Snack food - Pretzel

Pretzels are a type of bread typically made from wheat or rye flour and a few other ingredients, such as yeast, sugar, salt, water, and butter. Snack food pretzel is shaped in the form of a loose knot and top is shiny; from having been glazed. It is one of its defining characteristics. The pretzel market has grown in recent years because pretzels are considered a healthier, fat-free snack.

As per the original recipe, the pretzel is basically a salty cracker; but other variations have seen the biscuit soften – resulting from a tweaked recipe.

This German invention has been said to hail from German monks. According to legend, the classic pretzel knot was invented by a monk who baked his pretzels in this shape to represent praying arms. Its association with lent is probably because of the fact that pretzels have a very basic recipe making use of just water and flour at the most basic.

The crossed arms at the top of the pretzel are rolled very thin. The goal is to have a thick, soft area at one end, and delicate, crunchy bites at the other.

This popular snack food can be soft and chewy or hard and crunchy but almost always has a shiny, brown appearance. Soft pretzels typically have a much higher moisture content than hard pretzels and are usually larger. They also have a shorter shelf life. Other shapes are also produced such as thick and thin rods, pretzel rings, and loops.

Pretzels are boiled and then baked. Traditional German pretzels are first dipped in a 3% to 4% lye-to-water bath before baking. It would give the outside of the pretzel its beautiful golden-brown color and uniquely crisp and chewy texture. It is also giving their distinctive, slightly soapy flavor and deep brown hue.
Snack food - Pretzel