I was never the biggest bread fan, so going off gluten wasn’t such a big deal for me in that sense. Pasta? Eh, gluten free stuff isn’t perfect, but it’s nearly as good if fresh, and I haven’t been lacking in that area in the 14 years since going gluten free. Pizza was one of those gluten items that I really did like, but I figured out great pizza crust recipes and now don’t feel lacking in that area.
But one area where I did feel a lack, where I did feel something was missing, was soft pretzels. I really enjoy them, especially piping hot with mustard. And in the entire time off gluten I was never able to have even a single bite of one.
I found a gluten free soft pretzel mix being sold and finally was able to have some, and oh boy, what a treat.
Once I tasted those, I knew gluten free soft pretzels were possible, but I didn’t want to spend the exorbitant price of that mix again. I looked to see if I could find a gluten free pretzel recipe, and I came across this gem.
That recipe, while gluten free, contained eggs, and other ingredients I usually don’t have at home (like dark brown sugar). They also contained butter which I didn’t want in mine.
I made adjustments to the recipe to come up with a vegan version of this recipe, and it came out splendidly. This version is allergy friendly: gluten free, soy free, egg free, dairy free, not to mention the nuts that are in many gluten free recipes. They are cheap to make, and relatively easy as well.
My kids, after years of being gluten free and finally going back on gluten, aren’t the biggest fans of gluten free baked goods, so I was hoping to eat this entire batch myself, but my kids liked it so much that it got finished way too quickly and I had to make multiple batches to have enough.
While these are best straight out of the oven, they are also ok the next day or two if heated up before being eaten. I haven’t tried making them and freezing them, to defrost and toast before being eaten, but it is probably doable and something I’d like to try.
(Now all I need to do is figure out how to make gluten free licorice, since that is the one food I haven’t had since going gluten free.)
Gluten Free Vegan Homemade Soft Pretzel Recipe
Pretzel Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup and 1 tablespoon warm water
- 1 tablespoon flax seed
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 1/2 cups rice flour
- 1 1/2 cups potato starch
- Coarse salt or kosher salt (as desired)
Water Bath Ingredients
- 2 quarts water
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, mix warm water with flax seeds, xanthan gum, sugar, molasses, and yeast.
- Let proof.
- Once the mixture starts bubbling up, add the rest of the ingredients of the pretzels, other than the coarse salt.
- Mix well until totally uniform and you have a nice workable dough.
- Cover and set aside in a warm place to rise for an hour.
- Bring a pot with 2 quarts of water to a boil along with 1/4 cup baking soda and 1 teaspoon date syrup, jaggery syrup, or honey.
- Shape your dough as desired. At first, I thought the dough would be too fragile to form into pretzel shapes, so I made simple snakes and then circles. But I realized that if I was careful, I could roll long snakes, shape them into a “U,” twist the ends together twice, then fold them over and press them into the bottom of the “U” to create the classic pretzel shape.
- Carefully drop the pretzels into the boiling water, a few at a time, for 10-15 seconds.
- Remove carefully with a slotted spoon, and place them on to a lined baking tray.
- Sprinkle lightly with coarse salt.
- Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes, until the pretzels are cooked to your liking.
- Serve hot, ideally with mustard. While I usually prefer Dijon, this recipe pairs best with classic yellow mustard
- Enjoy!
Are you a fan of soft pretzels? Do you make them or do you buy them? If you are gluten free have you had gluten free soft pretzels? Does this look like a recipe you’d try? And of course you eat it with yellow mustard? Or how do you eat yours?
