Bagels Recipes and Cooking Information

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Bagels

Part 2: How to slice a bagel safely

More of this Feature

• Part 1: Bagel history
• Part 2: Bagel storage and slicing
• Part 3: Bagel Recipes

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Recipes

• Bagel Recipes
• Bread Recipes
• Main Recipe Index

Related Cookbooks

• The Best Bagels: Are Made at Home
• The Ultimate Bagel Cookbook
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Booming bagel business
The bagel has skyrocketed in popularity since the 1960s. According to some statisticians, consumption has increased by a factor of ten. Americans alone consume upwards of 3.6 pounds of bagels per capita per year, the majority of them frozen.

(bagel sandwich graphic) Again, purists will argue that a good bagel need no adornment, but lox and/or cream cheese tend to be the most popular toppings these days. Bagel usage has expanded from its usage as just a form of bread, to a bread replacement for sandwiches, snacks like bagel chips, and even bagel-dough-wrapped weiners.

Safe bagel slicing
(bagel slicer graphic) Bagel popularity has given rise to many creative bagel-slicing contraptions, some would say from necessity. According to the head of the Department of Emergency Services at George Washington Hospital in Washington, DC, USA, the greatest under-reported injury is hand cuts from slicing bagels. If you don't own a slicer, you can safely slice your bagel like this: place bagel flat on table with hand on top and hold firmly; use a serrated knife to slice halfway through, keeping blade horizontal to the table; stand bagel on its end, and finish slicing downward while gripping the upper sliced half.

Bagel storage
(bagel graphic) Use fresh bagels quickly, as they dry out and harden within days. Store completely-cooled bagels at room temperature in plastic bags or freeze immediately. Refrigeration hastens staleness. Refresh bagels by slightly wetting the exterior and baking at 350 degrees F. for ten minutes. Frozen bagels will keep for 3-4 months in an airtight bag in the freezer at 0 degrees F. Pre-slice bagels almost all the way through before freezing. Frozen bagels need not be thawed before toasting.

Bagel recipes
(bagels graphic) There are a lot of bagel fans on the web. The Boston area has a Bagel Bake-Off. Get a few chuckles from bagel humor in the office. Try one of the many bagel recipes, from making bagels at home to recipes using bagels as an ingredient, and also some great bagel topping spreads. Making bagels at home can be very rewarding.