card for quantities.

• Sourdough Starter or Sourdough Discard - You can use sourdough discard that hasn't been fed for a few days, or you can use recently fed starter that is at its peak. A more active sourdough starter will give you slightly more rise in the finished pretzels while a more mature (unfed) discard starter will give you a stronger sourdough flavor. My preference is to use starter that's been fed at least 48-72 hours earlier.
• Beer - The darker the beer the more flavor you'll get. I like using a double IPA if we have one, but I'm really not picky. I've used all sorts of beers in this recipe and they all work just fine.
• Butter - A little bit of melted butter helps make this sourdough beer pretzel dough super soft and tender.
• Flour - Regular all purpose flour is just fine here. Bread flour can also work, but you may need to dust in more flour during the kneading stage if the dough seems sticky.
• Salt - I use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt which is half as salty as other brands. If measuring by weight, it doesn't matter what brand of salt you use. But if you're measuring by volume and using a different brand of salt, even a different brand of kosher salt, cut the amount of salt in half.
• Instant Yeast - This recipe uses instant yeast (sometimes called rapid-rise yeast) for a fast, reliable rise. Scientifically speaking, the sourdough starter and beer are mostly here to provide flavor. While they can help with rising in some recipes, that's not really the case here. See FAQ below for what to do if you only have active dry yeast.
• Water - You'll need 2 tablespoons of water to mix with salt before adding to the dough, and then more water for the baking soda bath.
• Baking soda - Make sure you have enough baking soda on hand before you begin!
• Egg - Mix with 1 teaspoon water and a pinch of salt to make the egg wash.
• Pretzel salt - Pretzel salt is a bright white coarse grain salt. It holds its shape well and is slower to absorb moisture from your baked goods than other types of salt.

If you don't have sourdough starter: Replace the starter with 56 grams of water (or beer) and 56 grams of flour! You'll lose some of the tangy sourdough flavor, but the recipe will still work.

🥣 Instructions

Start by mixing the sourdough starter (or sourdough discard) and the lukewarm beer together in the bowl of a stand mixer.

The starter doesn't need to dissolve completely, but it'll be easier to mix with the dough if you can break it up a bit.

Then add the melted butter followed by the flour and yeast. Don't pour the melted butter right onto the yeast or vice versa — the heat from the butter can kill the yeast.

Mix with a sturdy spatula or a dough hook just until it starts to form a shaggy, messy dough.

While the dough is resting, mix the salt and two tablespoons of water together in a small bowl and set aside. Dissolving the salt in water before adding it to the dough makes it easier to incorporate evenly.

When the 10 minutes are up, drizzle the salt water over the dough and use your hands to pinch and fold the dough (image 2) over itself until the salt water is incorporated (image 3).

Then use the dough hook to knead the dough for four to five minutes. The dough should be smooth and elastic to the touch (image 4).

Shape the dough into a ball, cover and let rest in a warm spot for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The warmer the dough is, the faster it will rise.

🔪 Pre-Shaping Pretzel Dough

When it comes to shaping pretzels, learning how to make those distinctive loop-de-loop twists is just half of the process. Rolling a long rope of pretzel dough can be harder than it looks!

Cover the pre-shaped logs of dough with a damp paper towel while you shape the other ones.

Letting the dough rest before rolling gives the gluten strands time to relax and get used to this new shape. And covering them with a paper towel prevents the dough from forming a skin which will tear when you try to roll it.

This extra pre-shaping step doesn't take long. And because you've already told the gluten strands what shape you want them in, the pretzel dough will be so much easier to roll into a long rope.

🥨 How to Shape Classic Soft Pretzels

Don't let the multiple loop-de-loops and twists of a classic soft pretzel shape intimidate you. Even if you've never made pretzels before, it's a lot easier to pull off than you think. Definitely less tricky than learning to tie your shoes.

Once the pretzels are shaped, gently transfer them to a lined sheet pan. The next step is boiling them and they're fragile.

You don't want to have to carry each pretzel across your kitchen to the stove. Put them all on the sheet pan you'll bake them on and carry them over so they're easy to lift into the water.

🌡️ Boiling & Baking

Boiling pretzels in an alkaline solution is what gives them their signature shiny brown crusts.

