These vegan and nut free gluten free soft pretzels are so soft and chewy. They have the most perfect texture, and they taste absolutely amazing. Preparing them is so easy. You can serve them with some melted butter, mustard, marinara sauce, or a cheese dip.
Jump to RecipeCHOOSING THE TYPES OF GLUTEN FREE FLOUR
For this recipe I chose only two types of flour. You most likely have them on hand, but that is not why I chose them.
In choosing the types of gluten free flour, I was aiming for the texture and the flavor of the pretzels. Whether you are new to gluten free baking or you’re a seasoned baker, you probably know by now that one of the most difficult things to achieve in gluten free baking is the correct texture.
So in here, I chose brown rice flour, and cornstarch. I have created recipes that use rice flour only; therefore, I have become familiar with its behavior. I know that it will give me a moist chewy texture. However, rice flour on its own, when baked, tends to be on the sticky side. To prevent that, I added one more type of flour.
For the second type of flour I chose cornstarch. Cornstarch is added to liquids as a thickener. Only a small amount of cornstarch is needed to homogenize any type of liquid. From this observation I concluded that If there was not much difference between the ratio of cornstarch to liquid, the end result will be a non sticky, but chewy substance, and that is exactly what happened.
Both cornstarch and rice flour have a chewy texture, but when added together in the proper amounts, they create the most perfect soft and chewy texture which is exactly what these gluten free soft pretzels needed.
Also cornstarch can absorb a larger amount of liquid than brown rice flour. Therefore, the dominant flour in this recipe will be the brown rice flour. The cornstarch is there to enhance its texture, and eliminate any stickiness.
PSYLLIUM HUSK VS XANTHAN GUM
Psyllium husk comes from the outer shell of the seed of the plantago ovata plant. Xanthan gum is the byproduct of fermenting sugar with Xanthomonas campestris bacteria.
Psyllium husk’s ability to gel and hold its form is operational at temperatures of 176 F and below which makes it excellent to use in aiding the gluten free soft pretzels in the rising process. With that said, it is not much of a help in the baking process.
Psyllium husk also has a distinct flavor that xanthan gum does not have, and that most gluten free flour does not have. So I decided to add it in order to enhance the flavor of the pretzels, and make them taste absolutely delicious, and as said earlier, in order to help with the rising process.
On the other hand xanthan gum is stable, or can hold its gel form, at a broad range of temperatures, hence the reason for using it with the psyllium husk.
The use of xanthan gum will allow the pretzels to hold their form, without cracking, during the baking process. It will also allow the pretzels to continue to rise while in the oven.
SHAPING THE PRETZELS
Oil your hands with some vegetable oil, especially the tips of your fingers, and divide the dough into 6 equal portions.
Oil your hands again if you need to, and roll the dough onto a clean counter surface to make a half inch thick cylinder.
Shape the cylinder into a u form.
Take the ends of the u shape and twist them together twice, leaving a couple inches of dough hanging off the twisted end.
Take the 2 ends of the cylinder and press them down at the bottom of the u shape leaving a coupe inches between the 2 end pieces.
ALLOWING THE PRETZELS TO RISE
Place the formed pretzels onto a parchment paper. Leave a couple inches of space between each pretzel. Cover the pretzels with another piece of parchment paper. Cover everything with plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying.
Allow the pretzels to rise for 45 min, maximum to an hour. Do not allow them to overrise. Otherwise, the pretzels will fall apart in the boiling process.
If you want the pretzels to hold their shape, you really shouldn’t allow them to rise beyond an hour in a cool environment.
If you live in a warm environment, your pretzels might need to rise for an even less amount of time. So I suppose the proper way to describe this, would be to allow the pretzels to rise to about half double their size.
THE BOILING AND BAKING PROCESS
Before we begin baking these gluten free pretzels, we have to prepare them to be baked in order to give them that extra chewy, glossy outside, but before you begin this process, you’ll have to preheat the oven to 450 F.
The oven needs to be extra hot in order to allow the pretzels to be baked quickly. This will give them the perfect texture.
While you’re at it, line a baking tray with a piece of parchment paper or silicone mat to prevent the wet pretzels from sticking to the pan.
The boiling solution that we will be using compromises from water, baking soda, and molasses.
The molasses is added to give the pretzels that excellent brown color, and the baking soda causes the surface of the pretzels to gel giving them that chewy outside that we are looking for. This is exactly the same process that I used in making Gluten Free Bagels.
Unwrap the pretzels, and cut the parchment paper that the pretzels are sitting on into squares so that each pretzel is sitting on a square piece of parchment. This will allow you to lift the pretzel easily without damaging its shape.
By this time, the boiling solution should be “boiling”. Make sure to use an extra large pot just in case if the solution decides to over boil.
