Bagel

Abagel(Yiddish:בײגל,romanized:beygl;Polish:bajgiel[ˈbajɡʲɛl]; also spelledbeigel)is abread rolloriginating in theJewish communitiesofPoland.Bagels are traditionally made fromyeastedwheatdough that is shaped by hand into atorusor ring, brieflyboiledin water, and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior.
Bagels are often topped with seeds baked on the outer crust—traditional choices includepoppyandsesameseeds—or withsaltgrains. Different dough types include whole-grain and rye.The basic roll-with-a-hole design, hundreds of years old, allows even cooking and baking of the dough; it also allows groups of bagels to be gathered on a string or dowel for handling, transportation, and retail display.
The earliest known mention of a boiled-then-baked ring-shaped bread can be found in a 13th-century Syrian cookbook, where they are referred to aska'ak.Bagel-like bread known asobwarzanekwas common earlier in Poland as seen in royal family accounts from 1394.Bagels have been widely associated withAshkenazi Jewssince the 17th century; they were first mentioned in 1610 in Jewish community ordinances inKraków, Poland.
Bagels are now a popular bread product in North America and Poland, especially in cities with a largeJewishpopulation.Bagels are also sold (fresh or frozen, often in many flavors) in supermarkets.
LinguistLeo Rostenwrote inThe Joys of Yiddishabout the first known mention of the Polish wordbajgielderived from the Yiddish wordbagelin the "Community Regulations" of the city ofKrakówin 1610, which stated that the food was given as a gift to women in childbirth.There is some evidence that the bagel may have been derived frompretzelsmade in Germany brought by immigrants to Poland.
In the 16th and first half of the 17th centuries, thebajgielbecame a staple ofPolish cuisine.Its name derives from the Yiddish wordbeygalfrom the German dialect wordbeugel, meaning 'ring' or 'bracelet'.
Variants of the wordbeugalare used inYiddishand inAustrian Germanto refer to a similar form of sweet-filled pastry;Mohnbeugel, a pastry filled withpoppy seeds, andNussbeugel, a pastry filled with ground nuts. The term is also used in southern German dialects, wherebeugerefers to a pile, e.g.,holzbeuge('woodpile'). According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary,bagelderives from the transliteration of the Yiddishbeygl, which came from theMiddle High Germanböugelor 'ring', which itself came frombouc('ring') inOld High German, similar to theOld Englishbēag('ring') andbūgan('to bend, bow').Similarly, anotheretymologyin the Webster's New World College Dictionary says that the Middle High German form was derived from theAustrian Germanbeugel, a kind ofcroissant, and was similar to the Germanbügel, a stirrup or ring.
In theBrick Lanedistrict and surrounding area ofLondon, England, bagels (locally spelled "beigels") have been sold since the middle of the 19th century. They were often displayed in the windows of bakeries on vertical wooden dowels, up to a metre in length, on racks.
Bagels were brought to theUnited Statesby immigrant Polish Jews, with a thriving business developing inNew York Citythat was controlled for decades byBagel Bakers Local 338. They had contracts with nearly all bagel bakeries in and around the city for its workers, who prepared all their bagels by hand.
The bagel came into more general use throughoutNorth Americain the last quarter of the 20th century with automation.Daniel Thompsonstarted work on the first commercially viablebagel machinein 1958; bagel bakerHarry Lender, his son,Murray Lender, andFlorence Senderleased this technology and pioneered automated production and distribution of frozen bagels in the 1960s.Murray also invented pre-slicing the bagel.
Around 1900, the "bagel brunch" became popular in New York City.The bagel brunch consists of a bagel topped withlox, cream cheese,capers, tomato, and red onion.This and similar combinations of toppings have remained associated with bagels into the 21st century in the United States.
InJapan, the first kosher bagels were brought byBagelK[ja]from New York in 1989. BagelK created green tea, chocolate, maple-nut, and banana-nut flavors for the market in Japan. Some Japanese bagels, such as those sold byBAGEL & BAGEL[ja], are soft and sweet; others, such asEinstein Bros. bagelssold byCostcoin Japan, are the same as in the U.S.
Bagels in the U.S. have increased in size over time. Starting at around 2 ounces (60 g),by 1915, the average bagel weighed 3 ounces (90 g);the size began to increase further in the 1960s.By 2003, the average bagel sold on a Manhattan coffee cart weighed around 6 ounces (170 g).
