Bagel – a round yeast roll for breakfast

A bagel is a round yeast roll with a hole in the middle. A true bagel is completely plain and is made with white wheat high-gluten flour, then boiled in water and baked. Boiling the dough reduces the starch content and gives the bagel its outer sheen an hard crust.

The name bagel comes or the German word beugel meaning a round loaf of bread. The first mention of the bagel was in 1610 in Kracow, Poland. Bagels were sold on the streets of New York by the early 20th century.

Bagels now rank one of the most popular breakfast foods in the United States. However, the size of bagels are increasing as well, turning a normally low fat, low-calories food into a high-calories food.

 

Bagels are offered in every conceivable flavor, from the more traditional pumpernickel or onion to the sweetened blueberry or chocolate chip version as well as many other flavors in between. In general, bagels have a very simple formulation.

The formula is very similar to simple bread or roll formulas: flour, salt, yeast and water. Traditional bagels were made with very high protein, spring wheat flour.
Bagel – a round yeast roll for breakfast