Baking Great Bread at HomeAn overnight poolish-built pretzel loaf for bakers without an active starter
IntermediateYeasted Pretzel Loaf withPoolish
by Henry Hunter Jr.
Pretzel crust outside. Yeasted crumb inside. Built on a poolish for depth.
Fermentation
12-14 hours poolish + 2-3 hours bulk
Bake Time
55-60 minutes
Yield
Serves 8-10
Perfection is not required
"Great bread isn't about perfect technique—it's about understanding the dough."— Henry Hunter Jr.
By Henry Hunter Jr., founder of Crust & Crumb Academy and Baking Great Bread at Home.
Authentic Flavor
This is the yeasted companion to Candi Brown-McGriff's sourdough pretzel loaf. Built on a 12-hour poolish to mimic the flavor depth of a sourdough preferment, with the same boil-and-bake finish. For Academy bakers who don't have an active starter or want a faster path to the same crust.
Equipment Needed
Ingredients
The Poolish (mix the night before)
A 100% hydration preferment that develops 12-14 hours overnight at room temperature.
The Final Dough
The Bath
For the Bake
The Finish
Pro Tip
The poolish is what gives this loaf its depth. Don't skip it and don't shortcut the overnight rest. 12-14 hours at room temperature is what builds the flavor that mimics a sourdough preferment.
Night Before
Make the Poolish
The is a wet preferment, equal parts flour and water with a tiny pinch of yeast. It ferments overnight on the counter and develops the flavor depth that gives this loaf the soul of a sourdough.
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Mix the poolish
In a medium bowl, whisk together the bread flour, water, and instant yeast. Mix until smooth and no dry flour remains.
Cover and ferment overnight
Cover with plastic wrap or a lid. Leave at room temperature (68-72°F / 20-22°C) for 12-14 hours. The poolish is ready when the surface is covered in bubbles and it has at least doubled in size with a slightly domed top that's just starting to recede in the center.
⏱ Wait Time
12-14 hours
Pro Tip
If your kitchen is warm (above 75°F), pull the poolish at 10 hours and refrigerate it. A poolish that goes too far smells alcoholic and turns the dough sticky.
Step 1
Mix the Final Dough
Combine the poolish with the remaining ingredients to form the final dough. The yeast in the final dough does the heavy lifting on bulk fermentation. The poolish brings the flavor.
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Combine wet and poolish
Add the room temperature water to the bowl with the poolish. Whisk to break up the poolish and combine.
Add flour and yeast
Add both flours and the instant yeast to the bowl. Mix with a until shaggy, then switch to your hands and mix until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
Add the salt
After the 30-minute rest, sprinkle the salt over the dough and dimple it in with wet fingers. Use the method or stretch and folds for 2-3 minutes to fully incorporate.
⏱ Wait Time
30 minutes
Step 2
Build Strength
Two sets of folds with rests in between. Yeasted dough builds strength faster than sourdough, so we do less folding here.
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First set of stretch and folds
Perform 2 sets of in the bowl. Cover, rest 30 minutes.
Second set of stretch and folds
Perform 2 more sets of stretch and folds. Cover and let bulk ferment.
Precise Timers
Use these interactive timers to track your stages.
Rest between folds
Step 3
Bulk Fermentation
The dough should rise by 75% at room temperature. Yeasted dough moves faster than sourdough.
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Watch the rise
Cover and let the dough rise at 72-75°F (22-24°C) until it has increased by 75% in volume. This typically takes 1.5-2.5 hours. Mark the bowl with tape so you can track the rise accurately.
Don't overproof
Like the sourdough version, this dough cannot survive the boil if it's overproofed. Pull it at 75% rise, not full double. The dough should be smooth and domed on top, with a finger indent that springs back slowly. At this lower hydration the dough won't get jiggly or foamy. Trust the volume increase, not surface bubbles. The dough should still feel firm and springy, not slack.
⏱ Wait Time
1.5-2.5 hours
Step 4
Pre-shape, Shape, and Cold Retard
Same shaping as the sourdough version. The cold retard isn't strictly required for yeasted dough, but it firms the dough up and makes the boil easier to manage.
