Don't mistake this beast of twisted dough for a pretzel. No! It's a bretzel, a traditional Alsatian buscuit made of dough precooked in boiling water then sprinkled with sea salt and caraway seed and then dried in an oven. In Alsace, the bretzel is mostly accompanied by beer.
During my visit to Colmar, I found bretzels for sale in bakeries and special bretzelleries. They come salted or unsalted, and occasionally sweet bretzels dusted with sugar. The bretzel is just another reflection of the German influence that infiltrates the Alsace region of France.
As you might imagine, there is a stiff war of whether or not the bretzel is the same as a pretzel. Those who argue they are not the same say it is because the recipes differ. Me? Well, if it looks like a pretzel and tastes like a pretzel, then it's a pretzel!
