Blushfully Eats “Bagels”

There’s something about bagel. I mean it, at least for me. Perhaps it’s the texture. Perhaps it’s the cute odd shape. Although, knowing me, it’s most likely be about the taste… and fascination.

They say there’s a saying, “I slept a bagel last night”, due to “bagel” also being a Yeshivish term for sleeping 12 hours straight. In terms of the bread, it would perhaps be a reference to the fact that bagel dough has to “rest” for at least 12 hours between mixing and baking. Impressive, huh? From other source, 12 hours is optimal, though it can even go up to 24 hours. With different parts of the world, they have their own variants on why the name ‘bagel’ come about.

What is a “bagel”?
Traditionally it is shaped by hand into the form of a ring. Roughly the size of the hand, it is made from wheat + yeast dough. It needs to be properly boiled first in water then baked in the oven. When done perfectly, it is a dense, soft interior with browned and sometimes crisp exterior. They could at times be topped with seeds on the outer crust, most common ones used are poppy or sesame seeds.

Bagels are popular in the United States. Although it originated from Poland. They may be available frozen or fresh. Even when you buy them fresh, you can freeze them for later use.

The shape of the bagel is hundreds of years old.

What a fresh real bagel should NOT look like…

The lines are from steaming. This is commercial now. Boiling will not give you the markings.

What a wonderful yummy bagel should look like… I was so happy to get my bagel fix nowadays, especially fresh from the markets.

There are so many awesome ways to eat a bagel. My breakfast favourite of a bagel would have to be Blueberry bagel with cream cheese. However for lunch, any of those seeded or onion or garlic bagel with smoked chicken (^_^) is my current favourite. Bagels are also amazing with smoked salmon, bacon, and with salads such as rockets.

So where to go when you are in Brisbane for a good bagel that won’t disappoint? The Bagel Boys.

They are Brisbane based, and the flavours they make…

Plain
Gluten Free
Poppy Seeds
Onion
Garlic
Sesame Seeds
Jalapeno
Soy & Linseed
Rye (with Sunflower Seeds)
Blueberry
Everything
Cinnamon & Raisin

Mostly at the markets around Queensland, they also supply a lot of the cafes around Brisbane! What’s awesome is… you can buy fresh from them, then freeze it. I get a whole bag then freeze them all. When I want my bagel fix, or feel like a bagel for breakfast, I’ll heat one up. My easiest and quick way of doing that is… put a small bowl of water in the microwave, then pop your bagel in a bowl (ideally the size of your bagel so your bagel is snug inside the bowl). Depending on the strength of your microwave, I usually heat it up for 1 minute. And wah lah, you’re done with a fresh hot bagel. If you feel like something extra, you can cut the bagel in half, spread some of your favourite butter (may it be standard butter or coconut butter) and pan fry them. The surface with the butter touching the pan, and you would just get that extra oomph and crisp on that side without burning anything.

Well…

There we have it… Just a little “food” post to boost the rest of your week. Since I have been tagging these sorts of photos in my Instagram as “#blushfullyeats” I thought I would do the same for these blog posts. If you haven’t already, you could follow my updates at @cendana_ in Instagram.

Till next Eats post!

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Disclaimer: Please take note that this is not a sponsored post or an affiliation with any company mentioned. Merely sharing my love and my interest.