Pretzels are traditional German fare – baked pastry which is commonly tied into a distinctive knot. The pretzels have a dark brown, shiny skin and unique flavour which is caused by the Maillard reaction. Before baking, the dough is blanched in an alkaline (lye) solution, which causes the dough to brown quickly in the hot oven, causing a chemical reaction between the amino acids and reducing sugars similar – but not as intense as – caramelisation. That’s a lot of scientific talk to say: pretzels are delicious! To keep things simple, we’ve eschewed the knotting stage in favour of these bitesize morsels. Easy to make and fun to share, these pretzel bites are dressed with seaweed salt for flavour and nutrition. Enjoy as they are, or dip them in your favourite mustard!
This recipe makes 12-14 bites.
Cooking time: around 3 hours