Soft Pretzels (German "Bretzen") for our Oktoberfest 2010 Party Recipe
My mother was born and raised in Bavaria. She met my father, who was stationed in Salzburg, Austria. They married in Salzburg in1954, and she moved to America. My mom became a US Citizen in 1957, but she hung on to her Bavarian heritage with pride. She came from a lineage of great cooks, and her grandmother owned a successful restaurant in Bad Reichennhall, Bavarian. I can remember my mother, at a very young age, teaching me how to make our family's favorite recipes. My mother passed on October 13, 2002. Since then, I have started a family tradition, of hosting an Oktoberfest dinner in memory of my "Mutti".
I don't need written recipes, because I can make them from memory. (One of the reasons I started my blog was to recreate these recipes so that they won't be lost). Yesterday was our 7th Oktoberfest, so Craig put on Bavarian Oom-Pa-Pa music, to start the festive mood. At first, I could feel a big lump in my throat as I rolled up my sleeves and started making her dishes. Mutti is gone, but I felt a sense of her presence as I spent the next six hours making her Austrian Goulash, German Potato Salad, Spaetzle, and Red Cabbage. Of course, we had traditional sausages-- but just a few. The Goulash is my personal favorite dish. It's a stew with a rich sauce of tomato sauce and paprika.
This year, I opted out on making the traditional Bavarian Semel Knoedel (bread dumplings). Instead, I made a big batch of homemade spaetzle.
The aroma is intoxicating! The Bretzen were ready, just as our guests arrived. Traditionally, Bavarians like to slice this in half and butter them.
VERDICT: Fool-proof to make. Seriously fast and easy. They are fun to make. Kids would have fun rolling the dough. The flavor-- oh, Bavaria! Slightly crunch on the outside. Soft and chewy on the inside. I like being able to adjust how much salt I want on them. They are outstanding! I'm making more today. Yes, I am!
Craig and I prefer the with beer. Yeah, it's like that...
It was a labor of love, to present traditional and authentic German Oktoberfest dishes. If only my mom was alive to see this. Somehow, I can feel a sense of closeness to her when I am making her recipes. If you like German food, I hope you enjoy trying them. My mother would be pleased.
Prost, Mutti!
I'm submitting this recipe to "Yeastspotting". Now that the weather is cooler, I'll be baking more breads. This blog has a tempting array of beautiful photos and recipes.