What Makes a Bagel a Good Bagel?
I would humbly call myself a bagel connoisseur. I know my way around a quality bagel. I've diligently searched every nook and cranny for the most superior bagels in Los Angeles, but as I continue my search, the question of what makes a bagel a good bagel remains. Good is not only a general word but a subjective one. If you ask me where the best bagel in Los Angeles is, I would answer Brooklyn Water Bagel in Westchester. Why? The simple truth is that the joint is a five-minute drive from me. They always serve a warm, fluffy, lightly toasted bagel and load it with thick, fresh cream cheese. However, a lightly toasted and heavily creamed bagel is unambiguously only my opinion. The proximity of the bagel shop also doesn't hurt.
Everything Bagel with Plain Cream Cheese
📍Brooklyn Water Bagel (LAX)
Via @avasfresheats on ig (me!)
On the other hand, if you ask my roommate where to get the best bagel in L.A., she has a different answer. It is important to note that when we order bagels on campus, opposite to my preferences, she requests a double toasted bagel with light cream cheese. When asked where her favorite bagel shop in L.A. is, she says the "hidden local secret," Courage Bagels in Silverlake. Once, she brought home some "everything bagels" from this shop, and needless to say; they were terrific. With a sharp onion flavor, these bagels came out of the oven crispy and moderately thin, also packed with a strong flavor punch no bagel lover could resist. While at Courage Bagel, my roommate also tried the "Cream Cheese Tomato" bagel, which included lemon, salt, pepper, olive oil, and locally sourced tomatoes from Erewhon Market down the street. Accompanied with homemade iced mint tea, the two-word review of her Courage Bagel experience was "absolutely divine." Living in Los Angeles, we are bound to experience an array of countless bagel culinary delights; however, aside from personal preference, what makes a bagel critically acclaimed?
Tomato Cream Cheese Bagel
📍Courage Bagel, Silverlake
Via @avaelizabethdelongee on ig (my roommate)
In order to find out the intricacies of this round bread that differentiate it from most, we must look at the history of this baked good. In the book The Bagel: The Surprising History of a Modest Bread, author Maria Balinska explains how bagels' original form took that of a pretzel bread in Germany, notably different from the salty pretzel Americans know and love. As early as the 14th century, cultural diffusion of this Germanic pretzel bread caused its migration to East Poland, where the Poles created their version: round in shape and boiled. Often associated with poverty and a notable plain taste, bagels became a popular food item for paupers to sell on the street after Queen Jadwiga oh so graciously gave up her lavish breads for Lent, vowing only to eat bagels. This act was an attempt for the Queen to empathize with the people of her kingdom who regularly feasted on this awfully plain bread. Queen Jadwiga is not the only royal connected to bagels. Balinska touches on other wise tales, such as the bagel made as a gift for a king who loved horses, explaining the bread taking shape as a stirrup. Another common story is that of the bagel being created in a round "magical" shape, given as gifts to mothers at childbirth to symbolize labor and good luck. Now knowing a summary of the history of a bagel, it makes me wonder if, historically, a good bagel is not comparable to the bagel we know and love today. Previously known as plain and affordable, Queen Jadwiga would probably be in awe of an $18 "everything" lox bagel from West Hollywood.
Known as the bagel capital of the world, I want to look at the New York Bagel to judge what qualities to look for next time I bite into these luscious round bread rolls. New York Times reporter Jonathan Wolfe broached the question of good bagel quality years before me. Similarly to those searching to solve the mystery of good bagels, he also looked to Maria Balinska for bagel expertise, quoting her description of the characteristics of a New York Bagel as "(having) a shiny crust with a little bit of hardness to it and a nice glaze. The inside is very chewy but not overly doughy. It's got a slight tang to the taste, and it's not too big." A native New Yorker, Wolfe spoke to multiple bakeries in the city, getting every opinion on how an N.Y. bagel should be made. Recurring themes between the bakeries included that a bagel must never be sweet, should always be tough on the outside, and rarely need to have inclusions such as rainbow colors or berries of any sort. In my opinion, rainbow bagels make eating fun! However, a New York Bagel is a classic bagel, never too thick and with a thin layer of schmear instead of copious amounts of cream cheese. Good thing I live in L.A.!
Although commonly referred to, the New York Bagel does not reign supreme in all bagel connoisseur's eyes. Montreal, Quebec, also known as a bagel city, has made waves with its sweet-styled bagels. Montreal bagels are thinner with a larger middle hole and candied-tasting bread, often speckled with sesame seeds and rarely spread with cream cheese. The typical approach to eating a Montreal bagel is to dip it in the cream cheese if using it at all. Alison Spiegel of the Huffington Post questioned her New Yorker co-workers about the Montreal Bagel. However, she was met with contempt. Most New Yorkers look down upon the Montreal bagel, for it is said to be too sweet or perceived as going stale within five minutes of it being out of the oven due to its alternative baking process. Although, one co-worker of Spiegel's, questioned why New York bagels need cream cheese to be delicious. I have never ventured into the world of Montreal bagels, but through my extensive research, it seems as though these bagels resemble a cross between the consistency and flavor of a scone and a breakfast muffin. Because I always opt for a plain bagel with salmon shmear in the mornings rather than a cinnamon or raisin bagel, I'd assume the New York bagel would prevail upon my taste buds; however, I can not be sure until I've tried the latter. It's essential to give all bagels a fair chance.
In conclusion, through my sweeping bagel investigation, I have decided what makes a good bagel boils down to personal preference. I know "personal preference" is a rather anti-climactic conclusion and one I was not searching for when I began this article, but who is to say whether the New Yorkers or the Montrealers have it right. Every bagel must-have characteristics originating from somewhere, for there would be no Polish bagel without the origin of the Germanic pretzel bread. Perhaps a New York Bagel would be known as only a bagel if there was a concrete formula for what makes quality taste and consistency. Only one type of bagel would not be satisfactory in this world. Perhaps we should look at characteristics every bagel connoisseur can agree to dislike: a spongey bagel, chewy, hard, or rubbery one often due to being overboiled, left out for too long, or mass-produced. It is important to support your local bagel shop or bakery and get yourself a freshly baked bagel in the morning. Take a mental note of what qualities you like in your bagel, whether toasted, lightly cream cheesed, cinnamon covered, or plain. Each characteristic comes from somewhere different globally, and bagel diversity is something we should celebrate. What makes a good bagel is your preference, and after all, you are the one eating it- so bite in!