Party Pretzel Bites

By MooK

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup warm water (around 105F)
• 3/4 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour (plus more for dusting surfaces, etc.)
• 8 cups water
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 1 egg white, for egg wash
• Fleur de sel

Preparation

Step 1

In a large bowl stir together the warm water and honey. Sprinkle with yeast and let stand until the yeast is foamy (about 5 minutes). Stir in the butter, salt, and eggs. Stir in the flour until it is entirely incorporated and it comes together in a shaggy ball. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead it for several minutes, until smooth. Put in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until it rises and collapses (90 minutes - 2 hours)

Punch the dough down, and on a floured surface roll it out into 8 ropes, each about 3/4 of an inch wide. Cut the ropes into 1 inch pieces, separate them from each other placing them on a tray or baking sheet and cover with a towel. Allow to rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425F. Bring a large pot filled with 8 cups of water to a boil. Once it is boiling, stir in 2 Tbs. sugar and 1/4 cup baking soda. It will bubble up like crazy! But then it will subside.

Turn the heat down to a simmer and add your little dough pieces about ten at a time. Let them simmer for about a minute and a half, giving them a couple little stirs during the process to make sure both sides cook. Remove from water with a slotted spoon and put onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat until all the little dough bites have been cooked in the water and have been placed onto baking sheets. You can squeeze on a lot per sheet, as long as they have a little space between them. Brush the bites with egg white and sprinkle with fleur de sel.

Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, until they are a deep chestnut brown. Remove onto cooling racks immediately to cool. These pretzel bites are best eaten the day they are baked (very best fresh baked, of course), so I guess you'll have to do it the morning or afternoon of the party! Serve with a little bowl of mustard, blue cheese dip (1 cup crumbled blue cheese whisked with 1/2 cup mascarpone), or chocolate fondue.