
In Germany, some restaurants have a basket of pretzels for you when you sit down. And he was saved.Oktoberfest is just around the corner and today’s German Pretzel Recipe is a fun and delicious idea to serve for Oktoberfest Food! They also work as a fun snack for any football watching parties! The baker, having no time to knead a new batch of bread, put the rolls in the oven as they were. He then decided to create a loaf of bread from a long piece of dough that he intertwined to form a knot, thus revealing three holes through which light could pass.īut, alas, just as the buns were about to be put in the oven, the cat dropped baking soda, which was used at the time to clean the baking sheets, on the freshly baked buns. The baker was inspired by his wife, who was praying with her arms crossed in the shape of a cross on her chest, kneeling by the window. The king then issued an ultimatum: the baker had to invent bread within three days “through which the sun would shine three times”. So, his wife begged the monarch for one last chance. For this reason, the king had planned to execute him. The latter worked at the king’s court and had the misfortune to bake his bread badly. This salted bread bun cooked in brine would be born following the misadventure of a baker from Bouxwiller, in the Bas-Rhin. The local legend of pretzelsĪccording to legend, pretzel dates back to 1477. Their typical pretzel knot shape is often depicted on the signs of bakeries in Germanic Europe and Austria. It appears in the manuscript Hortus deliciarum (1190) or in the 13th century in an illuminated English manuscript kept at Cambridge University. Indeed, several monastic manuscripts mention the pretzel. Pretzels are found in the form of illuminations in the medieval monastic liturgy. However, the pretzel is mentioned in medieval times in 743 under the Carolingian Empire. No one can say with certainty the origin of pretzels. At higher temperatures, we generally see the process of caramelization of sugar, then pyrolysis, responsible for the pungent flavor of sugar during its final degradation. To achieve this, one must ensure that the oven temperature is high enough (between 140 and 165˚C) for the browning reaction to occur. This reaction is also responsible for accelerating the browning of the pretzels by introducing an alkaline agent. This chemical reaction occurs during the formation of golden crusts on breads and buns, but also during the browning of grilled meats. This reaction is named after the French chemist Louis Camille Maillard, who identified this chemical reaction in 1912. The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between reducing sugars and amino acids. In fact, an alkaline solution is needed for the Maillard reaction to occur and give the pretzels the desired golden color. The presence of baking soda in the boiling water is essential. The pretzel is usually sprinkled with coarse salt before putting it in the oven.


The leavened dough is then immersed in a container of boiling water, to which bicarbonate of soda has been added. A long dough piece is formed and tied into a knot. It is one of the traditional symbols of German and Germanic culture, but also one of the emblems of Alsatian gastronomy.Īccording to tradition, a pretzel is made from flour, water, milk, baker’s yeast and salt. Its name could derive from the German brezel, derived from the Latin bracchium, which means “arm”. Pretzel or bretzel is a traditional salted pastry made from leavened dough. Also, they are better the day they are made. Pretzels are eaten as an appetizer or with meals. Its traditional shape is a knot, although it is not uncommon to find it in other forms. It is very popular in Germany, in France (Alsace) but also in Italy in the South Tyrol. Pretzelor bretzel is a variety of salted bread.
