If soft pretzels competed in a culinary Olympics this summer, the heavyweight contenders would involve the historic reigning champion German team against upstart Americans who have a style, flavor and texture that’s all their own.

The European soft pretzels are typically more dense, chewier and darker in color, noted John Giacoio, Rheon USA. While the formulas differ, the processes and technology often have much in common.

“In Europe, they typically use a pre-ferment that enhances the flavor of the pretzel,” he explained. “A line for making pretzel bread, pretzel rolls or traditional pretzel strands would be our stress-free V4 systems, which lend themselves very well for making both the European and American styles of pretzels. This versatility is built into the machine, so modifications are not needed based on the type of pretzel you’re making.”

The biggest difference involves the increased use of sugar, said Stefan Praller, senior director customer experience of Fritsch, a Multivac Group company. Specifically, American-style soft pretzels contain a fair amount of sugar.

He added Fritsch’s MultiTwist, automatic pretzel dough twisting system, can process sweet dough.

“The challenge is that these doughs are stickier and need to be slightly dried before twisting,” Praller explained. “This is preferably done with air because this results in less contamination and cleaning effort. As a general rule, this works up to a fat content of 5% [flour weight in the formula]. If the fat content is higher, we use flour instead of air.”

Ken Johnson, president, Gemini Bakery Equipment, pointed out European twisted soft pretzels, notably Bavarian varieties, have a wider scored belly in the knot of the twist.

“They tend to be dryer than American soft pretzels with the exception of the ‘belly,’ which tends to retain some moistness,” he said. “Designed correctly, a pretzel production plant can accommodate both styles.”

This article is an excerpt from the June 2024 issue of Baking & Snack. To read the entire feature on Pretzel Processing, click here.