These sourdough soft pretzels are made with leftover sourdough starter discard and served with a creamy homemade beer cheese dip. They're soft, chewy and surprisingly easy to make!
Why This Recipe Works
These soft pretzels are super easy to make and require minimal hands on time! Since we use commercial yeast to help out the sourdough starter, they only have to rise for an hour!
There's a two step cooking process involving boiling the pretzels in baking soda and then baking in the oven, that yields super chewy soft pretzels with the perfect texture!
This recipe make 8 medium sized pretzels, but it's super easy to make them larger or smaller. Or cut them into pretzel bites, or homemade pretzel buns!
Ingredient Notes
Don’t have a sourdough starter? Never fear! Just check out my Sourdough Guide for all my tips and tricks!
- Sourdough starter - I typically use leftover sourdough discard to make these buns because I always need to use up extra discard, but ripe sourdough starter works just as well! This recipe uses a little bit of yeast to help it rise, so the sourdough is just for that tangy flavor.
- Bread Flour - I use bread flour to make the pretzels a little bit chewier, but you can easily substitute all purpose flour. You just made need 2-3 extra tablespoons of flour.
- Instant Yeast - The yeast helps the dough rise so that we can use sourdough discard. But I've included notes at the end of the recipe for making these sourdough pretzels without yeast!
- Whole Milk - The whole milk helps add flavor to the pretzels, but you can substitute skim milk or water if necessary.
- Non-diastatic malt powder - You can leave this out if you can't get your hands on it, but I highly recommend it! Non-diastatic malt powder gives pretzels and bagels their distinct flavor and shiny crust.
- Pretzel salt - This is a MUST! Pretzel salt doesn't dissolve when it gets slightly wet or melt in the oven, so those big beautiful crystals are still intact after baking. A big container of pretzel salt will last you a long time so you can make sourdough pretzels and buns as much as you want!
- Cheddar Cheese - I love a good white cheddar cheese for the beer cheese dip, but it's also delicious with Swiss cheese, Gouda, or a combination of all three!
- Beer - I recommend using some type of amber ale for the beer cheese for optimal flavor! But you can use whatever beer is your favorite! I prefer Greenman ESB or New Belgium Fat Tire. But I've also used Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest, Yuengling, and other local brews and they all taste great!
- Cayenne Pepper - The cayenne adds a little kick to the beer cheese, but just reduce it or omit it completely for a less spicy dip.
Making the Dough
For all of my sourdough recipes, I measure the ingredients in grams. If you don't have a kitchen scale, I highly recommend getting one! They have tons of super affordable ones on Amazon that work great!
Using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, combine all dough ingredients and mix on a low speed until the dough comes together as a smooth cohesive mass (5-10 minutes but variable by machine). The dough should be slightly sticky. If it's too dry and won't come together, add an additional tablespoon or two of milk.
Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour; it will rise minimally.
Shaping the Pretzels
Turn the dough out onto your work surface (you shouldn't need to flour your work surface) and fold 2-3 times to gently deflate it. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Each piece should weigh about 100 grams.
Take your first piece and roll into a rope that's about ½ inch wide and roughly 20 inches long. Make the dough rope into a large U shape, then twist the ends of the rope together 2 times. Pull the twisted ends down to the bottom of the U and press firmly to make the classic pretzel shape.
Boiling the Pretzels
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add in 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Boil the pretzels for 45 seconds on each side and then place on your lined baking sheet. You will only be able to boil about 3 pretzels at a time.
Do not skip this step! It might seem unnecessary, but this is what gives the sourdough pretzels that signature look and texture.
Bake the Pretzels
Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse pretzel salt and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
While the pretzels are baking, make the beer cheese!
Making the Beer Cheese
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add in the flour and whisk together until smooth and there are no more flour clumps. Let the roux cook for 1-2 minutes.
Then slowly add in the beer while stirring constantly until fully combined into a smooth sauce. Add in the cheese, garlic, and spices and stir until the cheese is fully melted.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week and reheat in 30 second intervals in the microwave.
Tip: Spend a couple extra minutes and buy a block of cheddar cheese and shred it yourself. Pre-shredded cheese contains additives that keep it from clumping together in the bag, which also prevents the cheese from melting smoothly.
Recipe FAQ's
These soft pretzels are best eaten the same day. But they will keep covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Nope! You can also use ripe sourdough starter in this recipe.
Absolutely! It will just extend the rising time of the dough. After kneading the dough in your mixer, place in a covered bowl and let rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Then place in the fridge and let the dough continue rising overnight (up to 48 hours). Follow the rest of the recipe as instructed.
Boiling the dough causes it to instantly puff up, creating a chewy interior and helps the outside crisp up while baking. The baking soda also helps the pretzels become a dark, golden brown.
More Sourdough Recipes You Might Like
If you make this recipe, please leave a star rating at the bottom of the page! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers. And if you want more delicious, scratch-made recipes you can subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Sourdough Soft Pretzels and Beer Cheese
Ingredients
Sourdough Pretzels
- 227 grams sourdough starter discard
- 361 grams bread flour
- 170 grams whole milk
- 1 tablespoon non-diastatic malt powder, optional
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons baking soda, for boiling
- pretzel salt, for topping
Beer Cheese
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 236 grams beer, I recommend an amber ale but choose your favorite!
- 227 grams white cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
- ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Sourdough Pretzels
- Using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, combine all dough ingredients (starter, flour, milk, sugar, yeast, salt, and butter) and mix on a low speed until the dough comes together as a smooth cohesive mass (5-10 minutes but variable by machine). The dough should be slightly sticky. If it's too dry and won't come together, add an additional tablespoon or two of milk.
- Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour; it will rise minimally.
- Turn the dough out onto your work surface (you shouldn't need to flour your work surface) and fold 2-3 times to gently deflate it. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (about 100 grams each). Take your first piece and roll into a rope that's about ½ inch wide and roughly 20 inches long. Make the dough rope into a large U shape, then twist the ends of the rope together 2 times. Pull the twisted ends down to the bottom of the U and press firmly to make the classic pretzel shape.
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add in 2 tablespoons of baking soda. Boil the pretzels for 45 seconds on each side and then place on your lined baking sheet. You will only be able to boil about 3 pretzels at a time. Do not skip this step! It might seem unnecessary, but this is what gives the pretzels that signature look and texture.
- Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse pretzel salt and bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. While the pretzels are baking, make the beer cheese.
Beer Cheese
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
- Add in the flour and whisk together until smooth and there are no more flour clumps. Let the roux cook for 1-2 minutes and then slowly add in the beer while stirring constantly until fully combined into a smooth sauce.
- Add in the cheese, garlic, and spices and stir until the cheese is fully melted.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week and reheat in 30 second intervals in the microwave.
Lilly says
These pretzels are so delish! Thanks for the recipe!
Katie Youngs says
I love making soft pretzels with my kids. They loved this recipe. Especially the cheese sauce!
Chef Dennis says
Yum! We are going to have this today! Looks sooo yum!
Nisha says
This looks really awesome, very thoroughly explained, and love the step-by-step instructions.