Beste Brezeln und Bier
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
Joe said:Hey, I'm just calling it what the park calls it.
The only place the park refers to it as Pretzel World is in a Mach Tower Spiel. It is otherwise referred to Beste Brezelun und Bier on the park's website, map, etc.
A few of us tried a Cuban pocket. It's alright, but not something I would get on a regular basis.
I also tried the cheeseburger pocket later in the day. I ate half of that and half of a Cuban. I really enjoyed trying the Cuban earlier in the day, so I didn't want to risk disappointment. I am glad I chose to do it that way because the cheeseburger was good, but the Cuban definitely had more flavor.
Overall, I think the turkey sandwich and pretzel dog are the better deals. The pretzel dogs were burnt, but I am pretty sure that was a fluke and that they will improve as the season goes by.
Overall, I think the turkey sandwich and pretzel dog are the better deals. The pretzel dogs were burnt, but I am pretty sure that was a fluke and that they will improve as the season goes by.
For what it's worth, I did have the Italian at BGT. However, I don't remember much from it so it must not have been that great. I agree that the sandwiches and dogs are a better option.
I have to admit, the pizza they sell in the Festhaus is probably my favorite food at the park. I also used to like the cannelloni that was offered in San Marco before Marco Polo's Marketplace opened. Since I have the palate of a 6 year old, my opinion can obviously be taken with a very tiny grain of salt, but at least I feel better having made this confession.
The first step is admitting you HAVE a problem. Just take it one meal at a time. Remember the mantra, "I DESERVE good pizza, I DESERVE good Italian food. I will make different choices."
Nicole, Zachary, and I did an impromptu #ForScience one day when we were stuck for an hour or so taking cover from the rain in Italy. I can not speak for the other two, but I had been make snide remarks of the old Italian offering for years and had not honestly tried anything except the pizza in San Marco any time recently. I certainly felt that I needed to have an update to validate my cynical but clearly valid point of view. As I recall we ordered one of everything on the menu. True to form it was all terrible. The pasta was predictably soft as ramen and the sauce just tasted like Chef Boyardee, with extra sweetener, and fewer spices. I also recall the chicken tasted nothing like chicken, but there was one dish, and I can not remember which that was so bad that I could get it down. I can not say that Zachary and Nicole's experiences were quiet as visceral as mine, but I do not recall them enjoying their, "meals," (and I use that term loosely and advisedly), either.
So something that really gets to me:
Our family owned a pretzel bakery for years, and what's served at 99.9% of places isn't a real pretzel. There's some very distinctive differences. A real pretzel isn't that sweet. Really what you are eating is a thicker bread that's been drowned in butter.
This isn't a bad recipe if you want the real thing:
https://amandascookin.com/homemade-german-pretzels/
But a real pretzel doesn't involve as much yeast, and you cook the pretzel in boiling water with caustic flakes in it until they float, then you salt, and bake from there.
Our family owned a pretzel bakery for years, and what's served at 99.9% of places isn't a real pretzel. There's some very distinctive differences. A real pretzel isn't that sweet. Really what you are eating is a thicker bread that's been drowned in butter.
This isn't a bad recipe if you want the real thing:
https://amandascookin.com/homemade-german-pretzels/
But a real pretzel doesn't involve as much yeast, and you cook the pretzel in boiling water with caustic flakes in it until they float, then you salt, and bake from there.
That recipe is pretty much how I make my pretzels (I love the Beste Brezeln offerings so much, I started trying to recreate at home). I didn't use any butter the last time, should have. I don't refrigerate the dough, and I've found a second rising helps build the 'chew'. And I gave up trying to make all of them pretzel shaped, I do about four pretzels, and the rest as loaves. They don't last long.
Boiling in the baking soda water and then baking at a high heat gives you the texture you want. Man, I may make some this weekend even though I did about three weeks ago.
Boiling in the baking soda water and then baking at a high heat gives you the texture you want. Man, I may make some this weekend even though I did about three weeks ago.
warfelg said:
Agreed. It's hard to find a real German pretzel outside of Germany (or at least in the United States). This surprises me because they're so much better than what passes for a pretzel to most Americans. I usually grab a pretzel at the Brauhaus, and the worst part is the amount of salt they add - enough so my fingers are practically burning by the time I've peeled it all off. (I'm sure I could ask for less but always forget until it's too late.) Real pretzels need neither salt nor mustard to be good. I think the park would do well to serve authentic pretzels. As scarce as they are in this country, it would be a great distinguishing aspect and add some authenticity.
whanna said:
Hey if you need to be teached how to hand roll I'm here for you! Start in the the middle, leave it fat, let it get thin to the ends. Swing your hands together, one hand slightly outside the other, loop it twice and slam it down. Used to be able to do a board of about 45 in roughly 6-8 minutes.
Important in getting it right, is after mixing, let it sit, the kneed it, let it sit a little more, kneed it one last time before rolling. The real important part is the baking.
But like Lolers said, you can't find great authentic preztels in America. And a big part of it is the sweetening of the dough for our taste buds. Most Europeans complain about bread over hear as being way too sweet.