What are pretzels?

So what are pretzels? They are knot-shaped bread that is enjoyed by millions of people around the world. The origin of the name “pretzel” is still a question. One theory says that it came from the German word “Brezel”, which may have been derive also from Latin bracellus (a medieval term for ‘bracelet’), or bracchiola (‘little arms’).

Pennsylvania Dutch brought pretzels to America in 1710. In 1861, Julius Sturgis opened the first commercial pretzel bakery in the U.S.

According to the Tom Sturgis Pretzels company website:

The Sturgis family continues to bake pretzels today, using the same old-fashioned recipe and methods established by Julius Sturgis in 1861. Marriott Sturgis, grandson to Julius, was born in 1910 and learned much of the pretzel baking trade in the original Lititz bakery, working for the family business before and after school. One of the bakers he worked alongside was his uncle Tom Keller, and because their mannerisms and baking styles were so similar, the other bakers began calling Marriott “Tom Sturgis”.

When he was 14, “Tom’s” family moved from Lititz to Reading, Pennsylvania, where he continued to work in pretzel bakeries, including one run by his cousin Victor Sturgis. In 1936, he opened a pretzel bakery with his brother Correll called “Sturgis Brothers”, but World War II conscription took their entire workforce and by 1942 they were forced to close their doors.

In 1946, after working at a munitions factory during the War, Tom Sturgis established another bakery, which he called Tom Sturgis Pretzels.

Tom Sturgis Pretzels continues to operate today, run by his son, Tom Sturgis, Jr. and his grandson, Bruce Sturgis. The Sturgis family also now manages the Julius Sturgis Pretzel Bakery.