Bagel

bread · Jewish food · Poland

Ring-shaped bread. Bagels are made by shaping dough into a ring or torus, which is a fancy way of saying a donut shape. This ring shape is one of the things that makes a bagel look so different from regular bread.

Boiled then baked. Before a bagel goes in the oven, it takes a quick bath in boiling water. This special step is what gives bagels their chewy, dense inside and helps create that golden, crispy outside.

Polish Jewish origin. Bagels started in the Jewish communities of Poland hundreds of years ago. From there, they spread around the world and are now loved by people everywhere.

Chewy and dense. Unlike fluffy sandwich bread, bagels have a thick, chewy, doughy texture inside. This makes them hearty enough to hold lots of toppings like cream cheese or peanut butter without falling apart.