Bjorn Wenzel

Pretzels are a major part of Southern German culture, where Tom Cat baker, Bjorn Wenzel was born and raised. As a child, Bjorn grew up eating pretzels for breakfast, sliced open and spread with butter. For lunch, pretzels were split open and filled with ham. When Bjorn chose his trade at 16, he apprenticed with a bakery he admired and was entrusted with the secret family recipe for pretzels.

Over the past six years, Bjorn has generously provided the lucky staff at Tom Cat Bakery with his wonderful pretzels on special occasions, using the secret family recipe. Until now, production was limited to the amount that Bjorn could make by hand. There was one important step to traditional pretzel making which was preventing wider availability: the lye bath.

Lye is a caustic chemical in liquid form which can burn the baker’s eyes and skin. When dipped or sprayed onto dough, lye reacts with the proteins, sugar and the heat of the oven and is rendered harmless. Lye is what gives pretzels their characteristic shiny brown appearance, popping-crisp crust and unique flavor.

Those pretzels you get from the street vendor are generally made with citric acid or baking soda, which can’t come close to the flavor of a traditional German pretzel. Tom Cat Bakery imports the pretzel lye and recently purchased equipment to safely apply it to the unbaked pretzel dough.

Now that Tom Cat has an expert German baker, the traditional ingredients and safe equipment, we are introducing a line of hand-made pretzels rolls. Our pretzels are tender and fluffy inside with a beautiful brown color, and the unique flavor that only an age old process can render. Bjorn and the rest of us at Tom Cat can’t wait to share these treats with you. Tom Cat pretzels are ready to be stuffed as sandwiches in your kitchen and knowing that a baker is judged by the quality of his pretzel, we’re ready for your call. Let us know what you think!