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A pretzel is a baked snack that is ordinarily twisted into a unique knot-like shape. The pretzel is usually made from wheat flour with yeast; the dough is briefly dipped in lye water before baking, and usually salted. more...

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History

Sources differ as to the time and place of the pretzel's origin. Many sources say it originated in southern Germany (where it remains very popular and is known as Brezel); others say it comes from the ancient Rome or even Celtic times. One documented account taken from the book History of Science and Technology (by Bryan Bunch, with Alexander Hellemans) has it that in 210 A.D., "An Italian monk invents pretzels as a reward to children who learn their prayers. He calls the strips of baked dough, folded to resemble arms crossing the chest, prestiola ("little reward")." Telephone books and other historical records from the early 1900's show that the Pretzel was often referred to as the "Bretzel" in the U.S. at that time.

Within the Catholic church, Pretzels are regarded as having religious significance and are particularly associated with Lent.

There are also several stories about the origin of the pretzel shape. One legend holds that a baker accused of larceny was offered the opportunity to cancel his sentence if he could make a piece of bread through which the sun could be seen thrice; the ingenious baker twisted his dough into a pretzel before baking. Another common story says that the shape represents the position of arms of a monk in prayer and that the three holes represent the Christian Holy Trinity. A sign with three rings was an old symbol to mark a bakery in Germany, but sources differ as to whether the signs were made to imitate the pretzel or the pretzel was made to imitate the signs. According to some sources, the bagel originated as a variation on the pretzel. However, stories told of the pretzel are likely apocryphal, and the actual origin of the pretzel seems to be a mystery.

Some people believe the pretzel was actually invented by the Native Americans. A few tribes had to survive harsh winters and sometimes wheat was the only thing that they had plenty of. To keep the bread away from the starving animals they looped the bread into rings and chained them together and hung them on trees. This worked quite well because the bread wouldn't go bad due to the weather and the animals couldn't reach it.

Varieties

There are both soft and hard pretzels. Soft pretzels are more traditional. They are best eaten fresh-baked and hot. They are common in Germany. The cities of Philadelphia and New York (in the United States) are also famous for their soft pretzels. In German-speaking Switzerland, thick soft pretzels sliced horizontally are sometimes used to make sandwiches.

Read more at Wikipedia.org