Vegan soft pretzels

I love American food :) There are some things that are eaten a lot in the States that just doesn't get enough of the lime light over here in little Perth. I urge everyone to make a trip over to the US and get a taste of the culinary culture over there. It's great!

The reason why I'm on about American food is because I decided to make some soft pretzels today. There are a few pretzel stands here and there in shopping centres across Perth, but it's nowhere near as popular as it is over in the US. The soft pretzel is so versatile. The different toppings and flavours are endless. Savoury or sweet, you want it, they got it.

I've never attempted to make my own soft pretzel before and to be honest, I've never even looked at the recipe before. I was surprised to find out today that after the dough is made ans twisted into the pretzel shape, they are boiled in water and bicarb soda before going into the oven. What?! I didn't know that. I guess it's to let the dough rise or something?

I cheated a bit today and used up some pizza dough flour that I had left over from making my vegan calzones a few weeks ago. Pizza dough can be used for so many things. It's great! Stock your pantries with boxes of pizza mix. 

I decided to make three different types of pretzels today: original (i.e. just salt), herb and garlic and cinnamon.

I had a lot of fun making these. It's fun kneading the dough, seeing it rise and then twisting it up into a pretzel shape. Mind you, once I put them into the hot water they lost their shape a bit. I'll have to work on that for my next batch. Yes, I will be making more and I will be experimenting with more flavours too!

Even though they didn't turn out quite as pretty as I would have liked, they were a huge hit with the family. The herb and garlic was a winner. So delicious!

For the pretzel dough, I followed the directions on the pizza dough box (here). For the rest, I followed the intrsuctions from Vegan Yumminess. For the original flavour, omit the garlic and herbs and for the cinnamon, add 1 teaspoon cinnamon (or to taste. I also added in 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg). For the cinnamon pretzel sprinkle with sugar before putting it in the oven. You might also want to add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar or sweetener to the dough because mine weren't very sweet.

Original pretzel

Herb and garlic! Tasty!