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A soft pretzel with cheese
Yeast Dough and Knots

Soft pretzels with beer cheese

Prep 30 min Cook 15 min Total 1 hr 45 min Servings 8

By Lukasz Jagiello

Published Oct 11, 2026 · Updated Oct 11, 2026

Photo: Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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About this recipe

I only post recipes that I have tried and verified and are good to my taste — all taste may vary.

The baking-soda boil is what browns the crust and gives the pretzel its smell. Skip it and you have a breadstick.

Ingredients

  • Pretzels
  • Beer cheese

Method

  1. 01

    Stir the warm water, sugar, and yeast. Add flour and salt and mix to a shaggy dough. Knead until smooth, about 8 minutes. Cover and let rise 1 hour.

  2. 02

    Divide into 8 pieces. Roll each into a rope and shape a pretzel. Heat the oven to 450°F.

  3. 03

    Boil the baking soda in the 8 cups of water. Poach the pretzels 20 seconds each, drain, set on a parchment-lined pan, brush with egg, and salt.

  4. 04

    Bake until deep brown, 12 to 14 minutes.

  5. 05

    For the cheese, melt the butter, stir in the flour, and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the beer and milk and simmer until thick. Off the heat, stir in the cheddar, mustard, and salt. Serve warm with the pretzels.

Notes & swaps

  • The dough can be refrigerated overnight after the knead. Let it warm 30 minutes before shaping.
  • Milk in place of beer still makes a good cheese sauce. It will taste milder.

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