Someone once asked me if I knew of a place that sold authentic German style pretzels. At the time I didn’t know of any place in town…and not being an aficionado myself, I asked around. A colleague of German descent told me about an relatively unremarkable bakery in an industrial zone just off the South Main district in Vancouver. They serve, he told me, the closest thing to a German pretzel that you can get in Vancouver.

Indeed they look interesting. These pretzels have what looks like a dark caramelized crust. The pretzel-making process is very similar to making bagels: after a rising the dough, raw bagel dough is first boiled in water sweetened with honey or maltose for about a minute prior to baking. The sugars from the sweet solution caramelize and give bagels their crunchy-chewy outer skin.

While their pretzels seem to be their specialty, Swiss Bakery have some other worthy items for sale. They also sell decent crusty hearth breads (their Cranberry and Walnut Bread has become a family favorite – excellent toasted, buttered and served with a sharp cheddar)….in case you aren’t a pretzel aficionado.

Continued…
http://foodosophy.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/swiss-bakery-vancouver-bc/