Soft pretzels and beer cheese is a classic combination and are easily made at home! Both the pretzels and the beer cheese freeze beautifully, so you’re always prepared for a treat!
It may seem like an undertaking to make homemade pretzels, but you can be enjoying these and the beer cheese in just about 2 hours. I don’t know too many people who wouldn’t want to enjoy this warm-from-the-oven treat!
Enjoy these fresh from the oven or take a rainy day and make them ahead to freeze and enjoy anytime.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Yeast: I use Instant Yeast for all my yeast baking, but you can also use Active Dry yeast here, just substituting an equal amount.
Flour: Standard all-purpose flour is just fine here. Unbleached all-purpose flour is best for bread baking, if you have some on hand.
Kosher Salt: I use Windsor brand Kosher salt, which is a uniformly sized coarse salt. If you don’t have Kosher salt, use fine salt, using a bit less.
Unsalted Butter: If you only have salted butter, reduce the added salt about by a tiny bit more.
Baking Soda: The boiling before baking requires 2/3 cup of baking soda, which is a lot. Make sure you have that much on hand before starting.
Beer: I used a lager, but I’m not sure it matters if you use a lager or an ale. Whatever you have around and enjoy drinking is just fine.
Dry Mustard: I love the flavour of dry mustard in cheese sauce over any prepared mustard, so I do recommend it if you can. I love Keen’s myself. Adjust the amount to taste, starting with 1/4 tsp and adding more, to taste. If you don’t have dried mustard, add a bit of prepared yellow or Dijon mustard, to taste.
Cheese: I use mostly basic orange cheddar, with the addition of a bit of another kind of cheese, just to add a more complex flavour to the cheese sauce. This time I combined the basic cheddar with a bit of a really old and crumbly white cheddar. For Canadians, a chunk of McLaren’s Imperial Cheese is a nice addition. I wouldn’t suggest a mozzarella, as the consistency is a bit off for this kind of melting.
How to Roll the Pretzel Dough into a Rope
Working on an un-floured surface, take a ball of dough and stretch it slightly into an oblong shape. Using the palms of both hands, begin rolling in the centre of the dough, then slowly spread your palms apart, rolling out towards the end of the dough rope. Repeat rolling, starting from the centre and rolling outward or if your rope is getting thin in the middle, move your palms over the thicker area and roll from there. Keep rolling until your rope is 24-inches long.
Don’t worry if your rope of dough isn’t perfectly even. Somehow, the boiling/baking process seems to sort it all out.
Recipe Tips
- I like to start my water for boiling the pretzels before baking well ahead, setting it on low to start. When I’m close to boiling, there’s no waiting for it to boil and holding up the process.
- After shaping into the pretzel shape, after boiling and just before baking, I like to re-stretch the pretzel a bit, making sure that the holes are generous enough that they don’t close in during baking.
- I don’t like to crowd the baking pan by trying to bake all 8 pretzels at the same time, and I’m never happy with the uneven results when I bake two pans on two different racks and swapping them around. For these, I shape and boil the first 4, then pop them in the oven. While they are baking, I shape and boil the last 4, placing them on a separate sheet of parchment paper. When the first batch is done, simply slide the last 4 on the the parchment onto the baking sheet and into the oven.
- Note that your second batch of pretzels will cook slightly more quickly that your first batch, due to the heat from the baking sheet. Set the timer a few minutes earlier and watch, so you can pop them out when dark enough. In my oven, my first batch took 12 minutes, while my second was ready at about 11 minutes.
- Be sure to taste and adjust the seasoning of the beer cheese to taste, adding more mustard and or salt and pepper, as needed. A generous salting really brings together all the flavours.
Top Tip!
Always remember that when baking with yeast, the flour quantity is never exact. Always hold back 1/4 of the flour and add only as much as needed to make a soft, moist dough. You may not need to all, so don’t feel you need to use it all. Likewise, if you’ve added the specified amount and your dough is still sticky, don’t hesitate to add more, 1 Tbsp at a time, until you get the dough to where it needs to be.
Making Ahead, Storing and Freezing
The pretzels can be made ahead and frozen for up to 3 months. The beer cheese can be made ahead and should keep well in the fridge for several days or it can also be frozen.
Get the Recipe: Soft Pretzels and Beer Cheese
Ingredients
For pretzel dough:
- 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water, warmed to 110-115F
- 1 Tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt, less if using fine salt and a bit less if using salted butter
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled, unbleached flour recommended
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
For boiling:
- 10 cups water
- 2/3 cup baking soda
For brushing before baking:
- 1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 Tbsp water
For topping:
- Coarse Kosher or Pretzel salt
Beer Cheese:
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 3 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup lager beer
- 1 cup milk, at least 2%
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2 - 2 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup old white cheddar cheese, or other cheese or just more orange cheddar
Instructions
- To make the pretzel dough: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a kneading hook, combine the water, sugar and yeast. Let stand 5 minutes. Add the salt, butter and about 3 cups of the flour. Mix on low speed until well combined. Add one more cup of flour and mix to combine. Begin adding last 1 1/2 cups, a bit at a time, until you have a soft, moist dough that pulls away from the side of the bowl. Allow to knead for 4-5 minutes. *You may not need to use all the flour if dough reaches that stage with less flour. You may need to add a bit more if dough is still sticky when you have added it all.
