Growing up in Revere, Mass., one of my best friends was Jay DellaPorta. I don’t remember where his mother, Linda, would get bagels, but she would give us some of the best bagels around. (Update: Linda informed me it was Katz Bagel Bakery in Chelsea, Mass.)
These bagels, with the crisp, crunchy exteriors and toothy, chewy middles, made it hard for me to eat store-bought bagels. True bagels are boiled; mass-produced bagels are steamed. Trust me, there’s a difference.
My wife, Wendi, the founder of this blog, and I were watching an episode of America’s Test Kitchen, and one of the segments was how to make New York-style bagels. The bagels looked so good. I wanted her to make them for me.
We have been limiting sugar and flour when we eat, so I had to wait nearly a week until our cheat day to enjoy these. With a trip planned to Columbus, Ohio, I didn’t want her to have to make all of this from scratch. I had another idea.
We usually make our own pizza dough, but whenever I am in Marshallville, Ohio, I stop in Marshallville Meats and buy the frozen dough sold there. I have no clue who makes it, but it is the absolute best dough around, better than what I can make at home. I figured why not take some of the dough out of the freezer, let it thaw and rise, and Wendi could use it for bagels.
And, that is what she did. The bagels turned out fantastic.
We live in Wooster, Ohio, and about the only place you can find something close to a New York-style bagel is Panera’s. These bagels Wendi made were up there with Panera’s. Most bagels tend to be steamed rolls with soft exteriors and soft middles — everything bagels are not. So, now you can get New York-style bagels at our house, too.
I slapped on a little butter and a little cream cheese (OK, maybe not a little, but you get the idea), and it was a pure delight. The crunchy exterior, the chewy middle, the classic New York style. It satisfied my cravings for real bagels and brought back fond memories of my friend, Jay, and his family — what a wonderful treat.
My husband, Bobby and I, know we need to try them. He has heard so many good things about your bagels.