Soft, chewy, golden brown pretzels made with bread flour, honey, and pilsner. These honey beer pretzels have that classic bakery-style bite!
Beer and pretzels go together like peanut butter and jelly! These honey beer pretzels take that pairing one step further by baking the beer right into the dough.
I grew up on mall food court pretzels (Auntie Anne’s, Wentzel’s, etc). This recipe is my homemade answer for when that craving hits. It looks and tastes like something you bought, but easy enough to make at home!
Recipe Highlights
- Bread flour = nice chew. The higher protein content of bread flour gives these pretzels their signature bite, closer to a bagel than a dinner roll.
- Beer adds flavor, not booze. The alcohol cooks off in the oven; what’s left is a subtle maltiness that plain water can’t give you.
- Honey balances the salt. Just enough sweetness to make these snackable on their own, no dip required.
- Baking soda bath, no lye needed. Get that classic pretzel color and sheen safely, with an ingredient already in your pantry.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Beer. I like a German-style pilsner for its light, slightly nutty sweetness. Any light or amber beer works. Wheat beers or lagers are both good options. Dark beer don’t work well for this recipe. If you happen to only have stout- try this stout bread loaf.
No beer? Swap in the same amount of water or milk like in this Everything Pretzel recipe.
Yeast. This recipe uses active dry yeast, but you can swap in instant yeast.
Salt. Kosher salt goes into the dough (preferably Diamond Crystal brand). Coarser, flakey pretzel salt is used for the topping (because it doesn’t dissolve).
Assembly
Tips for Success
Grease your baking sheet. Place the boiled pretzels on a greased baking sheet. This will be ensure that nice crust forms on the bottoms. If you want to use parchment, grease the parchment before adding the boiled pretzel.
Don’t skip the boil. This quick dip is what separates a pretzel from a dinner roll. The boil sets the crust before baking so you get that shiny, chewy exterior.
Watch the color, not just the clock. Ovens vary. pull them when they’re a deep golden brown, even if that’s a minute or two off the stated bake time.
Serving & Storage
Honey beer pretzels are best enjoyed the day they’re made. That crackly crust does soften quickly once they cool. Serve them with mustard, beer cheese, or my personal favorite: vegan chipotle cashew cheese!
If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Refresh in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes.
Honey Beer Pretzels
Ingredients
- ¼ cup warm water, heated to 110℉
- 1 ½ cup wheat beer, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast, (8 g)
- 2 Tablespoons honey, (40 g)
- 4 ½ cups bread flour, (585 g)
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt, (8 g)
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, (28 g) melted and slightly cooled
Boiling Mixture:
- 4 cups water
- ¼ cup baking soda
Instructions
- Whisk together water, beer, yeast, and honey in the bowl of a stand mixer. Allow to sit for 5-7 minutes to activate yeast.
- Attach dough hook to stand mixer. Add bread flour and salt. Mix on low speed until dough starts to come together. Add melted butter. Increase speed to medium and continue to mix for 3-5 minutes until the dough is smooth and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.
- Transfer dough to a large greased bowl. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature for one hour, or until doubled in volume.
- Punch dough down to remove air bubbles. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Pat and stretch dough to a rectangle about 12 inches wide and 6 inches tall. Using a dough scraper, pizza wheel cutter, or knife cut dough into 12 strips (1-inch wide x 6-inches tall). Loosely cover dough with plastic wrap.
- Working with one strip at a time, stretch and roll strip until about 20-inches long. Shape into a “U” or horseshoe. Cross the two ends over each other twice, leaving a circle at the other end. Take the ends and secure to the bottom of the circle. Place formed pretzel on a lightly floured baking sheet. Keep covered while you repeat with remaining strips of dough. (See notes for recommended pretzel shaping video)
- Allow shaped pretzels to rest for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400°F and prepare boiling mixture. In a large heavy bottomed sauce pot (dutch ovens work best), combined water and baking soda. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil.
- Grease two baking sheets with cooking spray or butter and set aside. Once mixture is boiling, place 2-3 pretzels seam side down into liquid. Boil each side for 20 seconds. Strain and place pretzels seam side up onto prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining pretzel dough.
- Once all the pretzels have been boiled, generously sprinkle pretzels with coarse salt. Bake for 18-20 minutes until pretzels are golden brown all over. Remove from oven and allow to sit in pan for 3 minutes. Transfer pretzels to a wire rack to cool. Enjoy pretzels warm with mustard, beer cheese, or desired accouterments.
Notes
- Watch this pretzel shaping video for additional guidance
- I used a German pilsner beer known for it’s nutty and honey flavors. Any light or amber colored beer will work for this recipe.
- If you don’t want to use beer, simply substitute the same amount of water.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
i love how golden brown these are!! also: new things at tj’s are my downfall. i’m just too curious!
Glad I’m not alone! Even when I go to TJ’s with a shopping list… I come home with too much!
This is great. I love it whenever a person takes time and effort to bake things of the yeasty variety.
Thanks!