At its most basic, traditional bagel dough contains wheat flour (withoutgermorbran), salt, water, andyeastleavening.Bread flouror other highglutenflours are preferred to create the firm, dense but spongy bagel shape and chewy texture.With adough hydrationof around 50–57%, bagel dough is among the stiffest bread doughs.Most bagel recipes call for the addition of a sweetener to the dough, oftenbarley malt(syrup or crystals), honey,high fructose corn syrup, orsugar, with or without eggs, milk or butter.Leavening can be accomplished using asourdoughtechnique or a commercially produced yeast.
Bagels are traditionally made by:
This production method gives bagels their distinctive taste, chewy texture, and shiny appearance.
In recent years, a variant has emerged, producing what is sometimes called the steam bagel. To make a steam bagel, the boiling is skipped, and the bagels are instead baked in an oven equipped with a steam injection system.In commercial bagel production, the steam bagel process requires less labor, since bagels need only be directly handled once, at the shaping stage. Thereafter, the bagels need never be removed from their pans as they are refrigerated and then steam-baked. The steam bagel results in a fluffier, softer, less chewy product more akin to afinger rollthat happens to be shaped like a bagel. The dough used is intentionally morealkalineto aid browning, because the steam injection process uses neutral water steam instead of an alkaline solution bath.
Bagels can be frozen for up to six months.
According to a 2012Consumer Reportsarticle, the ideal bagel should have a slightly crispy crust, a distinct "pull" when a piece is separated from the whole by biting or pinching, a chewy inside, and the flavor of bread freshly baked. The taste may be complemented by additions cooked on the bagel, such as onion, garlic, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds. The appeal of a bagel may change upon being toasted. Toasting can have the effect of bringing or removing desirable chewiness, softening the crust, and moderating off-flavors.
Traditionally New Yorkers do not toast bagels; they argue that if a bagel is well made and fresh it should never be toasted.Some New York City bagel shops, like Murray's in Chelsea and Ess-a-Bagel at 21st and Third Avenue, have had no-toasting policies.Toasting of bagels in New York City is considered a bastardizationand sacrilege.FormerNew York Timesfood criticMimi Sheratoncalled the practice of eating toasted bagels obscene.
A typicalbagel has 260–350 kcal (1,100–1,500 kJ), 1.0–4.5 grams of fat, 330–660 milligrams of sodium, and 2–5 grams of fiber. Gluten-free bagels have much more fat, often 9 grams, because of ingredients in the dough to supplant the wheat flour of the original.
The New York bagel contains malt, is cold-fermented for several days to develop the flavors and enhance the crust, and is boiled in salted water before baking in a standard oven.The resulting bagel has a fluffy interior and a chewy crust. According to CNN, Brooklynites believe New York bagels are the best due tothe quality of the local water.According to Brooklyn Water Bagels CEO Steven Fassberg, the characteristics of a New York bagel are the result of the recipe formula and preparation method.
Different from the New York style, the Montreal-style bagel containsmaltand sugar with no salt; it is boiled in honey-sweetened water before baking in a wood-fired oven. It is predominantly of thesesame"white" seeds variety (bagels inTorontoare similar to those made in New York in that they are less sweet, generally are coated with poppy seeds and are baked in a standard oven).
TheSt. Louisstyle bagel refers not to composition, but to a particular method of slicing the bagel.The St. Louis style bagels are sliced vertically multiple times, instead of the traditional single horizontal slice.The slices range from 3 to 6 mm (0.12 to 0.24 in) thick.This style of bagel was popularized by the St. Louis Bread Company, now known asPanera Bread.Generally, the bagels are sliced into eight pieces using abread slicer, which produces characteristically precise cuts (the bagel is not torn or crushed while slicing).This particular method of preparation increases the surface area available forspreads(e.g.,cream cheese,butter).However, it decreases the portability of the bagel and prevents formation ofsandwiches.
Other bagel styles can be found elsewhere;Chicago-style bagels are baked with steam. American chefJohn Mitzewichhas a recipe for what he calls San Francisco-style bagels which yields bagels flatter than New York-style bagels, characterized by a rough-textured crust. The traditionalLondonbagel (or beigel as it is sometimes spelled) is chewier and has a denser texture.
In Austria,beigl(often also spelledbeigerlorbeugerlin its diminutive form) are a traditionalLentenfood. The rings are made from a yeasted dough, rolled out very thin and briefly boiled in salted water before topped with salt and caraway seeds and then baked. Depending on the region, they are sometimes baked to a very hard consistency, making them relatively brittle. Connected with it is the tradition ofBeiglreißen(lit.'ripping/tearing thebeigl') at Easter where two people pull on opposite ends of abeigluntil it breaks into two pieces. Tearing off the larger piece is meant to bring good luck.InVienna, EasternLower AustriaandBurgenland,beugerlhas taken on the meaning of certain types ofkipferl.
