Soft and chewy pretzel bites tossed in sweet cinnamon sugar are the perfect way to use your sourdough discard and satisfy your sweet snack cravings. Makes 36 bites.
Mix everything except flour. Add warm water, sourdough starter, brown sugar, yeast, and salt and stir to combine by hand with a Danish whisk or in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Add half of the flour. Add 2 cups of all-purpose flour and stir to combine.
Add butter. Add 4 tablespoons of the melted butter and stir.
Add the rest of the flour. Switch out the paddle attachment for the dough hook and slowly add the rest of the flour, ½ cup at a time, stirring and stopping to push the sides down to make sure the flour is fully incorporated. Repeat this process until the flour has been incorporated and the dough removes itself from the bowl's sides. You want the dough to be slightly tacky but soft.
Knead dough. Set your mixer to medium and allow the dough to knead for 5-10 minutes. You can also transfer the dough to your bread machine and put it on the dough setting.
Rise. Remove the dough, cover it with a tea towel or plastic wrap, and allow it to rise for 1 ½ hours or until doubled in size.
Prep baking sheet. Place a piece of parchment paper onto a baking sheet and set aside.
Divide dough. Once the dough has risen, turn the dough out onto a clean, dry surface and divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Shape the balls into a rope and cut them into 3 equal portions, creating 36 pieces. Transfer the pieces to the prepared baking sheet. You can also roughly divide them and then shape them into small balls
Prep pot and oven. Add the 6 cups of water, baking soda, and brown sugar in a pot over medium heat and bring to a boil. Preheat the oven to 425°F. It’s important to measure out the water so the proportions are right.
Boil. Once the water comes to a boil, work in batches to add the dough pieces into the water bath, boiling each batch for 3 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bites and place them on the baking sheet. Repeat until all dough bites have gone through the water bath.
Bake. Bake at 425°F for 8-10 minutes until the pretzel bites are light golden brown.
Mix cinnamon sugar. While the pretzel bites are baking, combine the granulated sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Set aside.
Coat with cinnamon sugar. While the pretzel bites are still hot from the oven, working in small batches, toss with melted butter, then immediately toss in the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat completely. Place on a clean plate or cooling rack.
Serve. These are AMAZING while still warm! The inside stays perfectly soft and chewy.
Notes
Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days. You can refresh them in a 300°F oven for 3-5 minutes