Happy Pretzel Day! Thank a monk!
Happy Pretzel day to all you monks and everyone who enjoys a good pretzel and pint. That’s right, besides creating some of the best champagnes, ales, and liqueurs in the world, monks created the pretzel. And, why not? It is yeast based, requiring fermentation. Legend has it that in 610 AD an Italian monk was teaching children. He wanted to reward them for learning prayers. So, he took strips of bread dough, and folded them to represent arms crossing the chest. He named them Pretiola, which means “little rewards”.
Of course, there are other tales of how pretzels came to be. But, this one has more references and credibility than most. I’m sure if you ask Giorgio Tsoukalos or his buddies, it was ancient aliens who brought the pretzel to us. If you look at the shape of the pretzel, it looks like the helmet of an astronaut. And, if you hold it real close to your ear and rip it apart, it sounds like an alien spacecraft taking off. But, wait, there’s more. If you throw a hard pretzel against a wall, it breaks into three pieces creating perfect geometric shapes that could only be created through the advanced mathematics of ancient aliens…
Table of Contents
Or, maybe it was a 7th century Italian monk… But, the Germans made it popular.
Today, we generally associate pretzels with Germanic cultures. This is probably due to the region’s embrace of the savory confection. 12th century German baking guilds used the pretzel as a symbol for their organization. And, the name pretzel evolved from a variety of Germanic dialects including the titles: Breze, Brezn, Bretzel, Brezzl, Brezgen, Bretzga, Bretzet, and Bretschl. Some of the world’s oldest pretzel celebrations are held in this region including the city of Lubeck, which has been celebrating Kringelhöge (Pretzelfun) for over 500 years.
Pretzels come to America.
The early 19th century saw an influx of Germanic immigrants. Many settled in what is now called the Pennsylvania Dutch area. They developed the hard pretzels we know today, around the time of the civil war. By the 1930’s the Reading Pretzel machine company in Reading Pennsylvania had created the first automatic pretzel folding machine (putting hundreds of pretzel folders out of work). Hard pretzels have the advantage of shelf stability that makes them a household product to this day.
But, what about soft pretzels? These were the original pretzels. They aren’t as ubiquitous because they have to be eaten fresh. Freeport Illinois is considered, by many, to be the home of the soft pretzel in America. In 1869 John Billerbeck opened his pretzel factory there to compliment the products of local breweries. What a concept: Pretzels and beer. Freeport has sported the name Pretzel city for a century now.
Today, pretzels come in many shapes, forms, and flavors. Modern tastes and a constant battle of chefs trying to outdo each other contributes to a proliferation of unique approaches. Cinnamon, glazed, Dijon, stuffed, sweet, savory, and in between are all possibilities. We use pretzels as rolls for burgers and sandwiches. There are pretzel M and M’s. You can find them in ice cream sundaes. Pretzel bread puddings, pretzel French toast, and even pretzel wedding cakes can all be found. The imagination is the limit.
Happy Pretzel Day! How about a recipe?
Since pretzels are versatile, our recipe is relatively basic. Play with it. Use it as a base for other things. Sweeten it, and, use it as a sundae base. Add cumin and chili to make a pretzel taco. fold in vegetables, cheese, or meat and fry as fritters. Or just enjoy as a snack with a nice cheese dip or beer. Maybe even beer cheese (stay tuned for our Kentucky Derby celebration).
Happy Pretzel Day! Prost!
Classic Soft Petzels
Ingredients
- 3 cups warm water
- 1.5 Tbsp dry active yeast
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 4 tsp kosher or sea salt
- 8 cups AP flour
- 4 oz melted coconut oil
- Large pot of at least 20 cups of water
- 11/2 cup Baking soda
- large grain salt or flaked sea salt to top the pretzels
Instructions
- dissolve sugar, salt, and yeast in 3 cups of water in the bowl of a mixer. Allow yeast to activate until it starts to be foamy. About 5 to ten minutes.
- Add in the flour and coconut oil. Mix with a dough hook until combined. Knead at medium speed about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Coat the dough ball with vegetable oil. Then cover. Allow it to rise 45 minutes to 1 hour. It should double in size.
- Preheat an oven to 450 degrees. And, set up sheet pans to bake by lining them with parchment sprayed with pan spray or use non stick silicone liners.
- Cut the dough into 16 pieces. You could go larger or smaller depending on your preference. Roll out the dough by hand into long ropes. Fold the ropes in on themselves in a pretzel shape.
- Boil water with baking soda. Boil the pretzels for 30 seconds each. Depending on the size of the pot, you may have to do them one at a time. You don't want them sticking together. Line them up on your pre-set baking sheets. Brush with oil and sprinkle with finishing salt. Make sure the salt sticks.
- bake 12 to 15 minutes until pretzel brown. Allow to cool on a rack for about 5 minutes before serving.