A Bite of Bagel History

The Bagel's Journey from Obscurity to Bakehouse Staple

Bagel history reveals a fascinating journey from obscurity to widespread popularity. 100 years ago, Americans living outside major Jewish enclaves like New York City likely never would have heard of bagels. When a bagel union made the news in 1953, the New York Times included a thorough description. They described not only the shape but also how to pronounce the word. Though this was likely for the benefit of those outside of New York City, it highlights the bagel’s relative obscurity.

Today mass production of bagels has resulted in them becoming a nearly ubiquitous sight in modern America, cementing themselves as a breakfast staple in the process. Take a walk through any grocery store and you will undoubtedly find neat packages of bagels lining the shelves. Brands like Thomas and Sara Lee offer countless different types at affordable prices, giving practically everyone the opportunity to try one. However, their meteoric rise to popularity was not without consequence. Sitting on shelves, in bland packaging alongside innumerable similar products, bagels have had much of their cultural history stripped away and have been transformed over time by the desires of the American public. The once distinctly Jewish loops of bread have become indistinguishable from the myriad other grain products on offer today. 

Bagel History: an Origin Story

Like many of our products, bagels are part of the Jewish food tradition, specifically coming from Eastern-European Jewish communities. Its exact origins are hazy. One myth claims the bagel came as a result of an anti-semitic 9th century law which banned Jews from baking their bread, leading them to boiling it before baking it. Another attributes it to the year 1638 after the battle of Vienna, when a baker purportedly invented them to honor the king of Poland, John III Sobieski. The first written mention of the word comes from Krakow in 1610, where they were described as a gift for pregnant women, meaning the 1638 date is almost certainly wrong. Most likely, its origins lie between the two aforementioned dates.

In her book, author and Executive Director of the US-UK Fulbright Commission Maria Balinska argues that bagels were the result of 13th century Jewish bakers working in modern Poland. Jewish people faced severe segregation during this time (as they have throughout much of history), with Jews restricted to doing business with other Jews. However, these laws notably exempt bakers, who were allowed to serve both Jews and Christians. Jewish bakers were especially popular with Christians during Lent, when they served a ring of boiled dough called obwarzanek, which Christians ate due to its blandness. Inspired by the obwarzanek, bakers began making smaller rings of dough for everyday consumption. It quickly became popular with Jewish customers and came to be known as the beygal in Yiddish. It quickly adopted significant cultural meaning within Poland’s Jewish community, becoming associated with both childbirth rituals and mourning rituals.

Coming to America

From Poland, the bagel began to spread through Jewish and Christian communities alike in eastern Europe and eventually followed them to the United States. As waves of Jewish people immigrated from eastern Europe to the United States they brought their food with them and were quickly baking bagels by the dozen. By 1907, Jewish bakers in New York had come together to found the International Bagel Bakers Union. Collectively, the bakers worked to improve the living conditions of Jews in New York City, notably fighting against the exploitation of recent immigrants. The union’s power was such that at one point they controlled the production of nearly every single bagel in New York City.

Strikes from the union made national headlines and the I.B.B.U. was one of the foremost groups in the American labor movement. The union’s success came about largely due to the complex process required to make bagels. Bakers specialized in one aspect of the day-long process and closely guarded the secrets of each step. The complexity of the process also kept the bagel isolated to areas with larger Jewish bastions. Despite becoming ingrained in the lives of many Jewish Americans and those who lived in communities alongside them, the bagel remained outside of the American mainstream. Mass production on the scale we see today would have been incomprehensible, as even mechanization was considered to be near impossible. 

2 photos side by side: Left: Our 1610 Plain bagels falling out of a bag. Right: A cup of coffee and several 1610 plain bagels surround a 1610 plain bagel sliced in half with cream cheese and cucumber
Left: Our 1610 Plain bagels falling out of a bag. Right: A cup of coffee and several 1610 plain bagels surround a 1610 plain bagel sliced in half with cream cheese and cucumber

Moving to the Mainstream

4 stacks of 3 bagels of different varieties

This all changed in 1963 with two men, Murray Lender and Daniel Thompson. Daniel Thompson was the son of a bagel baker and with that knowledge he managed to invent the first bagel making machine. Seeing its potential Thompson offered to sell the machine to three of the largest bagel bakeries in the country. The only person to accept was Murray Lender. Murray Lender already operated one of the largest bagel bakeries in the country and planned on freezing bagels to extend his reach. They could ship frozen bagels much farther and could dramatically expand the market. Understanding that this was an invaluable opportunity, Lender agreed to a deal with Thompson and quickly began to freeze any and all surplus generated by the machine.

