Pretzel Bites

I've actually never made the pretzel bites, but this is the dough recipe used for the buffalo chicken bites that I brought to the Halloween party 2011 and which Brett and I just made for dinner - yum!  

From the kitchen of:  The Mighty Mel (melskitchencafe.com) found by Katie - click here for her recipe with includes pictures!

INGREDIENTS: Dough

• 2 1/2 C. flour (plus...)

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 tsp sugar

• 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast

• 1 cup very warm water

INGREDIENTS: Topping

• 1/2 C warm water

• 2 Tbs baking soda

• Coarse salt (optional... well not really, but I'll put that there anyway).

• 3 Tbs butter, melted

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In are large electric mixer, place the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Mix to just combine.

2. Add the water and mix well, adding more flour, as needed, a bit at a time to form a soft, smooth dough that clears the sides and bottom of the bowl.

3. Knead the dogh for about 5 minutes, until soft, smooth, and quite slack. The goal is to get a really soft dough that isn't overly sticky.

4. Lightly flour the dough and place it in a plastic bag.

5. Close the bag, leaving room for the dough to expand, and let it rest for 30-60 min.

6. Preheat oven to 500°F

7. Mel likes to use parchment paper, which I happen to have, so I used it to line my cookie sheet.

8. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into about 4 strips of equal length. 

9. Allow the pieces to rest, uncovered, for 5 min.

10. Combine the 1/2 C warm water and the baking soda in a liquid measuring cup (deep enough to dip the pretzel bites into).

11. Make sure the baking soda is thoroughly dissolved. Sometimes I have a hard time getting the baking soda completely dissolved, so I just lightly stir up the mixture right before adding each pretzel.

12. Cut each strip of dough into about 6-8 pieces, about 1 to 1 ½ inches in width.

13. Dip each pretzel bite in the baking soda solution (this will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color), and place them on the baking sheets.

14. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

15. Bake the pretzels for 7-8 minutes or until they’re golden brown.

16. Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter. Keep brushing the butter on until you’ve used it all up; it may seem like a lot, but that’s what gives these pretzels their ethereal taste.

17. Eat the pretzels warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave on low heat.

MAKES:About 2 dozen bites