These buttery soft pretzel bites has everything you get in regular pretzel and it’s much easier to make. No fancy twisting! All the goodness of pretzels in bite sizes!
1tablespoonunsalted buttermelted (should not be scorching hot)
4 to 4 ½cupsall-purpose flourplus more for counter surface and adjust dough consistency if very sticky
2quartsor 8 cups water
â…“cupbaking soda
1eggbeaten
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
Use a stand mixer or hand mixer to make the dough. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment mix warm water, melted butter, active dry yeast, and light brown sugar for a few seconds. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes.
Switch to dough hook attachment. Slowly add flour in parts (1 cup at a time) and kosher salt mix on low speed until well combined.
Increase the speed and continue to mix. If dough is very sticky add 1 tablespoon flour at a time and keep mixing it.
Continue mixing dough for about 5 minutes or until smooth and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Poke the dough with your fingers and if it bounces back, the dough is ready.
Transfer smooth dough to a big bowl greased with vegetable oil. Cover with greased cling wrap or cloth. Set it aside to rest for 30 minutes in a warm place until it is doubled in size.
If you use hands like me, prepared dough needs kneading to make it smooth. Lightly sprinkle flour on clean dry surface. Transfer dough from the bowl on to the surface.
Knead dough for 3 to 5 minutes or until smooth. The best way to knead is the stretch and roll method. Stretch like shown in the picture. Roll back the pulled dough. Repeat this for 3-4 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a big bowl greased with vegetable oil.
Cover with greased plastic wrap or cloth.
Set it aside to rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour in a warm place until it is doubled in size. While the dough rests, preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit (or 220 degrees centigrade). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat. Or generously spray oil over a baking tray to bake directly on it.
Punch down dough that has doubled in size.
Knead it for a minute to make it smooth
With a sharp knife divide/cut dough into 8 equal sections.
Roll each section with your hands to form long ropes.
Cut the rope into 1 ½ inch bite-size pieces.
In a large pot bring 8 to 9 cups of water to boil. Slowly add baking soda to boiling water. Be careful while adding baking soda to boiling water. It will boil and pour out depending on the size of the pan used. Using a slotted spoon drop 10 to 12 pretzels into boiling water for a quick boil of 20 seconds. Remove pretzels immediately from boiling water and drain as much as you can.
Transfer immediately to a greased/lined baking sheet. Make sure they aren’t touching each other as they will stick to each other and break. Make an egg wash by beating one egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Brush the beaten egg over each pretzel.
Immediately sprinkle coarse sea salt on top of each pretzel. Bake in preheated oven at 425F (or 220C) in batches for about 15 minutes. Rotate the baking tray 180 degrees halfway during the baking for even browning.
Once golden brown, remove the baking tray from the oven. Immediately brush a generous amount of melted butter on each pretzel. Serve it immediately with cheese sauce.
Video
Notes
Make sure yeast is not past its expiry date. If expired yeast is used dough will not rise and pretzels will be hard.
Water temperature – water should be lukewarm while adding it to yeast. If it’s scorching hot it’ll kill the yeast.
Doughconsistency: keep in mind different brands of flour and the humidity in your kitchen can affect the consistency of the dough. If the dough is still too sticky, add a few tablespoons of flour at a time to adjust dough consistency.
Dough resting time shouldn't be compromised, rest until it’s doubled in size. If it’s a hot day outside, the dough will rise much faster.
Knead to smoothen the dough and to get better textured on pretzel bites.Â
Pan: use a stock pot or a large pan for boiling water.
Be careful while adding baking soda it may pour out and burn your hands.
Use the middle rack while baking.
Don't skip melted brushing with melted butter on top, as soon as it comes out of the oven. It gives more of Auntie Anne’s pretzel bites flavor.
 Nutritional Info – Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided is only a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.