Soft Pretzel Bites

I have been experimenting with several different recipes for homemade soft pretzels. Tried this one last week and my husband just loves them! I think he especially likes that he can just grab a handful and throw them in his lunch. They are a bit time consuming, but the recipe makes A TON of them so they will last for awhile!

My 20 year old niece was sleeping over my house the afternoon I made these so we just sat and chatted as I mixed up the dough, rolled it out and baked them up. So, grab a friend and a cup of coffee and spend some quality time making something your family will enjoy!

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 1/4 yeast (or 1 package)
3 ounces unsalted butter, melted [I only had salted, so I cut back on the salt I added]
2 1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 1/2-5 cups all-purpose flour
Veggie Oil
3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp cold water
Coarse Sea Salt

Combine water, sugar, yeast and butter in your stand mixer's bowl. Mix with dough hook until combined and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase speed and knead dough until it is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough appears to be too wet, add more flour, 1 Tbsp at a time. Remove the dough and place it on a flat surface to knead in a ball with hands. Oil a bowl and let the dough sit in there, turning once, covered for 1 hour until it doubles in size.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add the baking soda.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a long rope and cut the rope into 1-inch pieces. Boil the pieces [bites] in the water solution, several at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet. Brush the tops with egg wash and salt.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown.

Visit Two Peas & Their Pod for a more detailed version of this recipe and some great ideas for dipping and seasoning these soft pretzel bites!