You will have to constantly monitor the heat of the pretzel boiling solution in order to give the pretzels the perfect outside texture, and to prevent them from falling apart during the boiling process.
Only drop one pretzel at a time into the solution so to not allow the temperature of the solution to drop. If the temperature is too low, the pretzels will fall apart.
Use the square parchment papers to lift the pretzels. Gently drop one pretzel into the boiling solution and allow it to boil for 30 to 60 seconds. Using a slotted spatula, and perhaps the help of a kitchen spider, lift the pretzel out of the solution allowing it to drain, and place it onto the pan that’s lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
Immediately sprinkle the pretzel with the salt of your choice. Repeat the same process with the remaining pretzels. And now the pretzels are ready to be baked.
The pretzels have to be baked until it is no longer sicky on the inside. The outside might vary in color, but the inside is really what matters. I found that for my oven, 18 minutes was the perfect time to bake these pretzels.
You might also want to take in consideration the size and thickness of your pretzels, and adjust the baking time accordingly.
MORE TASTY GLUTEN FREE RECIPES
Vegan and Nut Free Gluten Free Soft Pretzels
Equipment
- Medium bowl
- Small bowl
- Wooden Spoon
- Parchment paper
- plastic wrap
- Pizza pan or cookie sheet
- Large pot
- Kitchen spider
- Metal spatula
- Scale
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring cups
- Whisk
- Scissors
Ingredients
dough
- 382 g Brown rice flour or 2 ½ cups
- 150 g Cornstarch or 2/3 and ¼ cups
- 13 g Psyllium husk or 1 tablespoon
- 8 g Xanthan gum or 2 teaspoons
- 16 g Salt or 2 teaspoons
- 8 g Yeast or 2 teaspoons
- 45 g Brown sugar or 3 tablespoons
- 30 g Olive oil or 2 tablespoons
- 530 g Lukewarm water or 2 ¼ cups
- 10 g Apple cider vinegar or 2 teaspoons
- Pretzel salt sea salt, or cosher salt.
- Vegetable oil to handle dough
Boiling Solution
- 5 1/2 cups Water
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix in the yeast, sugar, and lukewarm water until the sugar is dissolved. Allow this mixture to sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it develops frothy bubbles on the surface.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, add in the brown rice flour, cornstarch, psyllium husk, xanthan gum, and salt. Using a whisk, mix until well combined.
- After the yeast has been activated, add it to the dry mixture and mix using a wooden spoon. Once the mixture thickens, you can switch to mixing with your hands until everything is well combined.
- Oil your hands with some vegetable oil, especially the tips of your fingers. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions.
- Oil your hands again if you need to, roll the dough onto a clean counter surface into a half inch thick cylinder.
- Shape the cylinder into a u form. Take the ends of the u shape and twist them together twice, leaving a couple inches of dough hanging off the twisted end. Take the 2 ends of the cylinder and press them down at the bottom of the u shape leaving a coupe inches between the 2 end pieces.
- Place the formed pretzels onto a parchment paper. Leave a couple inches of space between each pretzel. Cover the pretzels with another piece of parchment paper. Cover everything with plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying.
- Allow the pretzels to rise for 45 min, maximum to an hour. Do not allow it to overrise.
- Right before the pretzels are ready, preheat the oven to 450 F
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper or silicone mat.
- Unwrap the pretzels, and cut the parchment paper that the pretzels are sitting on into squares so that each pretzel is sitting on a square piece of parchment.
- Into a large pot, add in 5 ½ cups of water, 1tablespoon molasses, and 1 tablespoon baking soda. Mix until the molasses is dissolved. Place on medium to high heat, and bring to a boil.
- Use the square parchment papers to lift the pretzels. Gently drop one pretzel into the boiling solution and allow it to boil for 30 to 60 seconds. Using a slotted spatula, and perhaps the help of a kitchen spider, lift the pretzel out of the solution allowing it to drain, and place it onto the pan that’s lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Immediately sprinkle the pretzel with the salt of your choice. Repeat the same process with remaining pretzels.
- Place pretzels onto the center rack of a 450F bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and place onto a cooling rack to cool slightly before serving.
- You can serve these gluten free soft pretzels with some melted butter, mustard, cheese dip, or marinara sauce.
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Hello! Thanks for such a wonderful recipe. Could you please advise, if it is possible to make it sourdough?
Thanks in advance
Hi Inna! Thank you for your kindness, and for this wonderful question! I cannot be 100% positive because I haven’t tested it yet, but I believe that if you add 1/2 a cup of fed sourdough starter to the mixture, and adjust the liquid amount to achieve the same texture, it should work, but like I said, I cannot be 100% positive because I haven’t tried it yet.
However, I will be working on a gluten free sourdough soft pretzel recipe in the future!