Soft Pretzel Bites
Servings: 98 pretzel bites (about 8 servings)
Ingredients
for the pretzel bites:
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 cup warm water 240g
- 1 packet active dry yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (440g) spooned and leveled not scooped*
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
for the soda bath:
- 4 1/2 cups water
- 1/4 cup baking soda 65g
additionally:
- 1 egg
- coarse/pretzel salt
Instructions
Make the dough:
- Add the sugar into a medium/large mixing bowl. Add very warm water - it should be pleasantly warm to the touch (it's best to check its temperature with a thermometer, it should be 100-110°F (38-43°C)). The water can't be too hot or the yeast won't work. Stir the water with sugar.
- Stir in the yeast. Let stand for 5 minutes until foamy (a sign that the yeast is working).
- Add all the other ingredients for the dough: flour, melted and slightly cooled butter, and salt (note about the flour: if you're using measuring cups to measure out the flour, add 3 cups of flour first and then add the remaining 1/2 cup while kneading the dough if it's still sticky, if using a scale you can add all the ingredients as written in one go).
- Stir the dough with a spoon until roughly combined.
- Knead the dough by hand or with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment - about 3-4 minutes until the dough is smooth and not sticky.
- Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let stand in a warm place until roughly doubled in volume. You can put it in a turned off oven with a light on. It should take about 30-45 minutes.
Shape the pretzel bites:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Punch the dough with your fist to deflate it. Place the dough on the counter or on a rolling mat, shape it into a thick disc and cut into 8 parts.
- Roll each part into a 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick rope, then cut the rope into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces..
- Place the pretzel bites on a tray lined with parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining dough. Make sure your pretzel bites are really small, they will rise in the oven.
Cook and bake the pretzels:
- Combine water and baking soda in a medium/large pot. Bring to a boil.
- Add 8-10 pretzel bites at a time to the pot and cook for 15 seconds (it doesn't have to be exactly 15 seconds but try not to cook them longer than 30 seconds).
- Take them out with a slotted spoon and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- When all the pretzel bites have been cooked, brush them with beaten egg.
- Sprinkle the pretzels with coarse salt.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden.
- Take out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Ingredients notes: you can also use white sugar instead of brown sugar, and vegetable oil instead of butter. You can also use milk instead of water, but I prefer the recipe with water.
- How to correctly measure the flour: Fluff the flour by stirring it in the bag/flour container with a spoon. Spoon the flour and sprinkle it into your measuring cup. Sweep off the excess flour with the back of a knife. 1 cup flour is 125g.
- Storage: they are best eaten the day that you make them. The longer they sit out, the more they lose their soft pillowy texture. They become rather dense and not as fluffy as freshly baked. If you want to make them ahead it's best to freeze them.
- How to freeze: place them apart on a tray (make sure they are not touching each other). When frozen transfer to zip lock bags on containers.
- How to thaw: I bake them straight from the freezer: place them on a baking tray and put them in a cold oven (this gives them time to thaw). Set the oven to 325°F (160°C) and bake for about 15 minutes (time may vary depending on the oven) until thawed and warm.
- Calories = 1 serving (1/8 of the recipe = about 12 pretzel bites). This is only an estimate!
Nutrition
Calories: 254kcal