Bagel

Bagel

Sesame bagel
Alternative names	Bajgiel, beigel, beygl
Type	Bread
Place of origin	Poland
Region or state	Europe, North America, Israel
Associated cuisine	Jewish, Polish, American, Canadian, and Israeli
Created by	Jewish communities of Poland
Serving temperature	Room temperature
Main ingredients	Wheat dough
Variations	Montreal-style bagel, pizza bagel, bagel toast
Media: Bagel

A bagel (Yiddish: בײגל, romanized: beygl; Polish: bajgiel; also spelled beigel)^[1] is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland.^[2] Bagels are traditionally made from yeasted wheat dough that is shaped by hand into a torus or ring, briefly boiled in water, and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior.

Bagels are often topped with seeds baked on the outer crust—traditional choices include poppy and sesame seeds—or with salt grains. Different dough types include whole-grain and rye.^[3][4] The basic roll-with-a-hole design, hundreds of years old, allows even cooking and baking of the dough; it also allows groups of bagels to be gathered on a string or dowel for handling, transportation, and retail display.^[5][6]

The earliest known mention of a boiled-then-baked ring-shaped bread can be found in a 13th-century Syrian cookbook, where they are referred to as ka'ak.^[7] Bagel-like bread known as obwarzanek was common earlier in Poland as seen in royal family accounts from 1394.^[8] Bagels have been widely associated with Ashkenazi Jews since the 17th century; they were first mentioned in 1610 in Jewish community ordinances in Kraków, Poland.^[2]

Bagels are now a popular bread product in North America and Poland, especially in cities with a large Jewish population.^[2] Bagels are also sold (fresh or frozen, often in many flavors) in supermarkets.