Soft Pretzel Bites

A beautiful success! I don’t have internet in my kitchen, so I didn't totally follow this recipe. I also wanted to make it with natural yeast instead of commercial instant, so I had to change it up some, anyway. First, I increased the servings until the recipe called for an even multiple of 5 cups of flour. That makes the ratio of flour to yeast much easier to compute. To make enough for everyone I used 15 cups of flour and 3 cups of natural yeast. All other ingredients were in perportion. I couldn't read the instructions so I mostly winged them. I mixed the ingredients that were obviously dough in my Hobart. Then set it aside to "culture" for a couple of hours, under some plastic wrap. (I only recommend the plastic wrap to those who live in very dry, or very wet climates. I live where it is very dry) When it had doubled I pressed it down and divided it into 5 lumps. Those I was not immediately working with I placed back under the wrap. Each lump I divided into 6 and rolled them into 3/4" to 1" thick logs. Then I cut the logs into 1" to 1 - 1/2" pieces. I placed the pieces on a baking sheet covered tray and left them alone until they had sprung up again, maybe 15 minutes. Meanwhile, I prepared the baking soda water. I used 6 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of baking soda. I bought it to a simmer/boil and dropped in 10 pieces at a time. When they floated I dipped them out with a slotted spoon and shook off as much of the water as possible. Then I lined them up across the lined tray and shook salt over them while they were still wet. When the tray was full I popped them into the pre-heated oven. And I think I made a mistake in the temperature. I baked them at 350 F, but they took forever to brown. I think I should have baked them at 400, or even 450 F. When the boiling water in the pan became low I added more water in 3 cup increments, but I did not add more soda because soda doesn't evaporate.

Seasoned with everything bagel spice which worked well. Ended up using much more flour (measured by mass not volume) perhaps due to "extra smooth flour " obtained in Honduras and cooking in an environment with high humidity. This is the best " bread" recipe I have made baking at a beach house.

Fabulous! This is the same recipe whether you make knots or bites, so I chose bites this time around. This is quick and easy to make, smells wonderful as it cooks, and tastes delicious to eat. I served them with soup, and I think we all filled up on the pretzels 😂 Family declared them delicious too.

I was positively surprised how easy it was to prepare. One of the quickest yeast-dough recipes I have seen. I made bites with bread flour (wheat 850) and all kneading in the food processor. Bites were crunchy on the outside and fluffy in the inside, just as they should be. Definitely will do again and I will try cinnamon version.

Probably cook them for less time, but besides that they were great. I added melted butter after to the salted ones, they needed it.

Very easy to make and so tasty. Great for my Bunco night or anytime.

made thermomix milk bread and used this cutting and soda bath technique. delicious!