Question from Paul T.:
Pretzels are a great snack to eat while watching the big game. Who invented the pretzel?
-Paul
The origin of soft pretzels can be traced to a frustrated teacher in Northern Italy. In 610, a monk was baking unleavened bread for Lent. The monk decided to use some of the left over dough to reward children for learning their prayers. He rolled the extra dough into ropes and then twisted it to look like praying hands. He then baked his treats. The monk named his snack “pretiola”, Latin for “little reward”. The treats were a hit with both his students and their parents. Today, 1400 years later, we are still munching on snacks that are a variety of this original idea.