Pretzel bites

250g bread flour

3/4 tsp instant yeast

3/4 tsp fine salt

1 tbsp brown sugar

125ml warm water

1/4 cup baking soda

1 egg, beaten

Sour cream-mustard powder (optional)

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1 tbsp powdered mustard

1 tbsp powdered milk salt, to taste

Honey-mustard dip (combined) 1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp English mustard

1 tbsp grain mustard

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1-2 tbsp honey salt, to taste

Place the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and almost all the water in a bowl. Mix together, adding more water if needed, to form a firm and tacky dough. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes.

Fold the dough onto itself several times for 10 seconds (yes, seconds – that’s the beauty of the folding method). Cover and leave for 10 minutes. Repeat this folding process 2 more times at 10-minute intervals. Cover and set aside until doubled in size.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface; divide into 4 equal pieces. Roll each piece into 2cm-thick rope, and cut out 4cm-long lengths. Place on a greased baking tray, cover and proof, 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven at 210°C. Bring 5 cups of water to the boil in a large pot. Add the baking soda; the water will vigorously bubble. Gently drop in the pieces in batches and poach for 20 sec- onds. Remove with a slotted spoon and return to the tray.

Brush the tops with egg wash. With kitchen scissors, make 2 parallel snips on the top. Bake until deep brown and crisp, 15 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the sour cream-mustard powder. While the pretzel bites are still hot, toss them in the powder. Serve with the honey-mustard dip.