Gluten-Free Soft Pretzels
It's hard to pass up one of these thick and chewy gluten free soft pretzels! With a classic alkaline taste, twisted shape, and salty pearls on top, this is a recipe everyone will love.
Delicious Gluten Free Vegan Soft Pretzels
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“WOW these are good…for being both GF and dairy-free, these are amazing. Spread the word people, spread the word”…
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Gluten free or not, everyone will love these soft pretzels with their chewy texture and classic salty flavor. They’re easily made in just one bowl and, with a combination of oat flour and tapioca flour, have the same fluffy structure of your favorite theme park snack.
They require minimal rise time and come together in under an hour. The dough is soft and pliable, unlike most gluten free doughs, which make creating the pretzel shapes a fun task even the kids will enjoy!
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Why I love this Gluten Free Soft Pretzels Recipe
- They're thick and chewy
- Made gluten free and vegan (but you wouldn't even know!)
- Perfect for Oktoberfest or gameday
- Made at home
- Oat flour based
What you'll need for Gluten-Free Soft Pretzels
- Oat flour + Tapioca flour - The combination of oat flour and tapioca flour is what gives these pretzels their pillow-y soft structure.
- Almond milk + Apple cider vinegar - Make sure the almond milk is warm. Mixing almond milk and apple cider vinegar is also known as 'vegan buttermilk' and ensures the pretzels rise when baked.
- Instant yeast - Make sure to use instant yeast so you can get to these soft pretzels fast!
- Maple syrup - To add hint of sweetness to the pretzels. You can also use honey or agave.
- Olive oil - A little olive oil makes sure the pretzels don't come out dry and crumbly. Substitute with avocado oil or another neutral oil if needed.
- Baking powder - Baking powder is used in the pretzel dough and reacts with the 'vegan buttermilk' to make the pretzels rise.
- Baking soda - This is used for the 'baking soda bath' once the pretzels are ready to go in the oven. This is a MUST for classic soft pretzels.
How to Make Gluten Free Soft Pretzels
Step 1 : Prepare the yeast. Warm up almond milk so it's lukewarm. You don't want it do be too hot or you risk killing the yeast. It should be warm to the touch. Add the packet of yeast to the milk and let it sit for 2 - 3 minutes until foamy.
Step 2 : Add the wet ingredients to a bowl. This is just the maple syrup and the apple cider vinegar.
Step 3 : Fold in the dry ingredients. Add the oat flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, and sea salt to the bowl or stand mixer and gently fold into the wet ingredients.
Step 4 : Knead the dough. Lightly flour a flat surface and knead the dough until it's not sticky and is soft and tender to the touch. Let the dough rest in a bowl greased with oil.
Step 5 : Cut the dough into pieces. You should be able to get 8 - 10 equal pieces from the dough.
Step 6 : Form a pretzel shape with the dough. On a lightly floured surface, use the palms of your hands and roll the dough into a long snake like shape about 2 feed long.
Make a U shape with the dough and then bring the two ends to the center and cross the right side over the left. Twist the two ends one more time by pulling right end over the left and pulling left over to the right side.
Then gently pull the two ends down to the bottom of the circle to make a pretzel shape.
Step 7 : Prepare the baking soda bath. This is the key to the classic soft pretzel flavor! Add the baking soda to a pot of boiling water and stir to dissolve. Gently lower each pretzel into the baking soda "bath" and boil for about 30 seconds then place on a baking sheet with parchment paper to bake.
While each pretzel is still damp from the baking soda bath, sprinkle with kosher salt.
Step 8 : Bake! Let the pretzels bake in the oven until nice and golden brown. Let them cool slightly before enjoying warm.
How to store Gluten Free Vegan Soft Pretzels
These pretzels are best enjoyed fresh but if you have some left over, allow them to cool down to room temperature and store in an airtight container on the counter. When ready to enjoy, heat in the microwave in 10 second intervals until warm.
Looking for more tasty snacks & apps? Check these out!
Gluten-Free Pretzels Soft FAQs
Soft pretzels are larger in size with a fluffier texture and require less baking time. Traditional pretzels that you get in a bag are much smaller and have a hard outer layer.
Soft pretzels have a very distinct savory, salty flavor thanks to a baking soda bath.
Germany is where the soft pretzel originated.
Recipe
Gluten Free Vegan Soft Pretzels
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup warm almond milk
- 2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast - 1 package
- 1 teaspoon sea salt - plus more to add on top
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 ⅔ cup gluten-free oat flour
- ⅔ cup tapioca flour - plus more to roll out dough
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ⅓ cup baking soda
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 F. In a bowl, add the warm almond milk and instant yeast and let it rest for 2 - 3 minutes. The yeast should fuzz up and develop and foamy layer on top - this is how you know it's active.
- Add sea salt, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar to the bowl and whisk. Then, slowly fold in the oat flour, tapioca flour, and baking powder. The dough may be a tad sticky at this point but once we knead it it's easier to handle.
- Transfer the dough to a flat surface sprinkled with extra tapioca flour. Knead the dough for 3 -4 minutes until it's soft and pillow-like.
- Spread the olive oil along the sides of a bowl and add the dough to the bowl. Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.
- Transfer to a flat surface again and cut 8 - 10 slices of dough. Roll in between the palms of your hands and the flat surface to create a "snake". To form a pretzel shape, make a big U with the dough. Layer the right side of the U over the left so you have a V on top of an O. Next, grab the right-end and pull it to the bottom left side of the O beneath. Pull the left-end and pull it to the bottom of the right side of the O. You should now have a pretzel shape. Press the tails down slightly to secure the pretzel.
- Heat ⅓ cup baking soda in a pot of water until it simmers. Gently lower each pretzel into the baking soda "bath" for about 30 seconds then place on a baking sheet to bake.
- Sprinkle with sea salt and bake for 13 - 15 minutes until golden brown. These pretzels are best enjoyed fresh out of the oven.
Okay so I wasn't sure if this was going to work or not because I've tried making GF pretzels before and they just didn't taste like, well, pretzels haha. But I have this huge bag of oat flour so I figured I'd give it a try and WOW these are good! I hardly ever come back to a website to rate a recipe but this time it was worth it and I wanted to thank you for sharing your recipe! I don't know why these don't have more reviews because for being both GF and dairy-free, these are amazing. Spread the word people, spread the word haha!
Hi! I can’t wait to try this recipe, I LOVE pretzels. Is there another dairy free milk that I could use for this instead of almond milk?
Hi Mila! I'm so glad to hear it! Yes, any type of milk should work - I would try oat or another nut milk.
These look amazing! Do you think there might be an alternative to oat flour ?
Hi Jessica - I haven't tried this recipe with a different type of flour so I can't say for certain. If I were to try a different flour I would try cassava flour first. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
These look delicious! When do you mix in the apple cider vinegar?
Thank you! They're a favorite over here. The apple cider is mixed into the bowl with the yeast in step 2.