According to Elle, who chose soft pretzels as the bread of the month for our little band of twisted sisters known as the Bread Baking Babes, the traditional pretzel shape is meant to resemble folded hands, and they were schoolboys’ rewards from the monks for learning their prayers. This is fitting, because after the first batch I made, which called to mind Winnie-the-Pooh falling head-first into the honey pot, I was certainly praying for a better outcome the second time around.
Praying hands? Not so much.
Praying hands? Hmmm …. looks more like like a pretzel to me.