Ingredients:
Dough:
2 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
*Note: if using active dry yeast, increase the yeast to 1 tablespoon. Proof the yeast in the warm water and sugar (let it bubble and foam – maybe about 5 minutes) before adding it to the flour and salt.
1 cup (8 ounces) very warm water
Topping:
1/2 cup (4 ounces) warm water
2 tablespoons baking soda
Coarse salt (optional)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
Directions:
In a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Mix to just combine. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour, as needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it is soft, smooth and quite slack. The goal is to get a really soft dough that isn’t overly sticky. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag (if / when I ever make these again I will NOT do the bag thing - it made a huge, sticky mess - instead, I'll just cover my dough with a towel and leave it in the bowl to rise, like I do for all my yeast dough making); close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30 minutes or up to 60 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 500°F. Don’t be afraid of the high heat! This is what will help those pretzels to brown up perfectly and stay soft on the inside. Prepare two baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper or lightly greasing them.
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into about four strips of equal length. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 minutes. While the dough is resting, combine the 1/2 cup warm water and the baking soda in a liquid measuring cup (deep enough to dip the pretzel bites into). Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved. (My soda was never fully dissolved, so I just stirred it right before dunking each of my dough pieces.)
Cut each strip of dough into about 6-8 pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ inches in width. You don’t have to be completely exact, just eyeball it. Dip each pretzel bite in the baking soda solution (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets. (I think I'd somehow like to drain them a bit before baking next time - they had a rather strong baking soda taste upon the first bite and I think it's because some of my soda water pooled up around each dough blob.) Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Bake the pretzels for 7-8 minutes or until they’re golden brown. Bake one sheet at a time – it won’t hurt the other pretzels to chill out for a little longer.
Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you’ve used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that’s what gives these pretzels their ethereal (Mel's word, not mine - but it's true that they were!) taste. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave on low heat.
Also - check out Mel's blog for some great step-by-step photo instructions.
Makes about 2 dozen pretzel bites.
Notes:
While reading some of the comments about Mel's split pea soup, which I had already decided to make, I read that someone had made it with these pretzel bites as a side. That intrigued me and I thought I'd give it a shot. Um. Yum. A little different than your usual bread or rolls with soup, but definitely delicious. And they'd make a great after school or football-watching snack, too.
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