Shellfish Free Whole Wheat Soft Pretzels
There is something deeply satisfying about pulling a tray of golden-brown, chewy pretzels out of your own oven, and this whole wheat version delivers that bakery-style experience from scratch. The dough comes together with just a handful of pantry staples — whole wheat flour, olive oil, honey, and yeast — so every ingredient is completely transparent and easy to verify. The real magic happens in the baking soda bath, which gives each pretzel that signature dark, glossy crust and chewy bite you'd expect from a proper soft pretzel. A generous egg wash and a shower of coarse sea salt finish things off before they hit the oven at high heat, developing that deep mahogany color that makes them almost too pretty to eat. Because the recipe is built entirely around simple baking ingredients, there's no need to scan labels or worry about hidden seafood-derived additives that can sneak into processed snack foods. These are genuinely crowd-pleasing — great warm from the rack with mustard, melted butter, or whatever dipping situation you're into.
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Learn more →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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