When I look back on my first job at a bagel bakery in my hometown, memories of boiling, slicing, toasting, and generous helpings of schmear come to mind. What has followed is a series of other bakery roles throughout my life, but what stayed with me from that formative first experience was one strong, hard-to-shake belief: It’s best to leave the work of bagel-making to the pros. While I have tried my hand at homemade bagel recipes from time to time, I often find it’s not worth the hassle of making the dough, kneading it by hand, letting it proof for an hour (or more), then forming rounds with little holes — especially when you can buy bagels at the store.
Though homemade bagels taste better than grocery store-bought kinds, which are often more dense and bread-like, when you consider the technique required to make the dough, plus a separate step to boil and bake bagels at home, it’s a lot of work. And often homemade bagels can come out flat due to mistakes like overproofing the dough or boiling them too long. Though there are tips to make better bagels like using a wood-fired oven, buying high-gluten flour for a chewy texture, or making a bread starter to give the dough optimal flavor and rise, really, who has time for all that? Instead, it’s better to go to a local bagel shop or look for a good quality store-bought brand to keep on hand for breakfast.
Read more: 10 Store-Bought English Muffin Brands, Ranked
Leave Bagel-Making To The Experts, Or Buy A Quality Brand
Bagged bagels on a shelf at a grocery store – calimedia/Shutterstock
If you ask my New York born-and-raised family members what makes a good bagel, they’ll likely recite that you can’t beat a fresh bagel made with the city’s “softer” water, which has less magnesium and calcium. Others will say to leave the dough in the refrigerator for days to let the flavor deepen. Still others will disclose their bagel boiling secrets to pre-gelatinize the starch for a moist bagel. Some may add malt barley to the water for sweetness or baking soda to promote browning. All-in-all, there are a lot of culinary factors at play — which is why I’ve determined it’s best to leave bagels to the experts or a trusted bagged bagel brand.
Overall, store-bought bagels can do the job to satisfy a bagel, lox, and cream cheese craving. Though they can be few and far between, good store bagels do exist. It may take some time to find the best store-bought bagel, but you’ll want to look for one that delivers the right balance of chewy and moist texture, adequate toppings like everything seasoning or sesame, and fresh taste. So, look for a bagel brand without any artificial sweeteners or flavorings. If you can, get your hands on a bagel package which hails from New York, like the Ray’s New York brand. And when in doubt, the local specialty grocery’s bakery often slings solid bagels with a more artisan look and taste, similar to homemade.
Read the original article on Tasting Table.
Dining and Cooking