Pretzel Bites

From nothing to pretzel bites in under 90 minutes.

Some people think these deserve beer cheese....

Ingredients	Step
300 g flour (2½ c.) 6 g salt (1 t.) 1 t. sugar 7 g yeast (2¼ t.) up to 1 c. warm water, depending on ambient humidity	Combine all ingredients. Knead until normal bread dough texture (sticky like a post-it, soft like a marshmallow). Cover the mixing bowl and let rest for 30 minutes.
3 c. water 2 T. baking soda	While resting, prepare the baking soda bath. In a very large saucepan, heat and stir until the soda is totally dissolved. Set pan aside to cool to room temperature (no warmer than lukewarm).
	Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a work surface.
	Prepare a baking sheet. Because of the baking soda bath, the pretzel bites really like to stick and to overcook on their bottoms. I've had the best luck with a well-oiled silpat mat on a light-colored air-gap baking sheet. Ungreased parchment paper produces papery bites.
	Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Roll ropes and cut pieces. Drop the pieces into the baking soda solution, swish them around, and let them sit for a few minutes. The longer they sit, the more they'll lose their integrity and the darker and more "pretzel-ly" they'll cook up.
coarse salt	Transfer the bites to the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.
	Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden brown.
3 T. butter, melted	Brush with melted butter, then flip the bites and brush their bottoms too. Transfer to rack to cool.

Pamela Toman