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Montreal-style bagel

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Poppyseed (dark) and sesame seed (light) Montreal-style bagels.

The Montreal bagel, (sometimes beigel; Yiddish [בײגל] Error: {{Lang}}: script: hebr not supported for code: yi (help) beygl, or sometimes in French "beguel"), is a distinctive variety of hand-made and wood-fired baked bagel. In contrast to the New York-style bagel[1], the Montreal bagel is smaller, sweeter and denser, with a larger hole, and is always baked in a wood-fired oven. It contains malt, egg, and no salt and is boiled in honey-sweetened water before being baked in a wood-fired oven, whose irregular flames give it a dappled light-and-dark surface colour. There are two predominant varieties: black-seed (poppyseed), or white-seed (sesame seed).

History

Montreal bagels, like the similarly shaped New York bagel, were brought to North America by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe; the difference in texture and taste reflect the style of the particular area in Eastern Europe in which the immigrant bakers learned their trade. Minor controversy surrounds who brought the bagel to Montreal. It seems it was first baked in Montreal by Chaim (Hyman) Seligman, a fact verified by Joe King [2], the historian of Montreal Jewry. Chaim first worked in the neighbourhood of Lachine and later moved his Bagel bakery to the lane next door to Schwartz's Deli on St. Lawrence Boulevard in central Montreal. Chaim would string his Bagels into dozens and patrol Jewish Main purveying his ware originally from a pushcart, then a horse and wagon and lastly from a converted taxi. Chaim went into partnership with Myer Lewkowicz and with Jack Shlafman but managed to fall out with both. Chaim and Myer founded the St. Viateur Bagel Shop and Jack established Fairmount Bagel, both existing until today. In many Montreal establishments bagels are produced by hand and baked in wood-fired ovens, often in full view of the customers.[3]

A substantial proportion of Montreal's English-speaking Jewish community gradually left for other locales. Catering to this population, Montreal-style bagel shops have opened in Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton[4], Calgary, and other Canadian, and even US cities, such as Houston, Texas. However, this style of bagel is almost completely unknown in the northeastern U.S. despite its proximity to Montreal, mainly due to the proximity of the rival New York City bagel.[5][6]

Montreal-style bagels have even flown in space. Gregory Chamitoff, who grew up in Montreal, took three bags of sesame bagels with him on his assignments to STS-124 as passenger and ISS Expedition 17 as crewmember.[7] [8]

Production

Montreal-style bagels are, for the most part, manufactured by the same method used to produce a generic bagel. The Montreal-style method of making bagels builds on the basic traditional method in the following ways:

  • The bagel dough includes egg, and contains no added salt.
  • Honey is added to the water used for poaching the bagels before baking.
  • The bagels are baked in wood-fired oven.

Famous Bagel Shops

Several Montreal bagel factories are famous for their authentic Montreal-style bagels. St-Viateur Bagel & Cafe, at 1127 av. Mont-Royal est, Fairmount Bagel, at 74 av. Fairmont ouest, and the Mount Royal Bagel Factory, at 709 Lucerne, are three of the most well-known and popular bagel shops in Montreal.[9] The Mount Royal Bagel Factory is the only bagel factory that serves kosher-certified authentic Montreal-style bagels.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Crusty Bran Bagels are an Ethnic Treat". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg Times. November 21st 1974. Retrieved February 6th 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  2. ^ Joe King. Baron Byng to Bagels: Tales of Jewish Montreal. Montreal. 2006 Pp. 42-3
  3. ^ Mennie, James (August 3rd 2006). "If you can't stand the heat, get into the kitchen". The Montreal Gazette. Canwest News. Retrieved February 6th 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  4. ^ Bagel lovers, the Abominable Doughnut Must Not Stand.
  5. ^ Bushnell, David (September 27th 2007). "Where 1 million bagels is just another day at office". Globe Correspondent. The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 6th 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  6. ^ Hewitt, Jean (April 24th 1969). "Business Better". New York Times. The St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved February 6th 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |date= (help)
  7. ^ CTV.ca Montreal-born astronaut brings bagels into space Sun. Jun. 1 2008 7:29 PM ET ; CTV National News - 1 June 2008 - 11pm TV newscast
  8. ^ The Gazette (Montreal), Here's proof: Montreal bagels are out of this world, IRWIN BLOCK, Tuesday June 3 2008, Section A, Page A2
  9. ^ "Montreal: Introduction: Best Dining Bets". Frommer's Montreal and Quebec City 2009. {{cite web}}: Text "2009" ignored (help)
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