Inspired- Knot Your Typical Snack

Rakshitha Kalpathi
3 min readMay 23, 2022

Any “The Office” fan will remember, Michael’s sweet monstrosity of a pretzel that he orders on Pretzel Day. Our eyes popped out in amazement as the pretzel seller went through a whopping 18 different toppings, ranging from caramel, fudge, and peanut drizzle to mint choco chips, marshmallow bits, and M&M’s.

For me, however, pretzels are a fond childhood memory. Eating a pretzel for the first time is one of those experiences that I wish to recreate. The anticipation builds as you see the shopkeeper take out a pretzel from the pastry warmer, wrap it up in paper and hand it to you along with a small container filled with golden caramel sauce. The sight of the heart-shaped pretzel, the snug feel of the pretzel, the crunching sound of the wrapping paper, the perfume of caramel, and the sweet and salty taste resonate in my mind, as I type these words out.

After craving them and ending up disappointed, I set out to make them myself. The process is a mixture of ease and precision and to a large extent, therapeutic. Start by making a yeast-based dough, slightly on the sweeter side. Let it rest for some time while you move on to make a delicious, golden, bitter caramel sauce.

In a flat pan, pour a heap full of sugar and let it brown and caramelise. The key to a perfect caramel is to not stir the sugar until it has completely caramelised, to stop the sugar from crystallising. Just as the sugar melts and turns a shade of amber, add a few knobs of butter and whisk continuously. The mixture will hiss and sputter, don’t be afraid, don’t stop unless the mixture splits. You are doing good. Next is to add some heavy cream. Whisk, whisk, whisk until a smooth, glossy, golden sauce is ready. A pinch of salt elevates the taste by magnitudes.

Here comes the fun part. Take the risen dough and split it into pieces, roughly the size of oranges. Roll it out into a long log, and twist! Shape the log into a heart such that there is an excess on both ends. Twist these ends with each other, once or twice, and press down, and there you go, you’ve made a pretzel.

The signature, chewy taste of the pretzel comes from boiling them in a mixture of baking soda and water for a brief moment. Lay them down on a baking tray and brush down with a beaten egg or milk and bake, in a hot oven.

Ding! Your pretzels are done. It is tough, but letting them cool a little, is better for the taste as well as the roof of your mouth. Once the pretzel is just warm, grab one, dunk in the caramel sauce, and enjoy. The world makes sense when you are relishing a comfy and mellow pretzel.

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