Thursday, July 29, 2010

Pretzel Bites

When I read a cookbook, I always take mental notes of the things I really, really want to make. Admittedly, I have a messy, confused pile of notes in my head at this point, but I eventually remember them when an occasion for each arrives. Sometimes it takes a while though. I’ve had the lovely and thorough Martha Stewart's Hors D'oeuvres Handbook since 1999, and I just finally made the pretzel bites that looked so tasty when I first saw them in that book over ten years ago. There’s one less note cluttering up my brain now. I feel better. It’s nice to make room in there for new notes. I remember when I first saw these addictive, little snacks. They looked great for a party, and I thought they’d partner perfectly with ice cold beer. We had a few friends over for happy hour at our house a couple of weeks ago, and I got to try these mini pretzels at last. They’re made from an easy dough that’s cut into bite-sized pieces that are boiled and baked. You can top them however you choose, and I made two versions using grated parmesan for one and a mixture of crushed fennel seeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and salt for the other.

The yeast dough, which was very much like pizza dough, was made in a stand mixer, and then it was kneaded on a floured board until smooth. It was left to rise for about an hour and a half. The dough was divided into 16 portions which were each rolled into a rope and then cut into three-quarter inch pieces. The pieces were boiled in batches of about 15 at a time for one minute in water with baking soda added, and then they were placed on oiled baking sheets. The boiled pieces were brushed with an egg wash, topped as desired, and then baked in a 450 degree F oven for about 15 minutes.

This recipe makes a lot of pretzel bites, but they do disappear quickly. It’s impossible to stop popping them into your mouth when they’re warm from the oven. They’re soft on the inside with a little crunch on the surface, and the salty toppings keep you coming back for more. The only criticism I have is that they’re not as amazing after they’ve sat for a few hours and even less so the next day. Re-warming them in the oven for about five minutes fixes that by bringing back that nice surface crunch, so I recommend it before serving if you’ve made them in advance. Then, don’t bother counting how many you’ve eaten, just refill the tray as needed.

I’m submitting this to Yeastspotting where you’ll find some seriously well-made bread.




31 comments:

  1. What a great appetizer! They look delicious. Better than any bought industrial snacks.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. I was just looking through that book last night getting ideas for a party next weekend. I have eyed those bites a million times and have never made them because it seems like just too much time to spend on something so little. But. I know my husband would eat just about all of them and so I'm glad to know they are as good as they look. I do love that book but it does drive me crazy how many things need to be made just before serving. Who can accomplish that during a party? And what if you are catering?

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  3. Dana: That's true about that book! A lot of the recipes are best served as soon as they're made. One that can be done in advance is the spiced nuts. The Indian-spiced peanuts is my favorite.

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  4. this is great! i'm always looking for fun entertaining ideas. the whole wine & cheese thing is fun, but my friends would LOVE the pretzel bites & beer idea! thanks : )

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  5. I had never seen these! They look great, I'm bookmarking them!

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  6. Love pretzels in any shape, size, or variety (soft, hard, whole wheat), and with just about any condiment (though my current favorite is maple-chili mustard!) These are so gorgeous with the mix of crushed seeds on top -- thanks for the inspiration.

    And as for all those recipes -- there has to be a better way, no? I just counted: I have 97 cookbooks. Crazy thing? I use them all. I know exactly where each one is, though I can't say I know what's IN each one. But that's half the joy too.

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  7. These sound delicious! Thanks for sharing!

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  8. Oh my, these do look delicious. I'm not planning an occasion but I do plan to make these soon.
    I never would have read this ccokery book, so I'm pleased that there are people like you out these to take all those notes!

    I think I'm going to get fat.

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  9. I know why you got those in your brain for so long...I would have them in the back of my mind constantly, too! They look SO good! I wouldn't be able to stop popping them into my mouth!

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  10. These look crazy good Lisa! And I can imagine how totally addicting they are!

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  11. fennel, poppy, and sesame, oh my! it would be hard to keep track of how many of these went down my gullet, so i wouldn't even bother trying. :)

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  12. I had to submit these pretzel bites to Stumble Upon, they look amazing. Good thing this makes a giant batch 'cause they would not last long around here!

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  13. Hi

    Can you send me the recipe for this bite size pretzels ?

    Appreciate it much

    Blessings
    Christine

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  14. Great appetizer idea - and by the way, I do the same thing, and even worse perhaps, I read cookbooks with post-it flags and a sharpie and start flagging away, as soon as I get a new cookbook...

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  15. I'd like to pop couple of this delicious morsels in my mouth. Yum!

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  16. Those little pretzel bites look so cute and tempting!

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  17. Those look amazing! I haven't made soft pretzels in ages - I may make these instead!

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  18. Mmmm....those would be great little treats!!

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  19. I am the EXACT same way. The first time I go through a cookbook, I usually feel really motivated to cook things from it. Then life gets in the way and I forget...but then I usually come across them again and again and will hopefully remember to make them at some point!

    These pretzel bites definitely look worth making. I love the toppings!

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  20. These look fantastic! Martha's appetizer book is a terrific resource for anything appetizer. Have a dynamite weekend.

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  21. Oh, these sound amazing and you've reminded me that I need to pull out that classic of a cookbook and dig in for more inspiration.

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  22. So right out of the oven, they're soft and chewy? But if you let them sit for a day, they don't get pleasantly hard like pretzels in a bag? Drat. That's a shame. Guess I'll have to eat them all in one sitting. Like that should be a problem? ;)

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  23. Carolyn: Nope, mine didn't become hard and crunchy after sitting. Although, we do have pretty amazing humidity. They just lost the bit of crunch they had right out of the oven, but a re-warming brought them back.

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  24. These would be so fun to make for a party. I'll have to give it a try. It looks easy and delicious!

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  25. I really, really want to make all kinds of pretzel bites. Really. Soon. :)

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  26. They look great! I've heard many compliments about her book, but I don't have it

    I do, however, have a million gazillion mental notes from recipes I want to make - it's good to know you suffer from the same "problem"

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  27. These look yummy! I wonder how they'd turn out if some of the white flour was replaced by a whole grain flour (wheat? spelt?). Has anyone tried?

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  28. MC: I haven't tried it yet, but I was thinking a whole wheat version of these would be good too. I would think a third to a half of the white flour could be switched to whole wheat.

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  29. These pretzel bites look so very, deliciously snacky! I could not (and would not) resist eating them as soon as they were out of the oven - seize the moment, I say! 8-)

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  30. These sound like they'd be such a hit at a party and super addicting!

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