- Remove the dough to a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 50-60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted) Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large pot, bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil.
- When dough has doubled, turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Form into a ball and let stand 5-10 minutes, covered with a clean tea towel.
- Starting with just 4 of the balls of dough, roll each into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
- Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 2 at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the kosher salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack.
- While the first 4 pretzels are baking, shape and boil the last 4 pretzels and place on a sheet of parchment paper. Brush with egg yolk and sprinkle with salt. When the first batch comes out of the oven, slide the last 4 on the parchment paper onto the baking sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes, or until deep golden. Enjoy warm or cooled. Store in an airtight container for a couple of days or freeze for longer storage.
- To make the beer cheese: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minutes. Slowly add the beer and stir well until smooth. Add the milk, mustard, Worcestershire, garlic powder, salt, pepper and cayenne. Cook, stirring, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Stir in grated cheese, then let stand 1 minute. Stir again, until all the cheese is melted into the sauce. Taste the sauce and add more salt, pepper and/or mustard as needed. Enjoy warm with pretzels. *Can be made ahead and refrigerated up to 3 days or freeze for longer storage.
Notes
More Appetizer Recipes to Enjoy!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Can the cheese dip be made without beer? Or does the beer alcohol evaporate? Thank you. Love your recipes and your website – so easy to move through. Have printed out many of the recipes to try this summer. Many thanks.
Hi Frances and thanks so much :) The beer probably sticks around a bit, as it doesn’t cook that long. Certainly the beer flavour sticks around. That said, I’m not a beer drinker and don’t especially like the taste of beer, but I love this beer cheese! (go figure :) I’m not sure how it would work without the beer. You could try replacing the same volume of beer with another liquid (chicken broth maybe) or just opt for another cheese sauce recipe to go with the pretzels.
Hi Jennifer, these look amazing! I’ve never made pretzels at home before and I can’t wait to try these this weekend. Quick question on making the dough. I don’t have a stand mixer with a hook. Could I just knead the dough by hand? Thanks so much!
Hi Svetlana and absolutely, these will work just fine with hand kneading as well. Simply knead until the dough gets to the desired consistency. Enjoy!
Could I turn this into a way to make pretzel buns for burgers? I make the pretzels all the time and they are amazing !
Hi Haley and absolutely you can! In fact, I did just that with my pretzel buns recipe here – https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/soft-pretzel-buns/#recipe It’s almost identical to the soft pretzels, but I reduced the sugar a bit. You can follow that recipe or just use this recipe and follow the instructions on the pretzel bun recipe. Enjoy!
I just love the layout of your Website ! It is so clear, precise and simple. So easy on the eyes and not cluttered like some others … great job !
By the way, love the recipes too : )
Linda S.
Thanks so much, Linda :)
Hi Jennifer,
I want to take these to a super bowl party. I plan to make them the day before. How would you recommend reheating and serving?
Thank you,
Cherri
Hi Cherri, I would just toss the pretzels onto a baking sheet, loosely cover with a sheet of foil and pop into a 350F oven until warmed. It won’t take long (5-10 minutes), depending on how warm you want them. The Beer Cheese can easily be warmed in the microwave or a saucepan, if you like. Enjoy!
Hey Jennifer…
I am an absolute pretzel fiend…I’ve tried every recipe from YouTube to b******t. Yours is spot on girl…thank you much…I appreciate you…
So glad to hear, David :) Thanks so much!
nom nom
I whole heartedly agree :) Thanks!
So … I just made these and my family said they were the best I ever made … Better than mall pretzels!! I cut the dough into 16 pieces and made pretzel sticks. Oh … I did make three regular shaped pretzels without the salt and put butter and cinnamon sugar on them when they were done baking. You will want to get them out of the oven a minute or two earlier than the recipe recommends if you do make 16 vs 8.
So glad you enjoyed them, Irene :) Thanks!
Hi Jennifer,
Wow! These certainly taste as good as they look. After eating these I have been craving Auntie Anne’s Sweet Almond Pretzels. I was wondering if you know how I could variate these to resemble hers?
Hi Dia and so glad you enjoyed them. I have never had the sweet almond pretzels, but I did google and it sounds like it would be the same, except part way through baking do a sprinkle of brown sugar and ground almonds.
Do you freeze the pretzels raw or cook first? Do you have to thaw first?
I freeze them after cooking. To thaw, just set on the counter to thaw in the bag (or wrapped). You could also pop them frozen onto a baking sheet and into a 350F-ish oven to thaw/re-warm I think.
I’m in carb heaven with these pretzels!
Thanks Laura and yes, yay for carbs!
Right up my alley! I would gladly gain a couple of pounds in return for enjoying a few soft pretzels dipped in beer cheese!
Thanks Milena and me, too :)
Drool, drool, drool! Oh my goodness, these look spectacular and I know they fill the house with the most amazing aroma! Who needs Father’s Day to celebrate with these beauties!
Thanks Chris and yes, I make these several times a year. Always a welcome treat :)
You’re speaking my language here, Jennifer! I could legit make a meal out of these and a whole bunch of cheese! Gimme gimme!!
Thanks Dawn and yes, I’m pretty sure we did make at least one meal of these this past weekend :)
What a fabulous treat for dear old Dad Jennifer! I think I’d need to steal a few of these too. LOVE the beer cheese!
Thanks Mary Ann and yes, I enjoyed a few of these, too :)