The best vegan pretzels with a wholemeal twist. They can be made two ways - sweet or savoury. Easy to make, golden around the edges with a crispy outside and a soft, fluffy inside.
Why This Recipe Works
- It can be made in two ways - sweet or savoury. You can even make half of the batch sweet and the other half savoury!
- Uses simple & affordable ingredients, most of which you already have lying in the cupboard (think flour, salt, sugar, yeast, oil).
- It has the perfect ratio of wholemeal to white flour. This gives it all the benefits of wholemeal bread, whilst remaining airy & fluffy on the inside.
- With both step-by-step images and a recipe video (coming soon!) you will be guided through every step of making this!
Disclaimer: This recipe was inspired by It Doesn't Take Like Chicken's vegan buttery soft pretzels.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need for these beautiful soft vegan pretzels.
A Few Ingredient Notes
- Yeast - I used instant yeast in this recipe (a form of dry yeast). Don't worry, you can use a different type of yeast if preferred. If so, you may need to rise your dough for a bit longer, but as long as the dough has doubled in size after the first rise you’re good to go.
- Flour - make sure to use bread flour for that extra chewy but fluffy texture. This recipe won't work the same if you use plain (all-purpose) flour.
- Sugar – any type of sugar will work, although brown sugar might change the colour of the dough slightly.
- Sesame seeds (optional) - top off with any seeds you like but make sure they’re small enough to stick to the pretzels.
Step-by-step Photos
- Mix warm water and sugar.
- Scatter the yeast over your water and sugar mixture and let stand.
- Add melted butter and flour to the mixture.
- Pour in the salt, making sure it doesn't touch the yeast.
- Mix all the ingredients together with a fork or by hand until a dough is formed.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 7-9 minutes. To test if the dough is ready, press it gently with your finger. If the dough springs back, it's ready.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl to rise. Leave to rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
- In the meantime, line a baking tray with baking paper. The dough should double in size.
- When the rise is finished, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knock it back with your fists to flatten it.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal parts.
- Use a rolling pin or hands to roll each part into a long strip (about 1.5 cm wide and 25cm long).
- Create the pretzel shape (watch the video if you need help with this).
After that, all you need to do is pop each pretzel in a water bath, sprinkle with sesame (if making a savoury version) and bake.
If you're looking for detailed instructions including exact ingredients scroll down to the bottom of this page.
Expert Tips
- Use bread flour – this recipe sadly won't work unless you use bread flour.
- Keep your salt and yeast separated- salt can kill the yeast and inhibit the rise of your dough. This means you will get a less fluffy pretzel as a result.
- Use warm but not hot water - warm water will help your yeast grow and help your rise. However, hot water will kill the yeast and prevent the rise of your dough.
- Test the dough is ready - the recipe states you should knead for about 7-9 minutes. However, everyone kneads at a different speed. To make sure the dough has been kneaded for long enough, you can perform a simple test. Press into your dough gently with a finger and see if the dough springs back. If not, you should knead it for longer and test it again.
- Rise in a warm place - rising in a warm place will help the yeast do its job and keep the rise time within that 1-hour timeframe.
FAQ + Troubleshooting
Add a little nit of water to your dough (1 teaspoon at a time) to slacken your dough. The dough should be quite firm and hold its shape once you form it into a ball.
Don’t worry, simply add half a tablespoon of flour to your dough and knead it in. Keep adding until you have a firm dough-ball that keeps its shape.
If you left the dough in a cooler place or used a different type of yeast the rise might take a bit longer.
Place in a warmer place (such as the oven that has been slightly heated up) and let the dough rise until doubled in size.
If your dough has not risen at all after an hour, the water might have been too hot and killed the yeast. Or the yeast might simply be old.
In this case, your best option is to make the dough again as it will not rise during baking if the yeast is not working.
Yes! Flavouring the dough is not a problem but too much of one flavour can influence the rise of the dough (specifically with citrus flavours).
If you add liquid flavouring make sure to adjust your water content ensuring the dough is not too wet.
