Why Sourdough Pretzels Are Better For You Than Regular Pretzels

Why Sourdough Pretzels Are Better For You Than Regular Pretzels Hammond’s is the oldest continuously family-operated handmade pretzel bakery in America, and we’ve been using sourdough to make them since 1931. So, as you can imagine, we’ve been very excited to see sourdough make its comeback in recent years. We’ve been thrilled to be able to introduce new people to our family’s sourdough pretzels and are proud to say we’ve been baking our hard pretzel snacks using the same recipe and the same pretzel-making techniques all this time. Which means every Hammond’s pretzel is still handmade, rolled, and twisted before going into the oven.

Sourdough Pretzel Ingredients Plus Gentle Handling Matters in Pretzel Baking

Pretzel ingredients matter when it comes to baking, but just as important is how you handle the dough. The benefits of sourdough can get lost when produced in a factory setting. Getting your sourdough products from bakeries is one way to help ensure none of the benefits get lost. Sourdough pretzels are less common than your standard store-bought snack pretzel for a variety of reasons, but the biggest reason is time. It’s also what makes sourdough pretzels less common to see in the snack aisle!

Using the cultures that live within our wooden sourdough barrels, we take the extra time to allow our dough to properly rise, letting our pretzel dough develop to its highest potential. This gives our pretzels their unique taste and maximizes the digestive benefits of the sourdough. Handmaking our pretzels allows for gentle treatment of the dough, an essential step that cannot be duplicated by mass production. Through careful handling of our sourdough, we are able to protect all the air pockets that give our sourdough pretzels their signature texture and produce a lighter, crispier hard pretzel snack.

Sourdough Is Easier To Digest

We’ve been thrilled to see the increased enthusiasm for sourdough in recent years. As sourdough pretzel bakers, we’ve long enjoyed the digestive benefits, flavor, and texture that it gives our pretzels. Seeing people fall in love with sourdough again has been very exciting for our family and our bakers. But what exactly makes sourdough easier to digest? Because sourdough is fermented, it slows down starch digestion, which lowers the glycemic response, increases protein digestion, and boosts the absorption of minerals.

 Sourdough bread also introduces more beneficial microbes to the gut that support digestive health. Sourdough popularity has seen a significant boost in popularity in recent years due to its distinctive fermentation process, resulting in increased digestibility and reduced gluten levels, and potential blood sugar regulation benefits. Health-conscious shoppers and people with mild reactions to gluten often find sourdough a delicious alternative to harder-to-digest breads.

Sourdough Gives Our Pretzels A Unique Texture, Crunch & Flavor

Our handmade sourdough pretzels have a flavor profile and size that set them apart from your typical pretzel snack food. Because we diligently hand-roll, twist, and salt each pretzel, they are larger than what is most commonly seen in stores. Our hard pretzel snacks have a pleasant crunch and texture that makes them a great standalone snack and the perfect pairing for your favorite dip.

Hammond’s online bakery shop offers sourdough pretzels in unsalted, lightly salted, regular, salty, extra-salty, and dark-salted pretzels to fit different tastes and dietary needs. We ship a variety of sizes, including bags, snack packs, pretzel pieces, cans, and bulk boxes. For everyone in the Lancaster, PA, area, you can find us in a variety of retailers or visit us in person at our bakery store, where you can find delicious pretzel options not available online.