There is nothing more quintessentially New York City, than a great bagel for breakfast (maybe even with some lox and cream-cheese on top). Sources varies on where it originated, some saying from China, others from Italy, but the country that comes up the most is Poland. Rolls with holes were found in Krakow as early as 1610 and most agree that they were important with the large Jewish communities moving to NYC. On our Tenements Tales & Tastes Tour you can get a first hand look at the influence of the Jewish community on New York's food culture.
Most bagels are made by shaping the dough into a bagel shape, then letting them sit for 12 hours. After that, they're boiled before being bakes which give the bagel the soft, chewy inside and crispy outside. This process makes it different from the other roll imported from Poland, the Bialy, which is not boiled first and has a depression, instead of a hole, which can be filled with onions, garlic, poppy seed or other ingredients.
Most bagels are made by shaping the dough into a bagel shape, then letting them sit for 12 hours. After that, they're boiled before being bakes which give the bagel the soft, chewy inside and crispy outside. This process makes it different from the other roll imported from Poland, the Bialy, which is not boiled first and has a depression, instead of a hole, which can be filled with onions, garlic, poppy seed or other ingredients.
By 1907, the baking of bagels was regulated by a union, joining together about 300 bakers. In the 1930s practically every baker who made bagels was a part of the union and preferred only to give the 'bagel making techniques and secrets' to their sons who would then join the union as well. It wasn't until the 1960s that bagels began to be mass produced and popularized across the country. You can always make the trip down to the Lower East Side for the original bagel but today some of the best bagel shops are spread across the city. Some of our favorites are Murray's Bagel in Greenwich Village and the Brooklyn Bagel Co. ironically located in Astoria, Queens which has a rotating array of cream-cheese including maple bacon and cannoli cream.
