Homemade Soft Pretzel Sticks & Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce

Start by combining warm water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let it sit 10-15 minutes, or until foamy. Next add flour, sugar and salt. Mix on low speed with a dough hook for 1-2 minutes, or until dough just barely starts to come together. You can also do this by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer.

Then add the melted butter and continue to mix with dough hook until dough is thoroughly mixed.

Grease a large bowl with oil and turn the dough out into the bowl. Cover and let dough rise in a warm place for one hour. I let it rise in the oven (oven is off but with the light on).

After about an hour the dough should be nearly doubled in size. Lightly flour a board and turn out the dough. Knead a few times and roll out into a large 15×20″ rectangle. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 20 smaller 3×5″ rectangles. Roll each small rectangle into a log, jellyroll style, working with the longer ends. Tuck the ends under and pinch the seams shut. Place these on a sheet pan, cover, and let rise again for 30 minutes.

When the second rise is almost complete, add the baking soda to 8 cups of cold water in a large pot and stir to dissolve. Cover the pot and bring to a boil over high heat. You’ll also want to preheat the oven to 425 F.

Add 3-4 pretzel sticks to the boiling water and boil for 30 seconds on each side. Flip and remove the pretzel sticks with a slotted spoon, and drain on clean towels. Transfer the boiled dough to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Repeat boiling all of the dough sticks.

Then brush each dough stick lightly with a beaten egg (yolk and whites). If you’re adding salt, sprinkle it on now and then bake at 425 F for 15 minutes. They’re done when the tops are dark golden brown.

To make the dipping sauce, simply combine the mustard, honey, and white balsamic vinegar. You can either stir them together in a bowl, or (my favorite way) just combine everything in a small jar and shake well.

The pretzels are best eaten the same day, but any leftover sauce can be covered and refrigerated.