Healthy Soft Pretzel Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can soft pretzels be healthy? ›

Soft pretzels can still be part of a healthy diet, but it's usually best to consume them in moderation. One easy way to enjoy a soft pretzel without overdoing your calorie, carb, or salt intake is to save half for later or share it with a friend!

But it's the distinctive "pretzel" flavor that makes this bread extraordinary. That comes from dipping the shaped dough in an alkaline solution — traditionally a small amount of food-grade lye dissolved in water — before baking.

As noted above, baking soda is a staple ingredient for making homemade pretzels. Dunking your pretzels in a baking soda bath prior to baking is what enables them to develop their distinctive color and crispy-on-the-outside, chewy-on-the-inside texture.

Hard pretzels don't have as much protein or fiber as soft pretzels, but they also have fewer calories and sodium.

1. Best: Fitjoy Pretzels. Fitjoy pretzels are an all-around great choice, as they have no added sugar, a mere 3g of fat, and even boast a gram of protein. Additionally, one serving of Fitjoy pretzels provides 2% of your daily potassium needs which can help maintain a regular heartbeat and prevent potassium deficiency.

Popcorn triumphed over pretzels for a number of reasons, as Joyce Hendley originally reported for EatingWell. Whole Grain: First, popcorn is 100-percent whole grain. Most Americans don't get enough whole grains, and they provide a healthy boost of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.

All those pretzels are made and twisted on the spot.

Auntie Anne's definitely doesn't serve pre-made pretzels! Every location receives shipments of the signature flour mixture, which is put in a mixer along with water and yeast. They're baked, brushed with real butter, salted and served right there.

The answer lies in a brief dip in an alkaline water bath before baking. This bath essentially gelatinizes the outside of the pretzel, preventing it from fully “springing” during baking (as bread does) and giving pretzels their signature chewy crust. It also gives them their unique and indelible “pretzel” flavor.

Bread flour provides more structure

Gluten helps provide structure, allowing a baked good to have more body and sturdiness. As a result, bread flour will make it easier for a pretzel to hold its shape. This can be an advantage to beginner bakers, especially since the shape of a pretzel is so important.

Like bagels, pretzels are made in boiling water prior to baking to give them their snappy outsides and chewy insides (messy!). Soft pretzels must be boiled, or dipped in a baking soda bath (or lye if you're gusty and strict with your pretzel traditions). THEN, they can be baked.

What makes soft pretzels shiny? ›

Lye is primarily used to make pretzels, and it's the reason for their unmistakable shiny, mahogany color. To prepare, shaped pretzels are dipped in a lye bath, then baked in the oven.

The state is now known as the pretzel capital of the world, with Pennsylvanians consuming a whopping 12 times more pretzels than the national average.

Pretzels. Sure, pretzels are low in fat and are not fried. But these snacks are typically made from refined white flour, an ingredient that may be pro-inflammatory. Choose whole-grain snacks like whole-grain crackers, air-popped popcorn, or veggie chips instead of refined white flour-forward snacks.

When it comes to nutrition, pretzels are generally lower in sodium, fat, and calories compared to potato chips. This is because chips tend to be processed a lot more in oil compared to pretzels which makes it more calories dense, and have its distinct flavor.

On the flip side, snack options you may think are healthy can actually be highly processed, like pretzels. Sure, wheat was used at some point, but only after being ground up so the less healthy components could be extracted and used.