Pretzel Bites

Pretzel Dough:
– 1 cup warm water (100° to 110°F)
– 1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
– 3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour plus more for work surface
– 1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
– 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
– 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, well softened
– Vegetable oil for bowl

Baking Pretzels:
– 8 cups water
– 2/3 cup baking soda
– coarse kosher salt

Make Pretzel Dough:
1. Stir together warm water and yeast in a large bowl and let stand until a creamy beige foam develops on the surface, about 10 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

2. Meanwhile, in the bowl of  stand mixer, stir together flour, salt, and light brown sugar.

3. Add yeast mixture and butter to flour mixture, and mix on low speed until it forms a dough. Change to a dough hook and knead on medium-low speed until dough is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes, dusting with more flour as needed if dough sticks to sides of bowl.

4. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled large bowl and turn over to coat with oil. Cover with a kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise in a draft-free place at room temperature until doubled, 2 to 3 hours.

Alternatively, after kneading, let dough rest at room temperature for 15 minutes, then transfer to oiled bowl as above, and let rise in the refrigerator overnight (12 hours or up to 2 days).

5. Punch down dough and divide into quarters. Form each quarter into 4 balls. Roll each ball into a 12-inch-long rope. Cut each rope into six (2-inch) pieces, and transfer to wax paper–lined rimmed baking sheets, or your clean counter.

Bake Pretzels:
1. Heat oven to 450°F with racks in upper and lower third. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.

2. In a 4- to 5-quart saucepan, bring water and baking soda to a boil (mixture will be foamy at first, but foam will dissipate). Add 12 pretzel bites and cook 30 seconds (they will rise to the surface almost immediately), then transfer with a slotted spoon to baking sheets. Quickly sprinkle pretzel bites lightly on both sides with salt before they dry (so salt sticks). Repeat with remaining pretzel bites, returning water to a boil between batches.

3. Bake pretzel bites in oven, switching sheets between racks and rotating sheets halfway through baking, until deep chestnut brown, 8 to 10 minutes (watch closely toward end of baking; bites brown quickly in last few minutes). Immediately transfer pretzel bites to wire racks to cool.

4. Serve with your favorite mustard(s)