In a small microwave-safe bowl, warm the milk and water for about 45 seconds. It should be between 100℉ - 108℉.
Add the granulated sugar and instant yeast to the warm milk/water. Give it a quick mix and set that aside for ~5 minutes or until the yeast blooms (instant yeast technically doesn't need to rest and bloom, however, I always like to allow it that time to ensure that it works properly so that I don't ruin my dough)
In the bowl of your stand mixer (you can also use your hands), whisk together all of the other dough ingredients (bread flour, dark brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and partially melted butter).
Place the dough hook on your stand mixer (or continue mixing by hand). Add the bloomed yeast to the dry ingredients and begin mixing the dough on low speed until a dough ball begins to form.
Sprinkle bread flour on a clean and dry counter and then place the dough ball on top of the counter.
Continue kneading the dough by hand for about 3 minutes until it's just slightly sticky and soft. If it's too sticky while you're kneading it, sprinkle bread flour on top of the dough ball 1 tsp at a time.
Form the dough into a tight ball and place it in a well-oiled bowl.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a warm kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise for 45 minutes – 1 hour or until it has doubled in size. This rising time will greatly depend on the temperature of the room (a warmer room will allow the dough to rise faster!)
During the rise, I like to make my caramel sauce which can be found here. If you would like your caramel to be a little lighter and more thin, add an extra tablespoon of butter and an extra tablespoon of heavy cream to the recipe linked above. Allow the caramel to cool a little before pouring into a jar. Set that aside for later.You can also make the cream cheese frosting dip from my original pretzel bite recipe. Next, grab a small mixing bowl and combine the granulated sugar and chopped sliced almonds.
After the rise is complete, place the dough back onto a lightly floured counter and gently roll the dough out using a rolling pin.
Cut the dough into 6 equal strips and then roll each strip out to about 22" long.
Cut ~1" pieces from those dough strips.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the warm water and baking soda for the water bath.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat your oven to 400℉.
Dunk all of the dough pieces into the water bath for just a few seconds before taking them out and straining the excess water.
Now, toss each pretzel bite in the sugar/almond mixture so that they are all coated well.
Lay the pretzel bites on the baking sheet so that they aren't overlapping. Sprinkle some extra granulated sugar on top of them.
Bake at 400℉ on the center rack for 8-9 minutes until the tops are just slightly golden and the bottoms are a deeper brown. As always, the baking time will vary depending on your oven so keep an eye on them as they bake.
Optional: After the pretzel bites have baked, you can toss them in a few tablespoons of melted unsalted butter to make them closer to the Auntie Anne's version. I personally think they're great without it since I dipped mine in the sweet caramel sauce!
Serve the pretzel bites warm with your homemade caramel sauce and/or cream cheese frosting dip and enjoy!
