Damn you guys. I had to rouse myself from a cozy weekend sleep-in to head to the local bagel shop to pick up a dozen bagels for the family, and a few Everything ones for me, all because of this thread. Fortunately, this being Montreal, it was only a 5 minute drive. And the poppy seed bagels were still warm, while the sesame seed ones were burning hot.
Eating an Everything bagel now with plain cream cheese on it, as I post this. Life is good.
QFT. Whenever I was in Manhattan I made it a point to drop by and get an everything with their chopped chicken liver, a slice of onion and hot mustard. Heaven.
Oh cool, I had no idea that’s how that worked.
I pretty much live on lox, sometimes, though for calorie and carbs sake I often have it with light cream cheese on Wasa crackers instead of the true way, with a bagel and full-fat cream cheese. We’re lucky here to have several very good bagel bakeries, of different styles ranging from pure New York to Montreal. All are good, high-gluten, lovely wonderfulness.
My faves are galric, then everything or works, followed by I guess onion, but really, any (good) bagel is fine. I like flavored cream cheese, if it’s done well, and some of the local shops have cool stuff like jalapeno cheddar begals with spicy cream cheese and stuff. One shop had a basil siracha cream cheese that was really good.
And yes, if the bagel is perfect, I can eat it happily by itself, no shmear needed.
There isn’t much difference between a well made soft pretzel and a well made bagel. Both can be enhanced with various toppings. But both are just fine fresh and untopped. Both are boiled first then baked.It’s a matter of size and shape. And for the pretzel, baked hotter and quicker. YMMV.
Pretzels boil in a much more strongly alkaline solution than bagels-- many bagel bakeries don’t add any baking soda to the water at all. That’s the main difference between bagels and pretzels.
NY bagels are generally boiled in plain water, while montreal-style are boiled in water with a bit of honey. NY style is chewier and fluffier, while Montreal is denser and more cake-like. Montreal bagels are also baked at a much higher temperature in a wood oven. I’ll take a fresh hot Montreal bagel over a NY one any day, but NY bagels are much better cold or the next day.
Well I’ll say that the bagels I used to eat in Brooklyn back in the 70s had either lye in the water or a version of sugar. I say this because I knew some store owners back then. The Jewish ones spoke about both stopping the rising of the dough and the need for a crust. I’m pretty sure that plain water boiling is a newer thing, but I won’t gainsay your experience. I’m in Florida for several years now and my bagel knowledge is seriously lacking.
Edit: As far as pretzels, I bow to your knowledge. :) Now send me some.
I suppose I should try their bialys sometime. It’s just that by the time I get there, it hard to pass up the bagel. I’m not really a bialy guy. Any recommendations for Kossars, in particular?
Err… the bialy? I guess they make different types but onion is traditional.
@RichVR: NY bagels are boiled in a less alkaline solution than pretzels. Some do add baking soda. I haven’t heard of lye, although I guess you’d need to store less product. The classic pretzel flavor comes from the alkalinity. A little bit of sugar in the water is also pretty common, but it’s much less sweet than Montreal honey-water boiled bagels.
Montreal-style makes for a fine breakfast pastry, but it’s not actually a bagel :)
Uh huh. And what New Yorkers call a bagel is pretty much a roll with a small hole. 😘
Sacre–!
I bought some Everything bagels from the store and they had sunflower seeds on them. I’m still not sure if that was on purpose or an industrial accident.
Warning: these bagels are prepared in a facility that also prepares food for birds. I can’t explain this strangeness. I do wonder where you found such a thing, though.
They’re closer to real bagels than the classic Chicago/NY pizza comparison. And very tasty in their own way-- if and only if they’re fresh.
Yes, seriously, Montreal-style is quite good and it’s far more bagelesque than deep-dish is pizzoid. Iggy’s in Cambridge makes bagels closer in style to Montreal than NYC, and it’s my preferred regional supplier… even if it’s not quite right.
Are these Everything bagels a new invention? I feel like I’ve been living in Japan for far too long and stuff like this just passes me by.
They’re at least 40 years old, if not more.
As long as they don’t have anise, fennel or caraway, I love “everything” bagels.
Which means I don’t like most “everything” bagels.
Mmm, now I want an anise / fennel. / caraway bagel.