Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites

Pretzels are originated from Germany, which are called as Laugenbrezel.These cinnamon sugar pretzel bites are a perfect soft pretzels with chewy inside and cinnamon sugar crust coat outside. I ate pretzels before, but never knew that something like these pretzel bites are available.

These are easy to carry anywhere and mostly for kids who are hungry as soon as they step out of their home, like my daughter… :) As soon as we go out, she will be hungry and she will be looking for nearby shops for something to eat and one day she found these, which were easy to carry as they are just bite size and are very tasty. From then on she started to have these bites, whenever we are in malls or anywhere else. So I decided why don’t I try making them at home as it will be healthier than outside food.

I googled and got many recipes for pretzel bites, atlast I decide on this.  But I have made some changes. The process of making Pretzel bites look tedious, but once you start preparing everything will be finished within minutes.

This can be a perfect after school snack and also a party starter. Kids will love this.

Be careful while adding baking soda to boiling water, as the water level may raise by the addition of 1 tbsp of baking soda. So add the soda slowly, little by little.

Why we are giving the soda bath for pretzel bites  before baking is because, dropping each pretzel bite into the boiling water, makes the interior to quickly puff up and begins the crust formation. If you don’t boil, you will lose the chewiness of the pretzel and using baking soda is what gives the pretzels their brown and shiny crust with distinctive flavor. So it is very important to give the pretzel bites soda bath before baking.

The perfect combination for these pretzel bites are cream cheese dip or cheese sauce, but we love this without any dips. Just try this out and let me know...

Ingredients:

1. All Purpose Flour/ Maida- 2 Cups
2. Yeast- 1 tsp
3. Warm Water- ¼ Cup
4. Sugar- 1 tbsp
5. Salt- a pinch
6. Butter- 1 tbsp
7. Water- 5 Cups to boil
8. Baking Soda- ¼ Cup
9. Egg- 1 no
10. Cinnamon Powder- 4 tsp
11. Granulated Sugar- ½ Cup
12. Melted Butter- ¼ Cup

Method:

1. Add yeast in warm water. Stir till it is dissolved well. Keep this for 5 min, add sugar, butter and salt. Mix well.
2. Add all purpose flour in a bowl, add the above made yeast mixture and mix well with hands.
3. Knead well till smooth and elastic. Cover this with a cling film in a well oiled bowl and rest this for about 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile bring 5 cups of water along with baking soda to boil and also dont forget to preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.
5. After 30 minutes the dough will become double the size of original. Punch the dough and divide this into sections.
6. Roll each section into long ropes about 20- 22 inches long. Cut each rope into small pieces about 10 inches.
7. Drop these pieces into baking soda bath and let it sit for 20- 30 sec. Remove the pieces using a slotted spoon and place on a greased baking tray.
8. Brush the beaten egg on each piece and bake for about 10 minutes or till it turns golden brown.
9. Combine the cinnamon powder and sugar. As the pretzel bites are out of the oven, dip them in melted butter then in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
10. Set them on tray and finish off with the remaining pretzel bites.