In my last post I featured yummy beer and cheese dip to celebrate American Cheese Month and promised to publish my recipe for homemade pretzel bites. You are going to love these soft and buttery morsels. They are really easy to make and impossible to resist, especially right out of the oven.
If I’m not making these for a crowd, I usually wind up freezing part of them. When ready to reheat them, I just place them in a 250°F oven until they are warm.
Ingredients (makes about 40 pretzel bites)
- 1½ cups warm water
- 1 packet active yeast
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup baking soda (for boiling water)
- 1 egg, beaten
- Kosher or sea salt (coarse)
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (I use my Pampered Chef large bar pan, which is designed to keep the bottoms of the bites from burning).
In a small bowl, add warm water and yeast. Allow to sit for 3-5 minutes. Add salt and sugar and stir.
In a large bowl, add flour and then pour yeast mixture over top. Knead with the bread hook in your stand mixer or by hand for about 5 minutes.
Separate dough into 6 sections. Roll dough into ropes about 15-20 inches long and 1 inch thick. Cut with scissors into 1½–2 inch pieces. This should make about 40 pretzel pieces.
Bring about 8 cups water and a half cup baking soda to a boil. Boil the dough in several batches (about 8-10 pieces) for 30 seconds or so. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. Place pretzel bites on the baking sheet. Brush the dough lightly with the beaten egg and sprinkle salt on top.
Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. I broil them on high for the last minute to brown the tops. Place the pretzel bites on a cooling rack and brush tops with melted butter.
Enjoy these homemade pretzel bites with Kel’s best beer and cheese dip or your favorite mustard.
Bon appétit!
Eat, drink and be merry!