Homemade Pretzel Bites

I have a blog post in the works that discusses my disdain for baking bread and my recent conversion to loving it, but I made these pretzel bites for a birthday party this past weekend and had to blog about them ASAP.

The party was German themed and my mind immediately went to pretzels. I remember seeing a few pins on Pinterest so started there for inspiration. I decided to use a recipe from Our Best Bites, a blog that I love and have had great luck with their recipes in the past. Here’s a sneak peek at the final result:

Pretzel bites

A post shared by Jessica Hall (@jessicanicolehall) on Jul 27, 2013 at 7:20pm PDT

The recipe was simple and turned out amazingly. Let’s say that they were gone very quickly at the party.

Pretzel Bites
Adapted from Our Best Bites’ Homemade Soft Pretzels

1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees F)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
4 cups all-purpose flour
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil for bowl
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Kosher salt (or pretzel salt)

Directions:

1. Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam.
2. Add the flour and butter and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, scrape the bowl clean and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
4. Bring 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
5. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into ropes. Cut each rope into 1-2″ pieces.
6. Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Put in as many as will fit without crowding. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula or a metal spider. Return to the pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk wash and sprinkle with salt. Bake 10.5 minutes or until dark golden brown in color. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.
7. Serve with mustard or beer cheese dip.

FYI the original recipe has some great tips if you want to make a full pretzel. It also has a variation for sugar-cinnamon pretzels. Anyone else ever made pretzels? Do you have a favorite recipe?