April is National Pretzel Month. No one really knows who the first baker was, deciding to mix salt water and flour together, give it a twist and then call it a pretzel. A fifth century manuscript found in the Vatican reportedly relates what could have been that first salty treat. Another legend tells that a monk in Italy who had been working with dough, after making bread, twisted the leftovers to resemble the crossed arms over the breast of a person in prayer. It is true history that the southern German and Swiss German immigrants who were later to be known as the Pennsylvania Dutch introduced the soft pretzel to America in the 1700s. The hard pretzel is distinctly an American product. As more immigrants settled in Pennsylvania, pretzels took on a strictly American flavor. In 1861 the first pretzel bakery was established in the Keystone state and the first hard pretzel was created there. That was a good business decision as now the crispy treat packed in airtight containers could stay...