The History of the Pretzel

The pretzel was invented by an Italian monk in 610 A.D to reward young children for learning their prayers. The monk supposedly folded strips of bread dough to resemble the crossed arms of praying children. He called his creation “pretiola” which means “little rewards”.

In the seventh century, the church dictated stricter rules regarding fasting and abstinence during lent than it does today. Pretzels were made of a simple mixture of water, flour and salt. This made them an ideal food to consume during lent, when meat, dairy and eggs were prohibited.

The first pretzels were baked soft and squishy much like the pretzels made today. Some say they were originally called “bracellae” which is Latin for “little arms”. The popularity of these treats spread across Europe during the Middle Ages. Seen as a symbol of good luck, prosperity and spiritual fulfillment. Pretzels were also commonly distributed to the poor as a way of providing them with both spiritual and literal sustenance.

The history of pretzels took a particularly dramatic turn in 1510 when Ottoman Turks attempted to invade Vienna, Austria by digging tunnels underneath the city walls. Monks who were baking pretzels in the basement of a monastery at the time, heard the enemy?s progress and alerted the rest of the city and in return helped defeat the Turkish attackers. As a reward the Austrian emperor gave the monks their own coat of arms.

By the seventeenth century the interlocking loops of the pretzel had come to symbolize undying love as well. Pretzel legend has it that in 1614 in Switzerland, royal couples would use pretzels in their wedding ceremonies (similar to how a wishbone might be used today) to seal the bond of matrimony. This custom may have been the origin of the phrase “tying the knot”. In Germany seventeenth century children wore pretzel necklaces on New Years to symbolize good luck and prosperity for the coming year.

When did pretzels make their way to America? One rumor has it that the doughy knots came over on the Mayflower and were used by the pilgrims to trade with the Native Americans. German immigrants most certainly brought pretzels with them when they began settling Pennsylvania around 1710. In 1861, Julius Sturgis founded the first commercial pretzel bakery in the town of Lititz, Pennsylvania. Sturgis also claimed credit for developing the first hard pretzel.

Until the 1930?s pretzels were still manufactured by hand. In 1935 the Reading Pretzel Machinery Co introduced the first automated pretzel maker which enabled bakers to produce around 245 pretzels per minute. Compared to the 40 per minute an individual baker could make by hand.