Yes, indeed. Let cool and freeze them right after baking to keep them nice and fresh. They will keep for up to a month. When ready to eat simply defrost naturally or in the microwave. Read more about freezing pretzels here.
I have not tried making this recipe gluten-free yet so can't guarantee it will bring the same results.
As soon as I've tried a gluten-free version or one of my lovely readers has succeeded making it gluten-free, I will update this recipe with any tips and tricks.
This wraps it all up for now! If you enjoyed my wholemeal vegan pretzel recipe and are looking for more failproof vegan bread recipes, check out these:
- Dinner Rolls
- Garlic & Herb Bread
- Chocolate Banana Bread
- Orange & Cardamom Rolls
- Pumpkin Rolls
- Blueberry Knot Buns
If you have any questions or want to leave any feedback, feel free to do that using the comments section below. Hearing about your remakes of my recipes always makes my day!
🍴Recipe
Wholemeal Vegan Pretzels (Sweet or Savoury)
Equipment
- Measuring cups or scales
Ingredients
PRETZELS
- 230 ml warm water
- 1¾ tablespoon caster sugar
- 1 sachet instant yeast equals 7 grams
- 1 tablespoon dairy-free butter melted
- 235 g white bread flour
- 100 g wholemeal bread flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
WATER BATH
- 1,1 - 1,3 l water
- ¼ cup baking soda
TOPPINGS
- 6 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- salt flakes or regular salt
Instructions
PRETZELS
- In a large bowl mix warm water and sugar.
- Scatter the yeast over your water and sugar mixture. Let stand to foam for 5 minutes.
- Melt the butter and make sure it's warm but not hot. Add it to the yeast mixture.
- In a second bowl mix together white and wholemeal flour. Then add onto the yeast mixture.
- Make a small well in the flour and pour in the salt, keeping it separate from the yeast
- Mix all the ingredients together with a fork until a rough dough is formed.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 7-9 minutes until the dough holds its shape. To test that, press it gently with your finger. If the dough springs back, it's ready.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place into an oiled bowl to rise. Leave to rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
- In the meantime, line a baking tray with baking paper.
- When the rise is finished, turn the dough onto a floured surface and knock it back with your fists to flatten it.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal parts.
- Use a rolling pin (or hands) to roll each part into a long strip (about 1.5 cm wide and 25cm long). Take the ends end cross one over the other and do the same again, and fold the whole twist over the curve of the strip to create the pretzel shape (watch the video to see this - coming soon).
WATER BATH
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 356°F fan oven. Preheat to 200°C / 392°F for regular ovens.
- In a large pan, heat up water until it's simmering and add in the baking soda.
- Drop each pretzel in the simmering water for 5-6 seconds (one at a time).
- Then place on the lined baking tray, and sprinkle with sesame seeds and salt flakes (skip this if you are making a sweet version).
- Make sure you sprinkle each pretzel straight after removing it from the bath as the bath will leave them slightly wet and sticky.
- Once all the pretzels have been dipped and sprinkled, bake them for 12-15 minutes until crispy and golden brown around the edges.
- Ta-da! You've made it! Make sure to enjoy the pretzels while they're still warm.
TOPPINGS
- Sweet version: brush each pretzel with melted butter, then sprinkle with sugar.
- Savoury version: once baked, sprinkle with more salt flakes if desired.
Notes
- This recipe was inspired by It Doesn't Take Like Chicken's vegan buttery soft pretzels.
- Make sure you are using bread flour.
- When making the dough keep your salt and yeast separated at the start.
- Use warm but not hot water - warm water will help your yeast grow and help your rise.
- Make sure to test with your finger to make sure the dough has been kneaded for long enough.
- Let rise in a warm place.
- If your dough is too wet, add a teaspoon of flour at a time.
- If your dough is too dry, add a tablespoon of water at a time.
- Eat within 2-3 days.
- Freeze for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: The nutritional information above is calculated automatically. The author of this post cannot guarantee 100% accuracy of this data.
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