This Christmastide I have consumed three bagels - or maybe the correct spelling is "beigels". On Christmas Day morning, my toasted bagel was then buttered and smothered with cream cheese before being layered with torn strips of smoked salmon. Delicious.
My two other toasted breakfast bagels were buttered before having peanut butter and strawberry jam applied - not so easy when there is a hole in the middle. But why do bagels have holes?
I discovered it is to do with maximising the surface area of the bagel to increase the density and chewiness of the bread. By the way - there are such things as bagels without holes - they are called bialies or flagels but much less well known than bagels which were popularised in New York City in the late nineteenth century.
Here's slightly quirky Stella Parks (a.k.a. Bravetart) making her own homemade bagels and guiding us through the process. And yes, some boiling of the dough is included:-
I love bagels but have never tried smoke salmon as a topping, might have to do that.
ReplyDeleteFor us it is now something of a Christmas tradition... don't forget the cream cheese Deb!
DeleteAlways cream cheese! I sometimes add other bits to my cream cheese.... nuts, dried cranberries or..... whatever.
DeleteStella Parks is more than "slightly" quirky.
ReplyDeleteI think she is "living her best life"! What a dumb expression.
DeleteI like bagels but somebody else in the house has trouble chewing them.
ReplyDeleteTell her to put her teeth in!
DeleteI tried a bagel once and didn't like the texture, but that was thirty years ago, maybe I should give them another try.
ReplyDeleteYes. Do that Elsie! Dense and satisfying - just like me.
DeleteSo much butter on your bagels!! Watch out for your cholesterol YP.
ReplyDeleteIt's okay. I take statins now.
DeleteNot keen on salmon, but I usually have a bagel with cream cheese and avocado when we are at our favourite café in town for breakfast.
ReplyDeleteI thought you would have a Full English Meike!
DeleteWhat do ghosts put on their bagels? Scream cheese.
ReplyDeleteYou must have found that joke in a Christmas cracker Dave!
DeleteAnd he played upon a bagel,
ReplyDeleteA bagel, a bagel,
And he played upon a bagel,
and his name was Aiken Drum.
I do enjoy a fresh bagel every now and again.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you do with it?
DeleteBagel, cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers, and a touch of red onion. Heaven.
ReplyDeleteThat does sound like something The Pope might eat. Mmmmmm...
DeleteI never saw the "beigel" spelling until I came to the UK. In the USA they are always bagels, as far as I know. And yes, the bialy is very similar. We used to get a box of bagels every week for our staff meetings when I was a young reporter, and I used to get a toasted bagel with peanut butter every Saturday on my way home from working out. (Back when I did work out!) There are fast-food establishments (Einstein Bros., for one) dedicated entirely to bagels. They are very ingrained in American culture.
ReplyDeleteI understand that the first bagels or beigels in America arrived with Russian Jewish immigrants.
DeleteGreat video, thanks for featuring the channel, I added it to my list. (Along with Glen and Friends from Toronto.) On my to do list is buying smoked salmon today.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget your shopping basket as you skip to the store in your cape.
DeleteWho doesn't love bagels? One of the most delicious forms of carbs to consume! I used to take the kids to a bagel place and I would get sun-dried tomato cream cheese for mine and it was a sort of heaven.
ReplyDeleteSun-dried tomato cream cheese does sound heavenly.
DeleteI love toasted "everything" bagels with a generous smear of cream cheese.
ReplyDeleteI prefer dollops to smears.
DeleteI've never put butter on a bagel - only cream cheese. You are dragging out the suspense until you announce your awards by talking about bagels?
ReplyDeleteWhen you are aboard a small ship on the South Atlantic - voyaging for six long days - you have plenty of time to kill. That's how I found myself lying on my bunk wondering why bagels have holes in them Ellen.
DeleteWe had bagels, but the cream cheese wasn't delivered, so the man had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon instead, two days running!
ReplyDelete