Scott’s (mostly) organic pretzel bites recipe

Dough:
1 ½ cups water
1 packet of active dry yeast (rapid rise works well)
1 ¼ tsp fine sea salt
2 tablespoons organic brown sugar
3 cups organic unbleached white flour
1 cup bread flour

Baking soda bath:

2 tablespoons baking soda
2 cups water

Topping it off:
½ to ¾ stick of Kerigold butter or organic butter from grass fed cows
Coarse sea salt

Instructions:
1) Prepare baking soda bath. Using hot water and a whisk works best to fully dissolve. Bath does
not need to be hot, but whisk frequently if baking soda falls out of solution.
2) Heat water to approx. 100-110 °F (important for rate of reaction & dough consistency while
kneading). Temperatures greater than 135 °F will kill the yeast.
3) Add yeast and whisk to dissolve. Let sit 2 minutes.
4) Add brown sugar and salt and mix to dissolve.
5) Add flour and mix.
6) Plop dough on a countertop or other large, flat, clean surface and knead until smooth and
elastic (or about 5 minutes).
a. To knead the dough and promote formation of gluten for a nice fluffy pretzel, fold the
dough in half and press on it with the palm of your hand. Rotate the dough 45 degrees
and repeat. Once the dough is more of a coherent ball, it should combine smoothly
while kneading and not leave very noticeable fold lines after pressing down with your
palm. You may need to coat your hands with flour and add a little flour to the outside of
the dough to keep it from sticking to your hands while kneading.
7) Cover the dough with a warm damp towel and let it rise for about 45 minutes.
8) Pre-heat oven to 450 °F with a rack near the top.
9) Plop the dough back on your countertop or other surface, shape it into a rough oval, and cut
into 8 equal sized parts.
10) Start rolling each dough ball by pressing in the middle with the palm of one hand until the roll is
about ½ inch thick. Then roll out from the middle with both hands using a fair amount of
pressure down on the roll, but little pressure pulling towards the ends. Roll the dough until it is
about an arm’s length and is about ¼ - ½ inch thick throughout. Make sure you start in the
 middle and go all the way to the ends for every roll to ensure you press out any large air
bubbles.
11) Cut the rolled out dough into roughly 1 inch sections. Pizza c’utters are fun for this.
12) Dip the pretzel bites into the baking soda bath, dab the bottoms dry briefly on a towel, and
place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. The baking soda allows for a nice brown
outer crust to form.
13) Salt the pretzels with coarse salt (you may need to press it into the dough a bit) and bake 8-10
minutes at 450 °F on a top rack. Rotate the tray once, halfway through baking.
14) Melt ½ - ¾ stick of butter in a small cup or ramekin. If possible, use tongs to dip the whole
pretzel bite in melted butter. Otherwise baste butter on with a brush.
15) Enjoy!

Suggested dipping sauces:

• Spicy cheese dip or queso
• Honey mustard

Other Varieties:
• Instead of salting the pretzels, try dipping them in butter and rolling them in cinnamon sugar for
a sweeter treat
• Try stuffing the pretzel bites with cheese before baking
• Pretzel dogs (wrap the dough around a hot dog and bake for the same amount of time)
• Instead of cutting the rolled out dough into bite size pieces, you can also fold them into a
traditional pretzel shape