Gluten-Free Heart Pretzels

Up your game this Valentine's Day with these gluten-free soft pretzels. They are an adorable heart-shaped variation of my traditional gluten-free soft pretzel recipe. Ideal for Valentine's Day celebrations, Galentine's Day, and any time you want to show love to a gluten-free sweetheart or friend.

These gluten-free heart pretzels are pillowy soft on the inside and perfectly chewy on the outside. Everything a pretzel should be.

Thanks to the amazing gluten-free flour in this recipe...

King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour

King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour is the magic ingredient that gives these heart pretzels the taste and texture of classic soft pretzels.

This recipe is designed to be made with this flour or a similar gluten-free wheat starch flour, such as Caputo Fioreglut Gluten-Free Flour. It will not work with another type of flour.

Note that King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour and Caputo Fioreglut Gluten-Free Flour are made with gluten-free wheat starch.

Don't click off this page just yet. If you haven't heard of gluten-free wheat starch, it starts as wheat flour, and is processed to remove the gluten-containing protein, the part of wheat that causes an autoimmune reaction for those of us with celiac disease. It meets the requirements of a gluten-free diet for celiac disease. However, it is not safe for those with a wheat allergy. Learn more about Gluten-Free Wheat Starch to determine if it is a safe ingredient for you.

Tips for Making Heart Pretzels with Caputo Fioreglut

In this recipe, I recommend King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour over Caputo Fioreglut, simply because it is less sticky and a bit easier to work with. However, if you have Caputo Fioreglut Gluten-Free Flour on hand, I would not hesitate to use it. You will get the same excellent end results.

Tips:

• Measure 240 grams of flour on an inexpensive kitchen scale. Using a measuring cup will be inaccurate. (I highly recommend measuring gluten-free flour on a kitchen scale anyway.)
• Reduce the liquid in the dough to ½ + ⅓ warm water.
• If the dough is sticky after mixing, scrape the sides of the mixing bowl to form the dough into a ball.
• If the dough is sticky while forming the heart shapes, lightly dust the work surface with flour or rub a small amount of oil into your hands to prevent sticking.

Other Ingredients

The remaining ingredients are simple items that are likely already staples in your kitchen, except for pretzel salt.

• Salt
• Instant Yeast (I use Fleischmann’s Rapid Rise Yeast): no proofing needed
• Brown Sugar
• Butter
• Water
• Baking Soda
• Coarse Salt: for sprinkling on pretzels (I use Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt)

Instructions

Mix the Dough

Use a stand mixer with a dough hook to mix all of the dough ingredients: King Arthur Gluten-Free Bread Flour, salt, instant yeast, brown sugar, 7 ounces of warm water, and melted butter. Mix for five minutes at #2 speed. If the flour is not fully incorporated after one minute, pause the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl to quickly stir in all of the remaining flour.

Let the Dough Rise

During mixing the dough will form into a ball. Remove the mixing bowl, and simply cover the bowl with a towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place for one hour. The dough will rise about 150%.

Prepare for Baking

About five minutes before the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Set aside.

Prepare the baking soda bath, which is essential for giving pretzels their chewy exterior. In a large pot (mine holds 4 quarts), bring the baking soda and 9 cups of water to a boil. The water will have time to boil while you shape the heart pretzels.

Form Heart-Shaped Pretzels

Cut the dough into 6 roughly even pieces.

Roll each piece of dough into a roughly 20-inch long rope. Form the rope into a U-shape, twist the ends together near the top, then fold the twisted ends down. Push along the inside of the bottom of the U to form the bottom point of a heart. 

Baking Soda Bath

In this next step, just prior to immersing the heart pretzels in the baking soda bath, I like to tweak each pretzel's shape on the spatula, until it's "just right". Once the pretzel is immersed in the baking soda bath, the shape is set.

Using a slotted spatula, gently place 1-2 heart pretzels at a time into the boiling water for 20-30 seconds. Carefully retrieve the heart pretzel from the water with the slotted spatula and allow any excess water to drip off. 

Bake

Place the pretzels onto the prepared baking sheet and sprinkle with coarse pretzel salt, to taste.

Bake for 15-16 minutes until the heart pretzels are a deep golden brown. Don't pull them out too early or the pretzels will be doughy and collapse once cooled. Waiting until they are deep brown will give you the perfect soft interior of a traditional soft pretzel.

Remove from the oven and serve warm.

Storing

If not enjoying today, store the pretzels in an airtight container in the freezer, for the best texture.

Spritz with water and reheat in the oven at 350°F for about 4-5 minutes. Or wrap individual pretzels in a damp paper towel and reheat in the microwave for about 30 seconds. Be careful not to overheat in the microwave.

Can I Double the Recipe?

Absolutely! The recipe can be double, or even quadrupled. All of the dough ingredients, including yeast, need to be doubled. There's no need to double the ingredients for the baking soda bath.

Sweet Heart Pretzels

For a sweet variation of this recipe, omit the salt and follow the directions for the cinnamon-sugar topping and cream cheese frosting dip in this Gluten-Free Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzel Recipe.

Related Recipes:

• Gluten-Free Heart-Shaped Pizza
• Gluten-Free Heart Cookies
• Gluten-Free Eggnog Cinnamon Rolls
• Gluten-Free Valentine’s Day Dessert Charcuterie Board
• Gluten-Free Valentine’s Candy