New Year’s Pretzel

Knaerle’s Pure Food Baking Company at the corner of Jefferson and Clinton Streets in Sandusky, Ohio baked a special pretzel for New Year's. The bakery ceased operations in the early 1970s. The following pictures were taken on January 5, 1975 after the bakery had closed.

Here is a more recent picture taken August 23, 2009.

Years ago I contacted the previous owners and inquired about the pretzel recipe. They graciously replied with the baker's formula, in which all ingredients are weighed. 15 pounds of flour is too much for a family kitchen, so I converted it to a more managable recipe in which ingredients are measured by volume. Acording to my taste, this recipe is very close to my memories.

New Year's Pretzel in PDF format for 3x5 index card

1 teaspoon	Yeast
1/3 cup	Non-fat dry milk
3 cups	Bread flour
2 Table + 2 teaspoons	Sugar
1 teaspoon	Salt
1/2 teaspoon	Cinnamon (optional)
3 Table + 1/2 teaspoon	Shortening
1	Large egg
2/3 + 1/4 cup	Water
4 drops	Yellow food coloring (optional)

Prepare manually and let rise, or prepare in automatic bread maker using the dough cycle.

After the first rise, knead into a 4 to 5 foot string.

Shape into a pretzel on a greased baking sheet. I use a 10x15 inch sheet.

Bake in a pre-heated 400° oven until light brown (about 15-20 minutes).

Prepare "wash" by heating the following until thick.

1-1/2 teaspoon	Cornstarch
1/6 cup	Water