Despite
Webster 1913's simplistic claim that bretzel is a synonym for
pretzel, the true bretzel can best be described as the
Uberpretzel.
A bretzel is to a pretzel, what a loaf of
French Bread is to a
crouton. A real bretzel, the kind you might find in a
Bavarian Beer Garden, is larger than your average pizza. It's
crisp on the outside, but
soft and moist on the inside. The top is sprinkled with
salt crystals the size of
peanuts.
You could easily look at a photograph of a
Bavarian beer next to a bretzel and think you were looking at
American beer and pretzels. But then you might notice the body of a drowned tourist floating in the beer...
Krusty: The French or German origins of the bretzel are at least as debatable as those of Alsace!