In a small pot combine the paste ingredients. Cook over a low heat whilst stirring until very thick and sticky - this only takes a couple of minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast and sugar. Let it sit for 10 minutes. 

After it has sat, add the cooled paste to the bowl along with the flour (reserving some for kneading), oil and salt. Mix together to get a rough dough. Tip out onto a work surface and knead until smooth and slightly sticky, dusting the dough and surface with reserved flour as needed. 

Grease the bowl you were using earlier with a bit more oil, add the dough and flip it to coat. Cover with a tea towel or cling film and set aside somewhere warm to rise until doubled in size (1-2 hours) OR leave overnight for 12-14 hours in the fridge to rise. 

Tip the risen dough out onto a floured work surface. Pat down to remove excess air. Cut into eights and roll onto 8 balls. Roll each ball out into a snake about 70 cm (27 1/2-inches) long. 

Take the snake of dough, pull the ends up and cross them over each other to make a loop. Twist the arms around each other once then fold down over the base of the loop to make a pretzel shape. Repeat with all the balls. 

Place the shaped pretzels on a lined baking tray. Cover with a towel and let rise for 15 minutes somewhere warm until puffy. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ 350°F. 

Combine the baking soda and warm water in a small bowl and mix well. Use a pastry brush to cover the pretzels all over with this solution. Bake for 15-20 minutes until dark-golden. 

Whilst the pretzels are warm, brush with the melted vegan butter/margarine. Combine the ground cinnamon and caster sugar in a wide, shallow bowl. Dip the buttery pretzel into the cinnamon-sugar to coat then place back on the baking sheet. Repeat with all the pretzels.

Eat warm! These are best the day they're made. You can also freeze them just before dipping in the butter/cinnamon sugar so you can defrost & coat as many as you'd like at a later date!