To a large bowl or to bowl in a stand mixer, mix together the sourdough discard, water, sugar, instant yeast, salt and flour.

Knead by hand about 5-8 minutes or knead in a stand mixer for about 5 minutes until it comes together and forms a smooth ball.

Add a little more flour as needed. The dough will still be sticky, but not overly sticky.

Lightly oil a bowl or container and turn the dough around in the bowl to cover it lightly with the oil.

Drape a kitchen towel or some plastic wrap over the bowl and let dough rise for 1-1 ½ hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Once dough has doubled in size, flour a counter with 1-2 Tablespoons flour and punch down the dough.

Turn it out onto the floured surface and separate into 4 sections.

Roll each section into a long strand and cut each strand into 6-8 pretzel pieces.

Place each pretzel bite on the parchment paper.

Heat 120 grams (½ cup) of water in the microwave until almost boiling.

Add 15 grams (1 Tablespoon) of baking soda and mix together.

Use a pastry brush to brush each pretzel bite with the baking soda/water mixture.

Preheat the oven to 500ºF.

Let the pretzel bites rise for about 10-15 minutes before baking.

Bake the pretzel bites for about 8-10 minutes until crisp and lightly brown on the outside.

While the pretzel bites are baking, melt the unsalted butter and prepare any toppings.

As soon as the pretzel bites are baked through, remove them from the oven and brush with melted butter.

Top with salt, cinnamon sugar or parmesan cheese and enjoy immediately.