The venture proved extremely successful, introducing the entirety of America to the bagel in the span of a few years. With the machine at his side, Lender produced thousands of bagels per day. This forced the International Bagel Bakers Union into submission and he effectively seized hold of the market. However, the American public was not ready to accept the bagel as it was. For instance, most people expected the flavor to mimic white bread while mechanical problems meant that doughs needed to be less sticky. Appealing to a nationwide audience necessitated change, and the once small, crusty bagel morphed into a plump, doughy, white-bread analog. While Lender would not remain at the top forever, his bagels created the nationwide market and benchmark for bagels.

Bringing Bagels to the Bakehouse

As the years went on, the bagel continued to change based on shifting desires of the American consumer. Companies produced countless new flavors and styles to accommodate customers. Despite the obvious demand, the Bakehouse avoided baking bagels for many years. It would have required different equipment and to learn an entirely new process. We would need new ovens, mixers, boilers, and even employees, and with the market already well served it simply didn’t seem like a necessary investment. That was until 2001, when a potential partnee approached us about opening a location in the new DTW terminal. In planning out the new business, our partner was adamant that bagels would become incredibly popular if we offered them at the airport.

With our prospective partner’s encouragement, we decided to take the leap and pursue baking bagels. Committed to honoring its cultural legacy, we spent months researching the history of bagels and testing recipes. Eventually, we created a recipe we were proud of and managed to secure all the necessary equipment from a supplier in Las Vegas. Finally, the only thing standing between us and successfully selling bagels in the airport was making sure we caught our flight back to Ann Arbor. Unfortunately, our journey home took longer than we anticipated, as on the morning of our flight home we awoke to the horror of the 9/11 attacks. By the time we managed to return to Ann Arbor our partner decided to pull out and the location in McNamara terminal never came to be. However, with all this brand new equipment and in spite of everything that had happened, we continued on.

Sometime towards the end of September 2001, we made our first batch of bagels for sale. Their release was met with what could generously be described as a mixed reception. Our bagels, which took inspiration the International Bagel Bakers Union, were a far cry from the Murray Lender-style bagel many had grown up on. At a glance, our bagels are slightly smaller than the typical grocery store bagel, with a far more prominent hole in the center. We boil our bagels before baking them on stone, which results in a crust that we believe is unmatched in flavor and texture, but is very different to the softer, steam-baked crusts people had grown up with. Expecting a large, pillowy circle of dough with a dimple in the center, many decried our bagel as inauthentic. Luckily, the number who enjoyed and supported our vision for bagels far exceeded those who disdained it. 

Cinnamon Raisin bagels on a marble surface; the middle bagel is sliced in half and spread with cream cheese

Bagels Today

Since introducing them 23 years ago, we’ve continued making bagels nearly every day, creating twelve different flavors along the way. While flavored bagels undoubtedly borrow from the Murray Lender tradition of bagels, we still use “traditional” methods when baking them. Like most of our products, we make our bagels with 100% organic grains from our friends at Bay State Milling. When sourcing our other ingredients, we look both locally and around the world, with an eye on quality and sustainability. For instance, we use Indonesian Korintje Cinnamon in our cinnamon raisin bagels because we believe it has the best flavor. Other standouts include our freshly roasted garlic, mouthwateringly caramelized onions, and delectable Flame raisins. These ingredients have made our garlic, onion, and cinnamon raisin bagels respectively, fan favorites. Moreover, instead of simply garnishing the exterior of our bagels, we mix our ingredients into the dough. This ensures rich flavor through every bite. Even though it doesn’t fit some people’s idea of what a bagel should be, we’ve kept true to our methods. We value continuing to honor the legacy of those bakers who came before us. Make sure to stop by the Bakeshop this weekend for our Flipped Out Onion Bagel Special Bake (10/26 & 10/27)!

Hungry for more?

  • Check out this article from the Atlantic, written by Zingerman’s cofounder Ari Weinzweig!
  • Learn how to bake your own bagels with our Better Bagels & Bialys class or find it in our first cookbook
  • Want to pre-order our Onion Bagel special bake? Give us a call at (734)761-2095
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Theo Wooley joined the Bakehouse staff in the summer of 2023 after graduating from the University of Michigan. A night owl at heart, Theo began working in the night-time pastry kitchen. As the year progressed and the days grew darker, the bright and colorful personalities of the night crew kept Theo and the pastry kitchen warm through the winter. By the end of the 2023 holiday season, Theo felt at home among the quirky mix that made up the pastry team. Despite the excellent company, Theo slowly began to yearn for the sun, as the strain of a semi-nocturnal lifestyle was greater than he anticipated. Not wanting to leave his coworkers, Theo met with managing partner Amy Emberling, and together they worked out a plan for Theo to split his time between night and day. In August of 2024, nearly a year after joining the Bakehouse, Theo began assisting Corynn Coscia in the Bakehouse marketing department. Currently, Theo splits his time between the pastry kitchen and the marketing department, rolling croissants at night and rolling cameras during the day.

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