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Pre-shape
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Round it into a loose ball with a . Cover with a damp towel and rest 15 minutes.
Shape into a boule
Lightly flour the top, flip the dough, and it by stretching into a rectangle and folding the edges into the center. Flip seam-side down and shape into a tight boule using the bench scraper.
Into the banneton
Flour the banneton generously. Place the boule seam-side up in the banneton.
Cold retard (recommended)
Cover with a plastic bag or shower cap and refrigerate for 8-12 hours. This firms the dough so it holds its shape during the boil. If you're baking same-day, proof the boule at room temp for 45-60 minutes covered, then chill for 1 hour minimum before boiling.
⏱ Wait Time
8-12 hours cold retard
Step 5
The Alkaline Bath
This is the step that makes the loaf a pretzel. The baking soda creates an alkaline bath that gelatinizes the surface starches, which then bake into the deep mahogany pretzel crust. Move quickly. The dough only spends 60 seconds in the water.
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Boil the water and preheat the Dutch oven
Bring 5 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large stock pot. Preheat your (with lid) in the oven to 450°F (232°C) at the same time. The Dutch oven needs at least 30 minutes to reach temperature.
Prepare two pieces of parchment
You need two pieces of parchment, each doing a different job: the BREAD SLING and the DUTCH OVEN LINER. Cut the bread sling first: a square of parchment large enough to fit under the loaf with extra on the sides for handles. Cut the Dutch oven liner second: a smaller piece that fits the bottom of your Dutch oven. Set the liner inside the preheated Dutch oven now (carefully, lid back on after) so it's ready when the loaf is.
Score the loaf on the sling
Take the banneton out of the fridge. Flip the loaf onto the bread sling (NOT the Dutch oven liner). the top with a : a single slash, a cross, or a square pattern. Don't score deeper than ¼ inch.
Add the baking soda to the boil
Once the water is boiling, slowly pour the ½ cup of baking soda into the pot. The water will fizz and rise dramatically. Wait for the foam to settle before adding the dough.
Boil 60 seconds total on the sling
Lower the loaf into the pot using the bread sling, with the loaf still ON the sling. The loaf and sling will float together. Set a timer for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, use a slotted spoon or spider to flip the loaf (still on the sling) and boil for another 30 seconds on the second side. 60 seconds total. No longer.
Lift out and drip briefly
Lift the loaf out using the bread sling. Let it drip for a few seconds. The surface will look slightly wet and slick. That's exactly right. Keep the loaf on the sling. It goes into the Dutch oven on this same sling.
Pro Tip
Hot baking soda water is no joke. Wear long sleeves, keep a towel nearby, and keep kids and pets out of the kitchen for this step.
Precise Timers
Use these interactive timers to track your stages.
First side boil
Second side boil
Shaping
Shape and Variation Options
Same three options as the sourdough version. The yeasted base behaves nearly identically through the boil and bake.
Candi's Cheddar Method
If you're going for the cheddar version, the cheese goes in during the SECOND set of stretch and folds, not at shaping. Scatter 100g (1 cup) of shredded cheddar across the dough, then complete the folds. Some cheese will end up near or at the surface by the time you shape, and that's exactly what you want. Those exposed bits caramelize through the score lines during the boil and bake.
Plain Pretzel Boule
Base recipe as written. Butter and Maldon salt finish.
RecommendedClick each step to mark complete
Follow the base recipe
No additions. The pretzel crust does the talking.
Cheddar-Stuffed
Inspired by Candi Brown-McGriff's cheddar version of the sourdough original.
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Add shredded cheese during the second stretch and fold
During the second set of stretch and folds in the strength-building phase, scatter 100g (1 cup) of shredded mild or sharp cheddar cheese across the dough. As you complete the folds, the cheese gets distributed throughout the dough rather than layered. This is Candi's actual method and it produces the caramelized cheese-through-the-score-lines finish you see in her bake.
