BS: Bagels

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: EBarnacle
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 09:06 AM

Kossar's plaetzel is a flattened, irregularly shaped, roll, about 12" in diameter, with poppy seeds. There may or may not be onion sprinkled on it, usually not. Conceptually, it is related to the bialy, as it has a very yeasty dough. The one problem is that it must be eaten fairly quickly or it will go stale. A bialy, possibly due to being a little thicker, will last a few hours longer than the plaetzel. Sometimes, I use it similarly to a pita bread, carefully slicing it down the center and loading it with fun ingredients before or after toasting.
Both seem to freeze and recover well.
A little olive oil and herbs before popping into the oven. Pure heaven! I am drooling right now.

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: manitas_at_work
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 09:47 AM

The East London platzel is shaped just like the beigel and about the same size. I just to bring home half a dozen of each from Bernie's All-Night Beigel Bar in Brick Lane after leaving the session at around 1 in the morning. Almost everyone else in the shop at that time was a taxi driver!

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: JennyO
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 10:14 AM

Ah Lox, there you are! Remember this? O

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 11:04 AM

Those of you who are sensitive to heresy might want to quit reading at this point.

I like Einstein's!

I learned something about a year ago. As a court reporter, I took some depositions for a business lawsuit. What makes it relevant here is that the depositions were taken at the Einstein's bagel factory, in Avon, Indiana (near Indianapolis), where almost all of Einstein's bagels are made for all of the United States. The only area of the US that isn't supplied with Einstein's bagels from Avon, Indiana is California, (and maybe Oregon and Washington; not sure about them).

It seems that a number of years ago Einstein's was about to expand out of the East, and wanted to centralize the operation for standardization, quality control, and efficient distribution. They picked a small neighborhood bagel shop in Indianapolis, and made a proposition, for those people to be the (almost) nationwide supplier.

Einstein's designed and had the factory constructed, and rents the factory and all machinery to the Indiana operating corporation. Einstein's contracts with various suppliers to put together the mixes for bagels, for flavorings, (such as onions, cranberries, blueberries, etc.) to Einstein's specifications, which are shipped to Avon.   The factory machinery adds water, mixes and kneads and forms the dough in bagel shapes. Then conveyor belts convey the formed raw bagels through the hot water bath, and immediately into a special unit which almost instantly freezes the bagels. The frozen raw bagels are then packaged and palleted by machinery.

The pallets of (maybe thirty-pound, I forget) boxes containing frozen raw bagels are shipped to the individual stores, and kept in a freezer. Each day, the following day's intended usage is taken from the store's freezer and allowed to thaw. They are freshly baked in batches through the following day as needed to satisfy the trade.

Oh, how disappointed I was to learn that Izzie and Elmo (or whatever their names are) don't personally make my bagel with their own little hands!

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: bobad
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 11:14 AM

Ron: I know that you won't change your mind (it's like two people arguing about whose mom's apple pie is better) but allow me to direct you to this site for an unbiased opinion from a native New Yorker.

If you make it up to the Ormstown Festival this summer, I'll take you to Beauty's and treat you to a Beauty's special.

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 11:15 AM

There is something about the idea of "freezing" and "thawing" the dough that goes against the spirit of good bagels. I would also question what goes into the mixes. My guess is that there must be some additives that help preserve the dough through this freezing process.

It ain't natural to freeze bagel dough!

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: bobad
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 04:02 PM

Had a Montreal bagel with cream cheese and smoked sprats for lunch today.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm......tasty.

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 04:03 PM

My condolences. I don't want to ask what a "sprat" is.

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 04:11 PM

Hey, don't forget to take a look at the great song thread that's been active recently - Bublitchki.
We were one of two Catholic families in a Jewish neighborhood in Detroit when I was little - we grew up teething on bagels, so eating a bagel always brings me comfort.
-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: bobad
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 04:13 PM

Smoked sprat...kinda like a sardine but smaller.

P.S. Ron, are you going to take me up on my offer?

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: WFDU - Ron Olesko
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 04:15 PM

I'm not much of a sardine fan either.

A generous offer, but I don't think I will be able to make it to Canada this year.

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: clueless don
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 04:17 PM

Someone said "Most commercial bagels should just be called donuts." But the thing is, I like donuts!

I have a bagel for breakfast almost every weekday morning. I eat it dry, i.e. no butter, cream cheese, etc. And I love it!

Which bagels do I eat? Blueberry bagels from Dunkin' Donuts.

De gustibus non est disputandum!

Don

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: EBarnacle
Date: 08 Feb 07 - 10:32 PM

Which translates that there is no disputing that Gus in the East.

Bagels are meant to be cooked throughout. They are supposed to be a dense, relatively unrisen dough.

They are not called donuts or crullers because they are a form of roll. If they were pastries, it would make sense for them to have a lighter or sweeter constitution.

They are an ethnic food and need conform to no other standard than their original definition.

Get over it.

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: Lox
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 07:28 AM

O jenny ...

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: fat B****rd
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 07:32 AM

Yo ! Loxman, I wondered how long it would be before you popped up again.

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: JennyO
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 08:33 AM

Nothing like a good bagel to make Lox pop up ;-)

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: catspaw49
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 10:07 AM

I asked for Lox and Bagels in Jackson, Mississippi and they brought me two dogs, padlocked together.









ba-da-boom










Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: Schantieman
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 10:37 AM

When I was a kid in NW London, my dad used to go out on a Sunday morning to the Jewish delicatessen in Edgware and come back with the day's supply. Heated briefly in a hot oven (I never managed to get them still hot from the cooking) they were delicious, especialy when spread with cream cheese and smoked salmon.

Today's supermarket "New York" bagels just don't cut the mustard.

Steve

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: GUEST,EBarnacle
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 05:04 PM

Supermarket bagels are mass produced and, by the time you get them, are already past their prime.
They don't even cut the cream cheese.

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: Lox
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 07:09 PM

pop

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 09 Feb 07 - 08:31 PM

Has anyone else noticed the similarity between this wrangle and the "What is folk" one?

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: JennyO
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 12:21 AM

bagel with lox - ooooh!

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: bobad
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 08:07 AM

That's what I'm having for breakfast this morning.

Subject: RE: BS: Bagels
From: GUEST,Lilyfestre
Date: 10 Feb 07 - 08:39 AM

I haven't ever had a bagel from NYC so I can't really compare! I love bagels though...toasted bagels! They are warm and chewy and nice to linger over on a slow morning. Bagel chips (gotten at the local bagel shop) are yummy to dunk in soup too! Hmmm...I'm getting hungry.......

LQF