The Story of The Bagel
Many Americans eat bagels, round rolls with holes in them, for breakfast. Bagel bakeries can be found in different parts of the United States, but mainly in New York. Most Americans do not know when and where bagels were first made.
The first bagels were made in Europe more than three hundred years ago. There are a few stories about why the first bagels were made. One of the stories is that bagels were made as gifts for women who gave birth because the circle represented a whole life. Bagels were also given as teething, rings to babies who were cutting their first teeth. Because the bagel looked like a ring, a baby could easily hold it and put it in his/her mouth.
Bagels were made of yeast and flour according to a secret recipe. Their special taste came from being boiled before they were baked. They were brought to America by Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century. In order to keep the recipe a secret, they formed the Bagel Bakers Union. There were 300 members in the union and they worked hard to prevent strangers from becoming bagel bakers. Only sons of the union members could become bagel bakers.
The bagel bakers worked in teams of four: two made the dough and shaped the bagels, one boiled the bagels, and one baked them. They were paid according to the number of bagels they made and usually produced 6,400 bagels a night.
In the 1960’s a bagel machine was invented. The machine was able to make between 200 and 400 bagels an hour. Although the machine makes many bagels in a time, some bakers continue to make bagels in the old-fashioned way. Bagels lovers claim that freshness is the most important thing. They say that after only four hours a bagel cannot be considered fresh.