Nearly everyone, particularly in the United States, is familiar with the bagel. However, few people know the history of the bagel or how different today’s bagel is from those I grew up eating. My parents owned a Jewish delicatessen, and their bagels were wonderful!
The traditional bagel is made from high-gluten flour, yeast, salt, water and malt. Once the bagel dough is shaped into a circle, they are boiled in a kettle for 3 to 5 minutes on each side. After that, they are drained and baked for about 10 minutes. Bagels are the only bread that is boiled before it is baked. Before bagels, like so many other foods became supersized, bagels weighed five ounces or less, and they made a crackling sound when you bit into them.
Bagels were baked and eaten by Eastern European Jews for centuries. When European Jews came to America, they brought bagel bakers with them. Bagel making was a highly skilled craft. Since the Lower East Side of New York City had the largest number of Jewish people, bagel baking thrived there, and by 1900, there were 70 bagel bakeries on the Lower East Side.
That little hole in the center of the bagel isn't just for looks; it is also efficient. The bagel hole came in handy to thread multiple bagels onto a dowel, making transport easily, especially for the street vendors selling the doughy delights.
The huge puffed-up American bagels, with cinnamon, raisins, onions and more, bear little resemblance to the small dense and chewy rings of East Europe and New York City in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. The vast majority of bagels in the United States today are first steamed in an oven instead of boiled, and they are then baked.
I still eat and enjoy bagels, but to me, only the name remains the same as the bagels I remember from years ago.
Comments
Can't get the like button to work !!
I always knew there was a reason for that hole !! Thanks for sharing this info.
Thanks for the walk down memory lane, Julie. Born and raised in the NY Metropolitan area makes me a certified bagel lover :) As you said, they just aren't the same as the bagels I remember as a child but whenever we can get bagels from NY or NJ, they are still darned good.
Thanks for sharing the history on the bagel Julie. Well that's progress, time changes and the way people do things is different as well. Such as baking bagels the old fashioned way. I like bagels as well.
Thank you for your comments ladies. I appreciate it.
A very informative post. Thanks for sharing this great story about the original bagel. I will like and share for you.
Thanks for sharing this information regarding the original bagel Julie. Wouldn't have known that if not for this post. Needless to say, the original bagel was a lot healthier as well. Liked and Shared.