It’s not as simple as you’d think. You need the right kind of flour, the type of water makes a difference, and the process isn’t as easy as it looks upfront. It’s not hard, but it’s time consuming and has a more steps than conventional bread baking.

Okay that’s great thanks, and the 2011 survey is very interesting.

I am from Montreal originally, and while there are good bagels everywhere now, the Montreal type is still the best I think. It uses no salt (except if it’s part of the seasonings dusted on it like the “everything” bagel), is boiled in honey water, and baked on boards in a wood-fired oven.

New York makes some good ones, Ess A Bagel’s is good when very fresh. But to me it’s quite different to the Montreal, almost a different bread product really. The worst are the salty half-stale ones, oversized, a lot of the cafes serve.

I would think it’s easy to make the Montreal or any authentic type anywhere in the world. The ingredients are so simple.

Gary

Yes they are. Not all of them are particularly great bagels, in fact many are little more than a bread roll with a hole poked through the middle, but there are a few companies that are doing quite good bagels. We did a comparison tasting a few years ago, and there are more companies now that are doing them. Probably time to do another!

https://www.saltshaker.net/20111029/blessed-bread-with-chewy-soul

Are bagels available in Argentina by the way?

Gary