[RichieLion]

Originally Posted by lawatha

What is a bialys? As a former Spokane WA girl (via CA and ID) I've never heard of that before. My idea of bagels would be... cinnamon crunch bagel at Panera Bread. Ha... that's the extent of my bagel expertise.

A bialy is a wonderful piece of dense bread that has an indentation in it that is filled with onions. We gentiles often just referred to them as "onion rolls". They are delicious with smoked salmon, as previously and mouth wateringly described by Whalen. Cut them in half; lightly toast them; add a bit of butter; have a cup of hot strong tea to accompany.................mmmmmm

Here's a link with a picture
http://www.breadcetera.com/?p=185

[RichieLion]

Originally Posted by 2BNTV

Richie:

A bagel tip. Here's a tip that has been around for years that I heard from a friend many years ago. My son, who works in the hotel management also verified this works as it has been been used in some of the better hotels.

After taking a bagel out of the freezer, put in a mocrowave oven with a cup of water for two minutes in the "defrost" setting.

Cut the bagel and put in back in the microwave for two minutes in the "defrost" mode.

The water in the cup will mist and go into the bagel giving it soft and baked quality. It will seem like it just came out of the bakery oven.

I'm no great chef, (microwave man), and I bow to other's superiority when it comes to cooking but I found this method to work when reheating pizza, pasta and anything that will taste better as it will taste more like when it was originally cooked.

P.S. - I remember when I put bread in the microwave and after it came out. If a let it sit for a while, it became like a brick.

Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a try. Although 4 minutes seems a long time for a bagel, but I'll experiment with that.

My mom used to "refresh" a leftover portion of italian bread from a night or two before, by putting it in tin foil; sprinkling some water in the tin foil, loosely close the tin foil into a bag and bake in the oven for a few minutes. It made it soft and warm again with that just baked texture like you describe in your instructions for frozen bagels.

[2BNTV]

Originally Posted by RichieLion

Thanks for the tip. I'll give it a try. Although 4 minutes seems a long time for a bagel, but I'll experiment with that.

My mom used to "refresh" a leftover portion of italian bread from a night or two before, by putting it in tin foil; sprinkling some water in the tin foil, loosely close the tin foil into a bag and bake in the oven for a few minutes. It made it soft and warm again with that just baked texture like you describe in your instructions for frozen bagels.

Richie:

It really works. Times may vary depending on the power of the microwave.

I wish I was there to give a demonstration.

[MinnieM]

The last time I was there I asked them about bialys and I was told that it was difficult to make a good bialy in this summer heat and humidity. They were going to try and have them in the fall and winter.

MinnieM

[Shirleevee]

Originally Posted by Whalen

OY a bialy...back in the day, after Mass, we would drive to the LES (Lower East Side) go to a bakery on Grand Street and get fresh bagels and bialys then go to the Essex Streeet Market and pick up smoked fish. I would only eat the baked salmon. What a treat...baked salmon on a fresh bialy...Can't you tell I'm an Irish, Polish Catholic from Brooklyn...LOL

Hubby and I are from Borough Park Brooklyn, a very Jewish, Italian, Irish, Polish place in the old days.......bialy's ....short for Bialystock......with smoked salmon, cream cheese, tomato and onion......oh boy! They are sold frozen here in Publix......yummmmmmmmm

[Schaumburger]

Thanks for the info. about this place. I will have to try it when I return to TV in October.

RichieLion -- this place owes you about a year's worth of free bagels.

[lawatha]

Richie, thanks for the link and explanation. Scrumptious!

[CaliforniaGirl]

Richie, I happen to love DD's "donut-shaped bread", so I didn't know if I would like Brooklyn Water Bagels but decided to try them anyway.

So....now I'm a fan. I'll be going back again (and again and again)

[RichieLion]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaGirl

Richie, I happen to love DD's "donut-shaped bread", so I didn't know if I would like Brooklyn Water Bagels but decided to try them anyway.

So....now I'm a fan. I'll be going back again (and again and again)

Glad you tried them out. That is what a bagel is supposed to taste like. It's supposed to have a firm crust and a dense but still tender inside. The trick is in the proper dough and then in the boiling first (with the right water) and then the baking. Once you become a real bagel place fan, the next step is to find out if your prefer them "light" or "dark", which is determined by how long they were left in the ovens. The store's are usually happy to give you what you prefer. I like them lighter, while my wife likes them a little darker.

[entemedor]

Just tried one of their bagels, poppy seed. Now this Irish kid from the wilds of New Hampshire is far from an expert on bagels but lemme tell ya, it was wicked good. Best bagel I've ever had.

Best Bagel I have had in this area.

[Pookirgirl]

I LOVE Onion bagels....this place only makes onion with Poppy. Can't have seeds. Wouldn't you think these places would get wise to the fact that they are dealing with a mostly "senior" population? Lots of people develop Diverticulitis as they age and cannot have seeds. Ran into the same problem at Panera. My husband ordered a sandwich and it also had seeds inside it..

[RichieLion]

Originally Posted by Pookirgirl

I LOVE Onion bagels....this place only makes onion with Poppy. Can't have seeds. Wouldn't you think these places would get wise to the fact that they are dealing with a mostly "senior" population? Lots of people develop Diverticulitis as they age and cannot have seeds. Ran into the same problem at Panera. My husband ordered a sandwich and it also had seeds inside it..

I'm sure the owner will want to have the bagels the customer wants on hand, so I say we make some suggestions to him. What I missed were salt bagels, which I love. So next time I'm there, which will be today or tomorrow, I'll mention the seeds problem, and suggest some salt, onion and garlic bagels "
without the seeds.

Good suggestion Pookirgirl.

[LittleDog]

Wish they had egg bagels.

John

[zcaveman]

I moved from Florida to NJ and was introduced to bagels. To me they were a stale donut. The good thing was they had the same texture and consistency on day two as they had on day one. They never got stale!

Since then I have come to enjoy a warm bagel with butter and jelly.

Albertson's used to carry a jalapeño bagel. Best in the area. Up in NJ I liked the rye bagel with Cinnamon and raisins.

I will try Brooklyn Water Bagels to see if they remind me of the NJ bagels.