Halloween cinnamon pretzels by Laura Scott

We love these tasty cinnamon pretzels by Local Food Britain member, Laura Scott of How To Cook Good Food. Delicious Halloween fun to enjoy with your kids this autumn. “Halloween cinnamon crusted pretzels are my bake of choice for October 31, Halloween,” says Laura. Pretzels have always been a firm favourite in our house and I have tried so many recipes over the years. But these pretzels are definitely streets ahead of most and that is down to two things. One – I never usually boil the pretzels. Partly because when teaching, it would be too dangerous and partly because I didn’t have the time to incorporate this extra step of the process. Two – the mixture, which contains a generous amount of bicarbonate of soda/baking soda. The recipe which I based these pretzels on is by Sally’s Baking Addiction, and I am convinced that it’s her baking soda water that got my pretzels to form the best crust – a perfect crisp exterior with a chewy bake-like crumb which soaks up the buttery cinnamon sugar crystals as well as the sticky icing."

Ingredients

• 250 g strong flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fast action yeast
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 180 ml lukewarm water
• 2 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 litre water
• ~ ~ For the cinnamon sugar topping:
• 50 g granulated sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 15 g butter melted
• ~ ~ For the orange icing:
• 100 g icing sugar sifted
• 2 tbsp water if icing is still too thick, gradually add another spoon or two of water until the icing is thick but spoonable
• ~ ~ orange food colouring

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees
2. Line a large baking tray with baking parchment
3. Place the flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a mixing bowl and pour in the tepid water
4. Bring the dough together using a wooden spoon then turn the dough out onto a table and knead it well for up to 10 minutes. Alternatively knead the dough in a food mixer with a dough hook attachment
5. Form the dough into a ball and leave it to prove in the mixing bowl for one hour, covered with a cloth
6. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each into a long sausage shape
7. Arrange the length of dough into a U shape. Hold the two ends and twist them around each other twice before folding them back to meet the bottom of the U
8. Place your pretzels on the lined baking tray
9. Bring the litre of water and bicarbonate of soda to the boil in a large saucepan
10. Place the pretzels into the boiling water (one or two at a time) and scoop them out with a fish slice after 10-20 seconds, placing them back on to the lined baking tray. Make sure as much of the water as possible has been drained off
11. Bake the pretzels for 15 minutes
12. Brush with the melted butter and top with plenty of cinnamon sugar. Keep any leftover sugar in a small jar for next time
13. When the pretzels have cooled a little, drizzle with the orange glace icing
14. Serve immediately while the pretzels are crisp, chewy and delicious