Key Ingredients Michigan Foodways

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Above, the Family of Pauline (Block—Schaefer) and George Rummel. Our recipe contributor Irma (Rummel) Bickel pictured in the white dress.

Many of the Frankenmuth areas ladies weren’t just excellent pretzel makers but also made cakes, breads, donuts, rolls and more all from scratch.
Above, Irma shows some of her Saturday baked goods off in 1956.

FRANKENMUTH (Next Recipe | Previous Recipe)

Pretzels

Submitted by: Irma Bickel

A Tribute To Our Heritage

The tradition of food and family, is thick in Frankenmuth and it’s surrounding communities. Ever since our first ancestors came over from Germany, the recipes for good food were brought over and evolved over the years.

In Frankenmuth, food isn’t just something you eat to survive, but it’s an activity. From our world famous family style chicken dinners to our local flour mill, food has always been at the Frankenmuth areas residents for front.

One of the more popular food related activities is still to this day the Pretzel Making Party. Family, friends and neighbors all gather in the enjoyable process of mixing Star of the West’s Nightingale flour with it’s ingredients, rolling the dough, dipping in lye water, salting of the pretzel and the final baking. Look into many of our area residents cupboard, closets and attics and you are sure to find large boards of all shapes with the outline of pretzels on them from years of pretzel making celebrations.

To the right is a recipe from one of our local families. Irma (Rummel) Bickel was born in Frankenmuth and lived their her whole life. This recipe was most likely passed down to Irma from her mother or mother—in—law. All of the area ladies learned early on that food preparation was an integral part of the Frankenmuth life.

Michigan Food Used in Recipe: Nightingale Flour (from Star of the West)

Recipe and directions:

Makes approximately 12 dozen pretzels.

3 pkgs. Dry Yeast
1 tsp. Sugar
1 cup Warm Water
Dissolve above ingredients thoroughly.

1 Qt. Warm Milk and Water
1 Tbl. Salt
5 lbs. Nightingale Flour (from Star of the West)
2 Tbls. Shortening or Lard

Directions:

1) Combine all, knead until smooth.

2) Combine 2 Qts. Water and 4 tsp. Lye (Be very careful with this). Put this in large pot, keep hot -- but not boiling.

3) Put rolled pretzels in hot water.

4) When they go down and come up in water, remove and put on wet towels.

5) Sprinkle with coarse salt.

6) Bake on greased cookie sheets (heat to 400° gas oven or 550° electric oven).

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Key Ingredients Michigan Foodways
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