Pretzel Bites (with a surprise twist)!

One of my favorite food blogs is Crepes of Wrath.  I adore the photographs and how well she keeps the blog up.  Now that I am ONE DAY from finishing my internship, I hopefully will be able to keep up my blog posting as well as be able to focus on taking better photos!  This recipe comes from her blog and I hope you love it as much as I did.  Making bread and bread type products isn't very hard, you'll just need some time to let the dough rise.

They are so great right out of the oven, just don't burn your tongue!  They are best enjoyed on the day of, but if you keep them longer than 24 hours, store them uncovered, as they get soggy that way.  Enjoy!

Your ingredients...quite simple.

Prepare all ingredients below and mix with your dough hook until the dough pulls away from the bowl. 

Knead into a ball on a lightly floured surface. 

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise about 1 hour until the dough is doubled in size.

Divide into eight equal portions and then roll those portions into logs about 20-22 inches in length. 

Cut the dough logs into 1 inch pieces and let rise, covered for 20-30 minutes.

Boil 8-10 pieces at a time for 30 seconds per batch.   Put the pieces onto a cookie sheet and brush with the egg mixture.  Sprinkle with salt to taste and enjoy.

Homemade Soft Pretzels 

For the pretzels:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (I used rapid rise yeast and it worked just as well)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose flour

For cooking the pretzels:
vegetable or olive oil (for oiling your bowl)
3 quarts water
3/4 cup baking soda
1 whole egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
Coarse sea salt, fleur de sel, or kosher salt

1. For the pretzels: combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or a food processor and beat or pulse until well incorporated. Let stand for 5 minutes.  If you're using a stand mixer, use your dough hook, add in the salt and 4 1/2 cups of flour, and then mix or pulse on low speed until combined.  Bring the speed up to medium and continue kneading or pulsing until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes.  If the dough appears too wet, you can add more flour a 1 tablespoon at a time.  Remove the dough from the bowl or processor, place on a flat, lightly floured surface, and knead into a ball with your hands.

2.  Lightly oil a large bowl with vegetable oil or olive oil, then add the dough and turn it to coat with the oil. Cover it with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour. 

3.  Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a flat, lightly floured surface.  Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, about 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 ounces each.  Roll each piece into a long rope that is about 22 inches long.  Cut the dough into 1-inch pieces, then cover and allow to rise again for another 20-30 minutes.

4.  When the dough has risen again, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.  Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot and add in the baking soda.  Boil the pretzel bites in the water solution in batches, about 8-10 pretzels at a time is a good number.  Boil for about 30 seconds, then remove the pretzels with a large, slotted spoon or spatula.  Place pretzel bites on a lightly greased baking sheet, being sure that they are not touching one another.  Brush the tops with the egg and water mixture and sprinkle with the coarse salt.  Place the pretzels in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.

5.  Remove to a baking rack and let rest 5 minutes before eating.  These are great fresh from the oven or room temperature.

 Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzel Bites!

We decided to try and make cinnamon-sugar pretzel bites from a few of the pretzels and it turned out pretty good.  Follow the steps below for a nice sweet treat.

1.  Boil the pretzels as above and brush them with the egg mixture, but do not salt them.

2.  Bake as directed and let them cool completely.  

3.  Make a cinnamon-sugar mixture with a ratio of 3 parts sugar to 1 part cinnamon.

4.  Melt 1-2 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a bowl.  Toss the pretzels in the butter in small batches and then coat them in the cinnamon-sugar mixture and enjoy! 

**Do not put the cinnamon-sugar on top of the pretzels prior to baking them.  The mixture will burn and not really give the good cinnamon-sugar taste you've come to expect from pretzels**