MSG Free Whole Wheat Soft Pretzels

Total time1 hr 50 min

Prep time30 min

Cook time20 min

4.9

(16)

Soft pretzels are one of those snacks that always taste better homemade, and this whole wheat version delivers that chewy, golden, deeply satisfying bite you'd expect from a proper pretzel. The dough comes together with just a handful of clean pantry staples — whole wheat flour, olive oil, honey, yeast, and sea salt — so you know exactly what's going into every twist. That matters more than people realize, because a lot of store-bought and stadium-style pretzels rely on flavor enhancers and additives that can be hard to track down on an ingredient label. Here, there's nothing hidden and nothing unnecessary. The baking soda bath is the real magic step: a quick 30-second dip per side gives each pretzel that signature chewy crust and deep color before it even hits the oven. A brush of egg wash and a generous scatter of coarse sea salt finish things off beautifully. Pull one apart while it's still warm and you'll understand why this recipe is worth every minute of rise time.

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Ingredients

8 servings

For the dough

1 cup warm water (about 110°f / 43°c)
2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast (1 standard packet)
1 tbsp honey
2 ½ cups whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting
1 tsp fine sea salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the baking soda bath

8 cups water
⅓ cup baking soda

For finishing

1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp coarse sea salt or flaky salt

Instructions

1
Combine the warm water, yeast, and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl). Let stand for 5–8 minutes, until the surface is foamy and the mixture smells yeasty.
2
Add the whole wheat flour, fine sea salt, and olive oil to the yeast mixture. Mix on low speed with the dough hook (or stir with a wooden spoon) until a shaggy dough forms, then increase to medium speed and knead for 6–8 minutes, until the dough is smooth, slightly tacky, and pulls cleanly away from the sides of the bowl. If kneading by hand, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

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