The Only Copycat Auntie Anne's Pretzels You'll Ever Need (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret solution for Auntie Anne's pretzels? ›

Whisk together 2 cups (454 grams) of warm water and the 1/3 cup (90 grams) baking soda in a shallow dish. Dip the pretzels into the baking soda bath. Flip and dip the other side. Place the dipped pretzels onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.

The answer lies in a brief dip in an alkaline water bath before baking. This bath essentially gelatinizes the outside of the pretzel, preventing it from fully “springing” during baking (as bread does) and giving pretzels their signature chewy crust. It also gives them their unique and indelible “pretzel” flavor.

ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), WATER, BROWN SUGAR, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF THE FOLLOWING: DOUGH CONDITIONERS (WHEAT FLOUR, MALT BARLEY FLOUR, ASCORBIC ACID, ENZYMES, SALT, VEGETABLE PROTEIN [CORN-BASED]), YEAST, CALCIUM ...

A big part of the Auntie Anne's appeal is how fresh the pretzels are. A lot of massive chains of this kind rely on shipping frozen items to be reheated in the store but not Annie. The employees receive a "signature flour mixture" that they combine with yeast and water on site.

Products sold at Auntie Anne's franchise locations are baked fresh in-store. In order to provide you with a great Auntie Anne's experience at home, we use the same proprietary blend of flour used in our stores.

Furthermore, we've introduced the baking soda bath. While it sounds strange, this step is what gives pretzels that iconic flavor, chewy texture, helps deepen their golden color in the oven, and locks in the super soft interior.

All those pretzels are made and twisted on the spot.

Auntie Anne's definitely doesn't serve pre-made pretzels! Every location receives shipments of the signature flour mixture, which is put in a mixer along with water and yeast. They're baked, brushed with real butter, salted and served right there.

Lye is the secret ingredient that gives pretzels their characteristic look and taste. Without lye, you have a breadstick. When you dip raw dough into a hot lye bath, the lye breaks down proteins and starches on the surface.

They're Boiled, Not Baked.

The dough is first shaped into a long rope and then boiled in water before being baked at a higher temperature than bread. This process creates a distinctive pretzel shape and gives them their unique taste.

Our classic Auntie Anne's Pretzel dough wrapped around a Nathan's Famous^®, all beef hot dog. Individually wrapped and available by the dozen.

Can vegans eat Auntie Anne's pretzels? ›

Do you have vegan / vegetarian pretzels? Yes, many of our products are vegetarian as standard. We can also adapt some of these to become fully vegan by using a vegetable spray instead of butter. Please ask at the store.

GoTo Foods (formerly Focus Brands) is an American company that currently owns the Schlotzsky's, Carvel, Cinnabon, Moe's Southwest Grill, McAlister's Deli, Auntie Anne's and Jamba brands. It is located in Sandy Springs, Georgia, and operates over 5,000 stores.

According to King Arthur Baking, lye and caustic sodas are used in the process of baking pretzels because lye's reaction to the pretzels, much like baking soda, gives them that chewy texture, light interior, and brown crust.

“Auntie” Anne Beiler started baking pretzels to help fund her husband's desire to provide free family counseling services for their community.

Traditional German pretzels are first dipped in a 3% to 4% lye-to-water bath before baking. Pretzel purists often argue a pretzel isn't really a pretzel unless lye is used.

Then I dug a little deeper and started reading about soft pretzels, and I learned that the key to making them authentic is a little something called NaOH. Otherwise known as sodium hydroxide, and otherwise known as caustic soda, or lye, or highly poisonous chemicals that are used to clean out plugged-up drains.

An alkaline bath is what makes a pretzel a pretzel and not just a tanned twist of dough. The base reacts with proteins, sugars, and starches at the pretzel's surface to intensify browning and give the skin its tight, glossy sheen. It also imparts that saline, mineral flavor.