While normally and traditionally made ofyeastedwheat, in the late 20th century variations on the bagel flourished. Non-traditional versions that change the dough recipe includepumpernickel,rye,sourdough,bran,whole wheat, andmultigrain. Other variations change the flavor of the dough, often usingblueberry,salt,onion,garlic,egg,cinnamon,raisin,chocolate chip,cheese, or some combination of the above. Green bagels are sometimes created forSt. Patrick's Day.
A flat bagel, known as a 'flagel', can be found in a few locations in and around New York City,Long Island, and Toronto. According to a review attributed to New York'sVillage Voicefood critic Robert Seitsema, the flagel was first created byBrooklyn's'Tasty Bagels'deliin the early 1990s.
According to theAmerican Institute of Baking(AIB), 2008 supermarket sales (52-week period ending January 27, 2009) of the top eight leading commercial fresh (not frozen) bagel brands in the United States:
Further, AIB-provided statistics for the 52-week period ending May 18, 2008, for refrigerated/frozen supermarket bagel sales for the top 10 brand names totaled US$50,737,860, based on 36,719,977 unit package sales.
The AIB reported US$626.9 million fresh bagel US supermarket sales (excluding Wal-Mart) for the 52 weeks ending 11 April 2012.Fresh/frozen supermarket sales (excluding Wal-Mart) for the 52 weeks ending 13 May 2012 was US$592.7 million.The average price for a bag of fresh bagels was $3.27; for frozen it was $1.23.
Many cultures developed similar breads and preparations, such asbublikiinRussia,UkraineandBelarus, andobwarzanek(in particularobwarzanek krakowski) in Poland. Somewhat similar in appearance to bagels, these breads are usually topped with sesame and poppy seeds. The ingredients in these breads and bagels somewhat differ, as these breads are made with a different dough usingbutter,and sometimes also with milk.
In Italy,taralliandfriselleare breads similar to bagels.
InTurkey, a salty and fattier form is calledaçma. The ring-shapedsimitis sometimes marketed today as a Turkish bagel. Archival sources show that thesimithas been produced in Istanbul since 1525.Based on Üsküdar court records (Şer’iyye Sicili) dated 1593,the weight and price of simit was standardized for the first time. Noted 17th-century travelerEvliya Çelebiwrote that there were 70 simit bakeries in Istanbul during the 1630s.
Jean Brindesi's early 19th-century oil paintings about Istanbul daily life show simit sellers on the streets.Warwick Goblemade an illustration of the simit sellers of Istanbul in 1906.Simit is very similar to the twisted sesame-sprinkled bagels pictured being sold in early 20th century Poland.Simitare also sold on the street in baskets or carts, as bagels were then.
TheUyghursofXinjiang,Chinaenjoygirdeh nan(fromPersian, meaning round bread), a type ofnan, the local bread.
Another bagel-like type of bread is the traditional GermanDortmunder Salzkuchenfrom the 19th century.
Ka'ak al-Quds (better known in English as the Jerusalem bagel) is an oblong ring bread, usually topped with sesame seeds, with its origins in Jerusalem. Unlike the bagel, it is not boiled prior to baking.
"Bagel" is also aYeshivishterm for sleeping 12 hours straight—e.g., "I slept a bagel last night." There are various opinions as to the origins of this term. It may be a reference to the fact that bagel dough has to "rest" for at least 12 hours between mixing and bakingor simply to the fact that the hour hand on a clock traces a bagel shape over the course of 12 hours.
In tennis, a "bagel" refers to a player winning a set 6–0; winning a match 6–0, 6–0, 6–0 is called a "triple bagel".
"Bublichki"or "Bagelach"is a title of a famous Russian and Yiddish song written inOdesain the 1920s.The Barry Sisterstogether with theZiggy Elman Orchestramade it popular in the US in 1939. Today it belongs to the repertoire ofklezmer,jazzand pop musicians.
The term "bageling" refers to when a Jew uses a Jewish word or phrase in a conversation, or in the vicinity of a stranger who is also clearly Jewish, in order to inform them that they are also Jewish.
The bagel is a major plot device in the 2022 science-fiction filmEverything Everywhere All at Once.