Abstract: The invention relates to a looping device (10) for a pretzel shaping machine (12) with a base body (28), which has a resting area (26) for respective pretzel arms, and with a downholder (34) movable from an open position into a retaining position, by means of which the pretzel arms can be retained on the base body (28), wherein the looping device (10) includes a gripping device (42), by means of which the pretzel arms after moving the downholder (34) into the open position can be relocated and can be deposited on the pretzel arc of the pretzel. Furthermore, the invention relates to a pretzel shaping machine (12) with such a looping device (10) and a method for producing pretzels by means of such a looping device (10).

Abstract: A method of producing pretzels which are shaped from straight lengths of dough (S) of essentially circular cross-section which have been cut to length. A length of dough (S) is introduced into a shaping device so that it lies partly on a first surface at a first level and partly on a second surface at the same level. The two surfaces are subsequently rotated with respect to each other and one is then folded over on to the other. In addition, the length of dough (S) is guided in a clearly defined way from the moment it is delivered to the shaping device by a feed device to the time the shaped pretzel is deposited on a suitable surface. The shaping device is designed to enable a large number of very uniformly shaped pretzels to be produced within a short time.