Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
Combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar to a large mixing.
Let the yeast bloom. This will take about 5 minutes. You’ll know it’s blooming when you see little puffs of expanded yeast float to the top and it gets nice and foamy.
Add the salt and mix to combine.
Begin adding the flour 1 cup at a time, mixing to combine fully before adding in the next cup. I recommend using a large plastic or wooden spoon for this step.
After the flour is fully added, make sure the dough is no longer sticky. If it is sticky, continue adding in a little more flour (¼ cup at a time) to the dough until it is no longer sticky.
Place the dough on a floured surface and knead for about 4-5 minutes.
Using a knife, cut the dough into 4 sections.
Roll each section into a long rope.
Cut the rope into 1” x 1” squares.
Prep them all and set them aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil (about 8 cups).
Slowly add in the baking soda. It’s important to do this slowly or it will cause it to boil over.
Add about 15-20 pretzel bites at a time to the boiling water and let them cook for about 30 seconds.
Remove them from the water (draining the excess) and place them on the parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure the bites aren’t touching.
Continue this process until all of the pretzel bites have been done.
In a bowl, beat the egg and add 1 tablespoon of water.
Brush each of the pretzel bites with the egg wash and then sprinkle them with coarse kosher (or sea) salt.
Bake them in the oven for 15 minutes.
If they aren’t fully browned on top, you can switch to broil and leave them in for about 1 minute. Keep your eye on them! They can burn quickly under the broiler.