Ever since I started making sourdough bread and maintaining my starter (his name is John Dough), I've been working on new exciting ways to use my leftover starter. But these sourdough soft pretzels might just be my favorite!
I was a little intimidated to try them at first, but they're actually super easy and don't take that long! The hands on time is minimal and since we use commercial yeast along with the starter, the dough only has to rise for an hour. This recipe makes 8 medium size soft pretzels but you can easily make them bigger or smaller depending on your preference.
Don’t have a sourdough starter? Never fear! Just check out my Sourdough Guide for all my tips and tricks!
I serve these with my favorite beer cheese but you can also serve them with mustard or just eat them plain. For the beer cheese I use New Belgium Fat Tire because it's one of my favorite beers but any amber ale or lager works too! I've used Sierra Nevada Oktoberfest, Yuengling, and other local brews and they all taste great!
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 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 and lightly saute the onions and garlic. 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 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 preservatives and additives that keep it from clumping together in the bag. This also prevents the cheese from melting smoothly.
You might also like our sourdough pretzel buns! Same recipe, different shape!
If you make these sourdough pretzels, please leave us a star rating at the bottom of the page! This provides helpful feedback to both me and other readers.
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Sourdough Soft Pretzels and Beer Cheese
- Prep Time: 30 minutes + 1 hour resting time
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 pretzels 1x
Description
These sourdough soft pretzels are served with creamy beer cheese. This sourdough pretzel dough can also be made into pretzel hamburger buns!
Ingredients
Sourdough Pretzels
- 227 grams (1 cup) sourdough starter discard
- 361 grams (3 cups) bread flour
- 170 grams (¾ cup) whole milk
- 1 tablespoon non-diastatic malt powder (optional)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons baking soda (for boiling)
- pretzel salt for topping
Beer Cheese
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- ½ onion, finely diced (optional)
- 1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup amber ale or lager beer (New Belgium Fat Tire is my favorite)
- 8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, shredded
- 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.Â
- Cover the dough and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour; it will rise minimally.Â
- 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.Â
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.Â
- 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 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.Â
While the pretzels are baking, make the beer cheese.
Beer Cheese
- In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and lightly saute the onions and garlic.
- 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 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.Â
- Category: Snack
- Method: Boiling, Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pretzel and beer cheese
- Calories: 412
- Sugar: 5.8g
- Sodium: 950mg
- Fat: 15.5g
- Saturated Fat: 8.6g
- Carbohydrates: 52.4g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 14.9g
- Cholesterol: 41.6mg
Keywords: sourdough soft pretzels, soft pretzels, beer cheese, pretzels and beer cheese
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Very interesting ingredients.
★★★★★
Beer cheese???? OMG....... so need to try this!
★★★★★
We love these pretzels and cheese in my house. Of course, we had to make them a few times before game day and now we are bringing these to our Superbowl party!
★★★★★
Oh I love pretzels! Delicious!
★★★★★
I love that you named your sourdough starter! These sound amazing!
★★★★★
Loved these! Have been looking to make a sourdough recipe in my bread machine and this did it!
★★★★★
Such a delicious combination and a simple recipe to follow!
★★★★★
Delish!
★★★★★
I like this
★★★★★
These are the best pretzels I've had since I was stationed in Germany. I don't know if I can keep this sourdough starter alive, but eating these might make it worth it!
I’ve had this beer cheese SO many times - It’s so good I could eat it everyday. Flavorful and a great texture - not too lumpy or runny like some beer cheeses. The pretzels are amazing to
★★★★★
Really simple and delicious recipe. I threw all the ingredients into the bread maker on dough setting, and it turned out great. I made a double-batch with half as hamburger buns and half as pretzels. Both are delicious! My starter is 100% hydration and with the malt powder added, I needed about 2 extra Tbsp of milk for the right consistency. Thanks for the great recipe!
★★★★★
Yay! I’m so glad you liked them!!