My vegan Sourdough Pretzels are fluffy and light as a cloud. You won't be able to stop eating them, which is one good reason to make these asap.
Pretzels may or may not make you thirsty, but the idea of a twisted, chubby, salty cloud of dough baked to golden perfection is enough to make just about anyone hungry.
My sourdough starter, George, has been begging to go into something delicious for a while now, and I thought I'd make my vegan Sourdough Pretzels for Jay, who loves them, and also update this recipe, which I first shared on this blog almost exactly six years ago.
I adapted this recipe all those years ago from the King Arthur Flour website, and it is a simple and very effective one, which is why I've stuck with it. I did need to veganize it because the original contained milk powder, but these vegan pretzels turn out so gorgeous, you can be sure that nothing is lost in translation. They are soft and fluffy and super-delicious, and if you have a kid -- or are a kid at heart -- you will find that they disappear in minutes.
If you don't already have a sourdough starter, what's stopping you? This is a perfect time to make one, when the warm weather is still sticking around. Sourdough relies on capturing natural yeast from the environment, and a Fall kitchen is likely to have a good deal of yeast floating around, especially if you do a lot of baking. I love the very thought of capturing wild yeast from the air-- it makes me feel like one of those superwomen from old times who did everything from scratch. Plus, I get to eat these pretzels and lots of other good stuff, like sourdough waffles, sourdough focaccia, sourdough sandwich bread, and much more.
If you have an aversion to fermented foods (Desi does), this sourdough pretzel (and most sourdough breads) does not have a sour flavor. Instead, the sourdough adds dimension and flavor and a wonderful texture to breads, not to mention good health, because you do know sourdough is probiotic and therefore really, really good for you?
Looking for more vegan sourdough recipes?
- Soft Sourdough Rolls
- Vegan Sourdough Waffles
- Vegan Sourdough Pancakes
- Sourdough Sandwich Bread
- Sourdough Challah Bread
Sourdough Pretzels
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter (unfed starter or "discard")
- ½ cup warm water
- 2 teaspoon active dry yeast
- ¼ cup almond milk (lukewarm)
- 3 cups bread flour (or all purpose flour)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or any neutral oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
For glaze:
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon water
- Sea salt or pink salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Mix the yeast and almond milk in a bowl and set aside to "bloom"
- Add the remaining pretzel ingredients to the bowl and, using your hand or a stand mixer, mix well. Knead the dough until it has a smooth consistency and can be formed into a round ball. It should not be too stiff-- if that's the case, add a little water, a tiny bit at a time.
- Place the ball of dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning over once to coat, cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and set aside in a warm place for about 45 minutes. The dough will rise a little.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place the dough on a lightly greased surface and fold a few times to deflate the air. Divide into 12 equal parts.
- Take one part and cover the rest with a kitchen towel to keep them from drying. Roll the dough into a ball and then into a rope, tapering the ends. You want a rope around 18 inches in length.
- Take the ends of the rope and criss-cross them to make a loop. Twist one more time, then bring the ends back over the top of the pretzel and tuck them in.
- Place the pretzels, about 2 inches apart, on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
- Make the glaze by dissolving the sugar in water. Brush the tops of the pretzels with this mixture and then sprinkle on some salt. I used fine-grained Himalayan sea salt because I didn't want big particles of salt on my pretzels, but use coarse salt if you wish.
- Bake the pretzels for 27 minutes or until the tops are lightly golden-brown.
Recipe notes
Vaishali
Divya, Kalyani, Thanks!
Vegan Bakerista, I hope you enjoy them! 🙂
Keerthana, mine too!
Priya, Poornima, thanks!
Jain, thanks for the link. Hope you like the pretzels. 🙂
Richa, That sounds like a good idea.
Manasi, it was not very hard at all to twist them, and the dough is forgiving.
Rachana, thanks!
Rachana
Pretzels look perfect!!!
Manasi
oh my! Perfect pretzels! I have seen the expert twist them and cannot imitate it at all 🙁
U have perfected it!
Richa
i am always scared of starting up a sourdough starter. coz i wouldnt know what to do with so much of it! i just let the dough sit for 2-3 days for the effect 🙂
i am sucker for fresh bread and these pretzels look extremely inviting!
Richa @ Hobby And More Food Blog
Kumudha
Wow! So many great recipes.
Thanks for sharing these recipes.
Jain
Omigosh! What perfect timing! I have a batch of sourdough "cooking" as I type! It's a different recipe, from Renae at "i eat food": . I'm on Day 4 and it's bubbly, smells sour, and I'm so excited to try it. Your pretzels will be my first bake this weekend... thank you, Vaishali!
Poornima Nair
Perfect pretzels!!
Priya
Omg, they looks stunning and super prefect..
Keerthana @ lifenspice
They look perfect. Pretzels with salt are my favorite snack when I go shopping!
Vegan Bakerista
Holy cow, these look awesome. I'm going to make these for my lover and report back when I do. thank you kindly for sharing!
Kalyani's Platter
pretzels look delicious ......
divya
Mouthwatering and perfect pretzel.....presentation is mind blowing.
Vaishali
Rashmi, Kitchen Flavors, Thanks! 🙂
Gayatri, I haven't, mainly because I can't find suran here. I think they do have a frozen version at the Indian store and I'll pick it up the next time. I love suran, and I can imagine the cutlets must be delicious.
Gayatri
I love love love Sourdough. Thanks for this recipe. You know Vaishali I was wondering if you've ever made "Suranaache Cutlet"? If yes, could you post the recipe pls.
Gayatri
Kitchen Flavours
Perfect in shape...love the way they came out....hats off to your vegan efforts...
Rashmi
Looks Great,Thanks for the nice pretzel recipe.