Whether you know it or not, there’s a lot of technology in the bakeries of this modern world. While an essential part of baking is tradition—human hands in dough—there are a few different tools that make the craft more efficient and profitable to bakers. These tools and machines come with varying degrees of acceptance and outrage. The bagel machine, for example, is a controversial one.
The bagel machine
Bet you didn’t know that the first bagel rolling machine was invented by the son of a Jewish bakery owner named Meyer Thompson in 1961. But indeed: Daniel Thompson of Los Angeles was the first to invent a contraption that would roll and shape perfect circles of dough. Growing up watching teams of bakers—many in the bagel maker’s union—labor to make these Jewish heirlooms available, he dreamed of a faster way. Some things had to be changed, however, to make the bagel-shaped bread coming out of this machine. For example, the traditional wet bagel dough was too sticky for the machine, so a drier dough was concocted. Although it wasn’t quite the same, Daniel saw the opportunity to make bagelmaking possible across the country, even in areas where the knowledge of traditional Jewish methods were not present—and he took that opportunity.
The difference
Hand working the dough means a stronger gluten structure in the “crumb” or inner part of the bagel. This means shiny, elongated holes in the bread-y part, not the cakey, uniform little holes that you’re greeted with upon slicing open a machine bagel. A taut, chewy, light interior is the result of a more open crumb. Combined with the crisp crust from being tossed in the boiling kettle before baking, there’s not even any need for toasting. The difference is tasteable, but it’s not because of some secret ingredient. It’s all technique. In fact, the skills it takes to roll bagels well—and fast enough to sell before the breakfast crowd hits—have created a unique labor force of shop-hopping bagel rollers in New York.
Bagels for all
We’re not really in the business of being delicate when it comes to deli fare. We like our bagels shaped the same way they’ve always been shaped—by hand. They’re better. The art of hand-rolling bagels is cherished knowledge that simply produces a more sophisticated product. But you can’t knock Daniel Thompson for wanting to bring the idea of bagels to the entire country. The shortcuts that were taken to sell bagels on a world scale has resulted in steam-bathed puffy bread rings. They’re all perfectly alike, and absolutely a different thing entirely from a real bagel. But that’s okay. At least your average supermarket bagel-buyer isn’t completely in the dark, right? We shudder to think of a world where only a select few enjoy bagels. Maybe once the door to bagels is opened, more of the masses will try bagels the way they’re supposed to be made.
