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Gluten-free sourdough soft pretzels on a cooling rack with a sauce and a kitchen towel in the background.

Gluten-Free Sourdough Soft Pretzels

Natasha Levai
These delicious gluten-free sourdough soft pretzels are easy to make and they taste just like the "regular" pretzels!
4.05 from 23 votes
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Proofing/Water Bath 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Course Bread, Breakfast, snacks
Cuisine American
Servings 6 pretzels
Calories 257 kcal

Equipment

Ingredients
  

Gluten-Free Sourdough Pretzels

  • 12 grams (2½ tbsp) psyllium husk whole husks, not powder (if using powder, use 10g) read my psyllium husk guide for more info
  • 20 grams (1½ tbsp) sugar
  • 320 grams (1⅓ cups) water room-temperature or warm water, not hot
  • 150 grams (1 cup + 2 tbsp) sourdough starter a mature starter works best but discard can be used, too with an addition of 7g of active dry/instant yeast or 20g of fresh yeast
  • 300 grams (2 cups) gluten-free flour I used my gluten-free rice-free flour mix which for this recipe would be: 123g millet flour, 42g sorghum/oat/legume/brown rice flour, and 135g starch of choice (potato/cornstarch/tapioca/arrowroot) OR use a premade blend you have on hand.
  • 5 grams (1 tsp) salt
  • 1 tablespoon (8 grams) xanthan gum

Water Bath

  • 5 tablespoon baking soda for the water bath
  • 5 cups water for the water bath

You Will Also Need

  • 1 egg for the egg wash
  • flaky salt to sprinkle on top

Instructions
 

Mixing the dough

  • Add psyllium husk, sugar, and water to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside until psyllium gel forms (1-2 minutes).
  • In a bowl of a stand mixer (or a large mixing bowl) combine all the dry ingredients using a whisk.
  • Then, add psyllium gel and the sourdough starter to the bowl with the dry ingredients and knead the dough in a stand mixer for 5 minutes using a dough hook. You can also use a hand mixer for this step. If you don't have a mixer, you can knead the dough by hand, in that case, knead for 10 minutes to achieve a very smooth dough!

Shaping

  • Separate the dough into 6 equal pieces. Mine were about 120-130 grams per pretzel. It is important to make sure all pretzels are the same size so that they bake at the same speed! The dough will be very sticky, don't add extra flour! Rather, grease your hands with oil to prevent sticking.
  • Once the dough is separated into 6 parts, flour the working surface, take one of the dough pieces, and start rolling it into a rope with your hands. As you are rolling the dough, carefully pull it to stretch it out. The length should be about 16 inches/40 cm. Then, bring the dough into a U-shape, twist the ends over each other twice, and finally, bring the tops to the bottom part of the dough to make the traditional pretzel shape (pictures in the post).

Baking

  • Place shaped pretzels on the baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. Cover them with a tea towel and let them proof for 1-2 hours. I let mine sit for 1 hour before the water bath!
  • 30 minutes before the end of proofing start preheating the oven to 445F/230C.
  • Once the pretzels are done proofing, boil 5 cups of water in a medium-large pot with 5 tablespoon of baking soda. If your pot is too large, you can add more water. Remember to add 1 tablespoon of baking soda per each added cup of water. Once the water starts boiling, carefully lower the pretzels into the pot (mine fits 2 at once). Boil for 30-50 seconds, you can push the pretzels underwater if they are floating on top. Finally, transfer the pretzels from the water bath to the parchment paper using a spider or any other tool that works for you, just be gentle with the pretzels.
  • Don't worry if your pretzels move and fall out of shape. You can reshape them gently once they are out of the water!
  • Once all pretzels have gone through the water bath, prepare the egg wash. To make an egg wash just whisk one egg with a fork in a small bowl. Then, brush the pretzels with it using a silicone brush or a baking brush. Don't use the whole egg, brush just enough to cover the pretzels to avoid baked eggs on top!
  • Finally, sprinkle your gluten-free sourdough pretzels with flaky salt!
  • Place a dish with water in the bottom of the oven to create extra steam and prevent the pretzels from browning too quickly. Bake your gluten-free sourdough pretzels at 445F/230C for 15-20 minutes. The inner temperature should read 210F/100C and a toothpick should come out without much raw dough sticking to it. Keep checking on the pretzels after 15 minutes to make sure they don't burn!
  • Let baked pretzels cool for 5 minutes on the baking tray, then transfer them to a cooling rack. Let them cool for 10-15 minutes and enjoy!

Notes

- Don't roll your pretzels out too thin or they will be hard to handle.
- Use a digital scale to make sure your pretzels turn out the way they should! It is easy to overpack or underpack the flour into the measuring cups which interferes with the recipe.
- If the dough sticks to your hands don't add flour. Grease your hands with oil and flour the working surface, that should be enough! Adding extra flour will make pretzels harder and less fluffy.
- Don't worry if your pretzels fall out of shape during the water bath. You can carefully reshape them after they are back on the baking sheet!
- If you need to increase the amount of water for the water bath remember to add 1 tablespoon of baking soda per each added cup of water.
- Don't forget to add a dish with water in the bottom of the oven to prevent pretzels from browning too quickly and to allow for a better rise.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pretzelCalories: 257kcalCarbohydrates: 59.6gProtein: 4.1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0.4gSodium: 562mgFiber: 10gSugar: 5gCalcium: 1mg
Keyword Gluten-free soft pretzels, Gluten-free sourdough discard recipes, gluten-free sourdough pretzels
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