Shape carefully
Shape into a tight boule. Some cheese will be visible near the surface and that's fine. During the boil and bake, exposed cheese caramelizes into the crust, which is what gives this loaf its signature look.
Boil and bake as written
Cheese will bubble through the score lines. That's the point.
Everything Topped
Press everything bagel seasoning onto the surface right after the butter wash.
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Skip the Maldon salt
After buttering, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of everything bagel seasoning across the top instead of flake salt.
Press lightly
Press the seasoning gently into the butter so it adheres. Cool as written.
Step 6
Bake
Straight from the boil into the preheated Dutch oven. Speed matters. The wet, alkalized surface needs immediate high heat to set the crust.
Step by Step
Add ice cubes to the Dutch oven
Open the preheated Dutch oven. The pre-cut Dutch oven liner should already be in the bottom. Drop 4-5 ice cubes around the edges of the liner (NOT directly on the parchment surface where the loaf will sit). The cubes will sit on the hot Dutch oven floor and generate steam during the bake. Even though the loaf is wet from the boil, this extra steam helps oven spring at this lower hydration.
Transfer the loaf to the Dutch oven
Lift the bread sling (with the boiled loaf still on it) and lower the entire sling into the Dutch oven, on top of the liner. The loaf bakes on the sling. The liner underneath separates the loaf from the ice cubes so the cubes can melt and steam without soaking the bottom of the loaf. Cover with the lid immediately.
Bake covered
Bake at 450°F (232°C) for 30 minutes with the lid on.
Rotate and continue
After 30 minutes, rotate the Dutch oven 180 degrees. Continue baking covered another 25 minutes, or until the loaf reaches 205-210°F (96-99°C) internal.
Verify doneness
Check internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer pushed into the side of the loaf. Don't trust color alone. The pretzel finish makes the crust look done long before the interior is.
Covered bake
Continue covered
The ice cube technique came from Candi's original method. The wet boiled surface alone doesn't generate enough steam in a covered Dutch oven for proper oven spring at this hydration. A few ice cubes on the hot Dutch oven floor (kept off the loaf by the parchment liner) make a real difference in how the loaf opens up during the bake.
Baking Methods
The only method recommended. The post-boil dough needs trapped heat and steam to set the crust properly.
Equipment: Dutch oven with lid, preheated to 450°F (232°C) for 30+ minutes
Preheat with liner
Preheat the Dutch oven (with lid on) at 450°F (232°C) for at least 30 minutes. Place a parchment liner in the bottom of the Dutch oven during the preheat or just before transfer.
Add ice cubes
Drop 4-5 ice cubes around the edges of the parchment liner (not directly on the surface where the loaf will sit). The cubes generate steam during the bake for proper oven spring.
Transfer on the bread sling
Lower the bread sling (with the boiled loaf still on it) into the Dutch oven on top of the liner. Cover immediately.
Covered bake
Bake covered for 30 minutes, rotate 180°, then continue covered another 25 minutes or until internal temp hits 205-210°F (96-99°C).
Step 7
Butter and Salt the Crust
The moment the loaf comes out, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with flake salt. The hot crust soaks up just enough butter to glisten, and the salt locks on while the surface is tacky.
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Butter immediately
Pull the loaf out of the Dutch oven onto a wire rack. Brush the entire surface with melted butter while the loaf is still hot.
Sprinkle the salt
While the butter is still wet, sprinkle Maldon flake salt across the top. Don't be shy.
Cool completely
Let the loaf cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing. Cutting too early will gum the crumb.
Nutrition Facts
Per 1 slice (about 70g) • 10 servings per recipe
* Values are estimates based on standard ingredients
Storage
Room Temperature
2-3 days in a paper bag or wrapped in a clean cloth.
Refrigerated
Not recommended. Refrigeration accelerates staling and softens the crust.
Frozen
Up to 3 months. Slice before freezing and toast slices directly from frozen.
Refresh
Toast slices in a toaster or warm a whole loaf at 350°F (175°C) for 8-10 minutes to revive the crust.
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Troubleshooting
Baker's Notes
Common questions and solutions for perfect results
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