If you don't boil them in an alkaline solution, they're not pretzels. I'm sorry, but that's just the rules.

Professional pretzel making operations use food grade lye in their alkaline solutions. You and I are baking a mere 6 soft sourdough beer pretzels out of our home kitchens. We are not going to mess around with food grade lye. Baking soda is good enough for us!

Combine the baking soda and water in a wide, high-sided skillet and bring it to a low boil.

Boil each pretzel for 45 seconds. You can do one or two (or even three) at a time, depending on how big your skillet is, how big your pretzels are, and how confident you're feeling.

What happens if you don't boil pretzels? They won't have the shiny, deeply browned classic pretzel crust. Boiling them in a baking soda bath gelatinizes the crust and creates a chemical reaction that makes pretzels... pretzels.

Use a medium-to-large wire spider to remove the pretzels from the baking soda bath and back onto the lined sheet pan.

Once the pretzels are boiled, it's time to add the best part: pretzel salt.

I love pretzel salt. Like a true, bright white, super dense and crunchy, extremely salty pretzel salt. Yum.

Brush the pretzels with egg wash and sprinkle generously with pretzel salt.

(You could also top these with everything bagel seasoning, shredded cheese, or skip the salt and brush them with a mixture of melted cinnamon sugar and butter when they're still warm from the oven instead!)

The egg wash doesn't just help the pretzel salt stick. It also helps the pretzel crust brown in the oven.

If you skip it, the crust will be more matte in texture and won't have that classic shiny brown pretzel color.

That said, if you have an egg allergy or egg intolerance, you can skip the egg wash and the salt will still stick. You just won't get that deep brown pretzel color and shiny crust.

📋 Other Pretzel Shapes

This sourdough beer pretzel dough is very all-purpose in terms of pretzel shapes. You can divide the dough up and make lots of different shapes from one batch, or make one batch with all one shape.

1. Fat pretzel rods: Roll a 16” rope without tapered ends. Cut in half and roll the ends gently to even them out.
2. Pretzel bites or pretzel nuggets: Roll a long rope about 1” thick without tapered ends, cut it in half, then cut each half into halves about 2" long.
3. Thin pretzel rods: Roll a ½” thick rope, split it in half lengthwise and roll each half ¼” thick. Cut each rope in half for pretzels that are about 8-10" long.
4. Pretzel twists: Roll a 16” long rope about ½" thick. Cut it in half. Make an X shape and twist the two ropes from the center out. Pinch the ends together.

The baking temperature remains the same for all of the shapes.

⏲️ Storage & Freezing

The unfortunate truth of soft pretzels, even these soft sourdough discard beer pretzels, is that they're best eaten within 24 hours.

After 24 hours the pretzel salt starts to pull moisture out of the dough, leaving you with dry, shriveled pretzels.

If you're not going to eat them all immediately, let them cool completely, then freeze in an airtight bag. To reheat, pop them in a 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes.

👩🏻‍🍳 Practical Tips & Recipe Notes

• If you only have active dry yeast, increase the amount to 4 grams and stir it in with the starter and beer. Give it 3-5 minutes to hydrate before you add the flour and butter.
• The ratio of the baking soda bath is ⅓ cup baking soda for every 5 cups water. Depending on the size of your pot you may need to increase the amount of water bath you have. The water should be deep enough for the pretzels to float. Keeping the ratio consistent is important — too little baking soda and you'll end up with something closer to bagels. Too much baking soda and the pretzels will have an unpleasantly soapy taste instead of a delicious sourdough and beer pretzel taste.
• I finished these with a true pretzel salt, but I also did a batch with Maldon Flaky Sea Salt which looks like giant crystallized pyramids and is equally good. The pretzel salt holds up better a day or two after baking, while the more delicate flaky salt tends to absorb into the pretzels within 24 hours.
• A large wire spider makes it so much easier to remove the pretzels from the baking soda bath when they're done. They're pretty fragile at this stage, using a slotted spoon will cut into the delicate dough and won't provide enough support.
• If the pretzel ends come unstuck from the curve of the U in the baking soda bath, don't panic. Just brush a little egg wash under them and stick them down again before baking.
• This recipe was adapted from the Cookie Madness blog. That recipe doesn't use beer, so if you'd rather not use beer I recommend using that recipe instead.

📖 Recipe