These pretzel bites have a bicoastal inspiration to them, from a trip to Las Vegas down to a little longtime diner a mile away from home.

About a year and a half ago, Patrick and I were at The Kingsman having dinner and we ordered a pretzel. Since then, I've made a batch every few months, partially to try and keep up with the insane number of mustards we have in the fridge (highest count: 7 types of mustard. SEVEN! Who does that?? Us. We do that, for some reason.). One ill-fated batch got a dose of charcoal, which made them look gross as you might imagine even though they still tasted great. So that's the local inspiration angle. Eating pretzels begets making follow up pretzels at home.

Sadly, despite my long-ago German heritage, I suck at pretzel twisting, so I decided to make these pretzels much easier, and turned them into little pretzel pillows, like gnocchi, in a way! They are way more snackable like this, and are meant to be eaten like chips, where you can't stop after just one because it's all so irresistible. It's also a great excuse to use my bench scraper, to chop the dough into its smaller pieces in a satisfying way that makes me feel like a real chef.

The Miso-Mustard Dipping Sauce Story

As for the Las Vegas inspiration, that comes from a trip Patrick and his mom took in the winter. They were in search of waygu steak, so I pointed them towards José Andrés' Bazaar Meat on the recommendation of a friend who had recently been. They had a blast, and texted me photos and videos of their food experiences since I was at home while they were out enjoying Sin City. The bone-in strip loins at Bazaar come with a mustard-miso sauce they raved about and asked me to try and recreate. Over the Christmas holiday break, I made several versions and had Patrick taste them all to give me a direction, since neither of them were stopping to analyze the tastes while they were eating the sauce.

One particular version came very very close, although apparently the fresh ginger made it slightly gritty, so for this one I went with a powdered ginger and upped the mustard quotient so it wasn't as sweet. It's the perfect complement for salty pretzels with a slight crunch and a pillowy, soft interior.

The pretzel recipe is adapted from Food Network's soft pretzels.

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Pretzel Bites with Miso Mustard Dipping Sauce

Making pretzels is easier than you think, especially when you take out the problem of having to twist it into a pretzel shape! Then dip them into an easy miso mustard sauce for a new twist on an old classic.

Course Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword miso, mustard, pretzel

Servings 24 pieces

Author April

Ingredients

Pretzels

¾ cup water, at 110 degrees F
1 ⅛ tsp active dry yeast
½ tbsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp unsalted butter
spray oil
5 cups water
⅓ cup baking soda
1 egg
1 tbsp water
sea salt

Miso Mustard Dipping Sauce

⅛ tsp powdered ginger
½ tbsp honey
2 tbsp white miso
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
⅛ cup rice vinegar
¼ tsp olive oil
sea salt to taste

Instructions

For the dipping sauce

Mix all sauce ingredients in a jar with a tightly fitting lid and shake until emulsified. Use a fork to swirl ingredients together additionally as needed.

For the pretzels

Combine the water and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit for 10 minutes or until foamy.
Once foamy, mix in the salt, flour, and melted butter and use the dough hook to mix on low until combined. Mix for 4-5 minutes or until dough begins to pull away from the bowl. You may need to use a spatula to coax the flour on the sides of the bowl into the mixture.
Lift the dough up from the side of the bowl and spray oil onto the side, repeat for the other side. Cover with a dish towel or plastic wrap and let sit for an hour to rise so it is doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper.
Bring the water and baking soda together to a rolling boil in a large stockpot.
Flour your work surface. Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll each one into a rope. Use a bench cutter or knife to cut at 1" intervals. Drop the dough pieces into the now boiling water, making sure not to crowd the pot. Plan on at least 2 separate batches, depending on the width of your pot.
Use a spider or slotted spoon to remove boiled dough once they float, or after 30 seconds. Place the boiled dough pieces, spaced out, on the baking sheet.
Beat the egg and 1 tablespoon of water together and brush over the top of each piece. Sprinkle with a little sea salt.
Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until your desired level of golden brown.
Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then serve with dipping sauce.
Keep any leftovers sealed in a container in the fridge (after cooling) for up to 3 days.