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  • Golden vegan pretzel bagels sprinkled with sesame, stacked with one propped upright
  • Stacked pretzel bagels with sesame, one propped upright, served
  • Four pretzel bagels held in a hand, close-up
  • Pretzel bagel – photo 4
  • Pretzel bagel – photo 5
  • Halved pretzel bagel showing the airy crumb, plated
  • Pretzel bagel – photo 7
  • Pretzel bagel – photo 8
  • Pretzel bagel – photo 9
  • Loaded pretzel bagel burger with aubergine, red cabbage and tofu, served

16 FEBRUARY 2018

Pretzel bagel

By Verena Frei

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This post is also available in: deutsch

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Last updated 5 July 2026

Servings
12 bagels

Hello Lovelies, do you love everything pretzel as much as I do? Maybe it's because I used to life in Munich for some years and there you really can get the best pretzels ever! I can't resist a good pretzel, or pretzel bun or "Zopf" - you name it! And every time I'm back in Munich it's one of the first things I have to get. And I have a similar love story with bagels. I tried them for the first time on one of our US trips and ever since I always looking forward to return and eat bagels again. No matter if you enjoy them savory or sweet- a fresh toasted bagel is hard to resist. So since there isn't a trip to Munich planned and also our next trip to the US is not until April, I needed to have the best of both worlds right now.

So I made some delicious pretzel bagels and I'm sharing the recipe with you today. The bagels are quickly prepared, don't need many fancy ingredients and after a bath in baking soda (and water) they will get their typical golden brown color and that crispy crust. And they are the perfect models, don't you think? I had so much fun photographing them :-).

Stacked pretzel bagels with sesame, one propped upright, served

Four pretzel bagels held in a hand, close-up

I made them twice in one week and everyone loved them. For the first batch I used fresh yeast and for the second one I had dried yeast and they turned out even better and more fluffy. On the pictures below you can see how to make the whole in the middle of the bagel. Use a wooden spoon, dip it in some flour, poke into the dough balls and widen the whole with the spoon (a bit like hula hoop).

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Halved pretzel bagel showing the airy crumb, plated

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I put some of the bagels in the freezer and whenever I need them, I just get them out in the evening and put in the toaster in the morning and you have fresh and crispy bagels ready. But of course they are best fresh out of the oven. We enjoyed them as breakfast burger with with scrambled tofu, roasted fennel and eggplant, spinach, red cabbage and vegan cheese - so so good. I was just transported to NYC a bit while eating it.

Loaded pretzel bagel burger with aubergine, red cabbage and tofu, served

I really hope you love everything pretzel as much as we do and give the recipe a try. If you like the baking-soda trick, be sure to bake my vegan pretzel balls too – they make the perfect party food or a good choice for kids' lunch boxes. For that breakfast burger you'll want my soft tomato burger buns, and if you fancy a sweeter start to the day, my fluffy vegan raspberry curd yeast rolls have you covered.

Yours, Verena

TIPS

Verena's notes

Tip from my kitchen: the bagels taste best straight out of the oven, but they are wonderful to make ahead. I freeze a batch, take them out the night before and toast them briefly in the morning. Dry yeast makes them a touch fluffier than fresh yeast. You can swap the spelt flour for regular wheat flour. And don't skip the baking-soda bath – it gives the bagels their colour and that signature pretzel flavour, with no caustic lye involved.

Golden vegan pretzel bagels sprinkled with sesame, stacked with one propped upright

5.0 from 2 votes

Pretzel bagel

Vegan pretzel bagels from scratch – fluffy inside, crisp golden crust from a baking-soda bath. Just a few ingredients, perfect as a breakfast burger.

  • Servings:12 bagels
Vegan
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INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Mix the milk, butter, yeast and maple syrup and warm up until everything is dissolved
  2. Add flour and salt to the mixture and knead into a dough
  3. Cover and let rise for 1-2 hours in a warm place
  4. Put the dough on a well-floured work surface and knead again.
  5. Part into 12 pieces and form balls
  6. Flatten them a bit and then take the back of a wooden spoon to form the hole in the middle
  7. Let the bagels rise again and in the meantime:
  8. Preheat the oven to 180 degree (356°F)
  9. In a pan bring 1 liter of water mixed with the natron and salt to a boil, remove the pan from the stove and add the bagels (2-3 at a time)
  10. Let them sit in the water bath for 30 seconds and make sure every side is covered
  11. Take them out, drip off any excess water and put them on a baking tray
  12. Sprinkle with salt, sesame or any seeds you like
  13. Bake for 20-25 minutes (I usually bake them for 20 minutes, then turn them and bake for another 5 minutes)
Calories
225 kcal
GOOD TO KNOW

Frequently asked questions

  • Yes, completely plant-based. I use oat milk instead of dairy and vegan butter instead of regular butter, and you don't need an egg wash – the golden colour comes purely from the baking-soda bath. A spoonful of maple syrup sweetens the dough and helps the yeast along.

  • No, and that's the beauty of it. Traditional pretzel lye (sodium hydroxide) is caustic and tricky to handle. Instead I use a bath of boiling water with baking soda and salt – it is completely safe and still gives you that typical pretzel crust and colour.

  • Both work. I baked these with fresh and with dry yeast, and the dry-yeast batch turned out even fluffier. Use half a cube of fresh yeast or 1 packet of dry yeast for 600 g (21 oz.) of flour.

  • Yes, they freeze beautifully. I freeze a batch, take them out the night before and pop them in the toaster in the morning – then they are fresh and crispy again. Of course they taste best straight out of the oven.

  • The easiest way is with the handle of a wooden spoon: dip it in some flour, poke it into the dough ball and widen the hole with a circling motion (a bit like hula hoop). Before baking I sprinkle the bagels with sesame, pumpkin seeds or coarse salt.

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