Pretzel Bites

These Pretzel Bites are the perfect snack when you're craving something salty. They're soft and fluffy and each is brushed with butter and topped with salt before baking. Trust me, it is so hard just to eat a few!

These Pretzel Bites are a great alternative to my Soft Pretzels if you want something in bite size form. You'll use active dry yeast to form the dough and let it rise for 1-1 ½ hours before rolling it out into ropes and cutting it into little rectangles.

A FEW NOTES BEFORE WE GET STARTED

• Measuring Your Ingredients: I strongly encourage that you use a kitchen scale to measure your ingredients and ensure that you have the most accurate measurements possible.
  • However, if you don’t have a scale on hand and will be using cup measurements, make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method when measuring to avoid packing in too much of any dry ingredient.
• Oven Temperature: Make sure to preheat your oven for at least 15 minutes before you start baking.
  • I recommend purchasing an oven thermometer to get to know your oven so you can adjust your baking temperatures accordingly. Some ovens run slightly warmer or colder so its important to know yours to make sure your baked goods come out right.

Warm water in a small bowl until it reaches 110-115º F. Sprinkle yeast on top and whisk together. Set aside for 10 minutes until it starts to look foamy. If the mixture does not foam, start over with a new packet of yeast.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt together. Slowly add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture, followed by the melted butter.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix on low-medium speed until the dough starts to stick together and pull away from the sides of the bowl. You may need to add a little more flour at this point.

Once dough starts to stick to the paddle, switch out the paddle for the hook attachment and mix on medium speed for 8 minutes. Dough should be tacky but not sticky.

Coat a large bowl with cooking spray or vegetable oil. Shape the dough into a ball and gently place in bowl, flipping the dough over to coat the top of it as well. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise for 1 - 1 ½ hours, until it has doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450º F. Gently push down the dough with your fist so it deflates. Transfer the flattened circle to a pastry mat and divide the circle into 8 triangles.

Carefully roll out each portion into a long rope. Use a bench scraper or knife to cut the rope into little rectangles that are about an inch long. Transfer them to a parchment lined baking sheet and repeat this process until all bites are cut.

Place water and baking soda in a medium pot and heat until it reaches a boil. Turn the baking soda solution down to a simmer and use a spider skimmer to gently transfer several pretzel bites at a time to the pot. It's important that they keep their shape as they're transferred as it will be hard to change the shape once they're dipped into the solution.

Cook each bite for about 10-15 seconds before placing back on the parchment lined baking sheet. If too much water ends up on the baking sheet, switch out the parchment for a fresh piece.

Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter on each pretzel and top with kosher salt. Bake pretzels for 12 minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!

Pretzels are best served fresh out of the oven. Leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap or placed in an airtight container and stored at room temperature for several days. Leftovers are best when heated in the oven at 350º F for 5-8 minutes. You can even brush them with more melted butter before reheating.

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