New York Bagel History

Bagels are made from the basic bread ingredients of flour, yeast, salt, and sweetening. It is a round shaped bread with a hole. The origin of the bagel is not known, but it seems to have its roots in central Europe. A widely repeated legend traces its history to Vienna in 1683, when John III Sobieski, king of Poland, successfully defended the city from a Turkish invasion. A local baker, wishing to commemorate the victory of this accomplished horseman, fashioned his bread in the shape of a stirrup (the present-day German word for which is Bügel). In the late 19th century, European Jewish immigrants introduced the bagel to the United States, where it gained a popular association with New York City. The American bagel industry expanded rapidly in the late 20th century; bagel …show more content…
You just need to know where to look and be willing to go a little bit out of your way and possibly wait in line. Before launching into the where of the authentic New York treat that still only costs a couple of bucks, it’s important to know exactly what makes a bagel a New York bagel. The classic New York bagel is unique and requires specific ingredients and preparation. The ingredients are simple — high-gluten flour, water, yeast, salt and barley malt. Some bakeries substitute honey or white sugar for the malt, but the malt lends a balanced slight mellow, nutty sweetness that produces the classic taste that is hard to beat. Traditionally, bagels are hand-shaped, and then the bagel dough is left to rise for about 12 hours. The bagels are then boiled briefly in water, pressed side-by-side and baked. Surprisingly, there were only four original flavors: plain, sesame, poppy and salt. In modern New York it’s now common to find everything bagels, garlic, onion, pumpernickel and cinnamon raisin varieties, and even some new-school types like blueberry, in the bins next to the four