Having teethed on bagels, you could say I’ve grown up with the doughy goodness in my mouth from very early on. I spent my childhood and adolescence hunting down bagels with my parents in the heart of New York City and New Jersey. As an adult, when I moved to an area where the only available bagels were in a grocery store 20 miles away–and worse–straight out of the freezer department, I learned never to buy them.  My parents couldn’t imagine not having bagels to eat; they were a staple in their house– sort of like rice to some folks. Fortunately, this meant that every time they would visit, 2 or 3 dozen bagels came with them. 25+ years later, bagels have become pretty mainstream here in the New England states, though I still need to drive a distance to find any decent ones. And they’re pretty good, but still not like the kind you get in the New York area. But at least I could regularly have bagels again.Then COVID-19 struck. My bagel supply was cut off and I needed to find a new source for that doughy goodness I craved. Friends over the years had told me that they’d made their own bagels– some successful, some not. It can be a tricky process. Out of desperation, I decided I needed to research bagel recipes and see how to make them myself.

Well, that was it; I was in it for good. In 10 days, I’d made 4 batches of NYC bagels like those from my childhood and they were delicious!  I sent them to my friends who then begged for more. Soon I’d started ordering bagel flour in bulk and my quarantine-baking turned into a venture of love I could share with everyone. As they say…the rest is history.