The Key to a Perfect Bagel: Insights from BagelFest West
The bagel is a food deeply rooted in history, nostalgia, and regional pride. Yet, as with much of food culture, its journey from its Polish origins to deli cases worldwide has seen immense evolution. At BagelFest West’s industry panel, Gab Chabrán led a discussion with Jeff Yankellow of King Arthur Baking and Oren Salomon of Starship Bagel, diving into the fundamental questions about what truly makes a bagel a bagel, and why this classic bread continues to inspire passion, debate, and delicious experimentation.
Defining the Bagel: What Matters Most?
Ask any aficionado or baker, and you’ll hear strong opinions about what a “real” bagel must be. For Jeff Yankellow, “[a] bagel is a type of bread that is traditionally boiled, a little chewy on the outside, a little crispy, round with a hole in the middle”. Meanwhile, Oren Salomon describes it as “the one perfect food that I look forward to eating every single night”.
But beyond romantic definitions, there are certain non-negotiables. Chewiness and a distinct crust take precedence. “If it eats like a bagel…has those characteristics, a little chew, a little crust, I think it’s critical,” Jeff Yankellow noted, agreeing that visual appearance alone isn’t enough. A bagel should stand out from mere “cottony bread with a hole,” and its texture is central to that distinction.
The Foundation: Ingredients and the Sourdough Debate
Traditional recipes start simply: high-gluten flour (for that essential chew), water, malt, salt, and yeast. “If you don’t pick the right flour, it’s all downhill from there,” said Oren Salomon. For a classic New York bagel, only high-gluten flour need apply.
Yet, today’s bakers increasingly experiment with flour blends, hydration, and sourdough starters. Sourdough bagels may carry an artisanal allure, but Oren Salomon clarified that, historically, commercial yeast defined the American bagel, with sourdough only seeing resurgence in recent years. The lineage split early on—now, sourdough bagel bakers often adapt bread or pizza techniques rather than classic bagel methods, creating doughs with higher hydration and different flavors.
Size, Process, and the Art of Fermentation
If you’ve noticed bagels getting bigger, you’re not imagining things. Panelists traced the shift from the union-mandated 3-ounce bagel to today’s often 6-ounce behemoths. This change, Oren Salomon explained, was driven by consumer demand for bagels that functioned better as sandwich bread, accommodating the bacon, egg, and cheese culture of bodegas and cafes.
But process is just as important as size. Fermentation, which is both recipe and equipment-dependent, is the heart of flavor development. “[To] get proper fermentation, you really need the proper equipment… low temperature, high moisture, low air velocity,” Oren Salomon emphasized. Even minute differences in bakery layout or fridge fans can significantly affect results, making true mastery a slow and experimental journey.
Additives and Consumer Expectations
Controversies don’t end with technique. The use of potassium bromate, once valued for making dough more resilient and boosting volume, is now being banned in many places due to cancer concerns. Jeff Yankellow likened it to an insurance policy that allowed large bakeries to cut corners, but underscored that excellent bagels (like those at Starship!) are fully possible without it, provided careful process and attention are given.
Modern consumer expectations, molded by decades of industrial bread products, clash with traditional methods. Fresh, handmade bagels might go stale faster or have less shelf-life, but that’s often a marker of quality and digestibility, not a flaw.
Tradition Versus Innovation: Where Do We Draw the Line?
Should bagel makers be bound by tradition or free to innovate? “Perfection is in the eye of the beholder,” Oren Salomon mused, advocating for a strong grounding in the basics before branching out creatively. “If it’s informed, then you’re pushing the whole knowledge base forward. If you’re just doing what you learned in your pizza shop…what have you really done to push the bagel forward?”
Geography, Identity, and A World of Bagels
The East Coast-West Coast divide isn’t just about water, as it turns out. California bagels, exemplified by places like LA’s Courage Bagels, embrace beautiful open-faced plating, wild fermentation, and even “defects” prized as points of pride. As Oren Salomon notes, “California is avant-garde. But the whole open face plating is kind of funny…most people eat it open face. Some make a sandwich, but open face is kind of the traditional way.”
The future isn’t about narrowing definitions, but “how can these two styles talk to each other and have conversation.”
Craft, Community, and Respect
Whether you toast your bagel or honor kosher rules, whether you’re faithfully reproducing a classic or re-imagining the form, the panelists agreed: celebrate craft and pursue what’s delicious. “Be proud of what you are doing…represent yourself through what you make and through your style and what you like,” urged Jeff Yankellow.
Bagels may have a storied past, but their best days are being baked fresh every day, by makers who blend respect for tradition with a fearless curiosity for the future.
Check out King Arthur Baking and Starship Bagel!