What makes a bagel so specialImage Source: howstuffworks.com

First of all, what is a bagel?

A bagel is basically a bland chewy piece of bread with a hole in the middle just like a doughnut. Its taste is enhanced by adding some cream cheese or butter or even some strawberry jam. The bagel is a perfect pastry for breakfast or when you want to get rid of a bad hangover.

A bagel is a comfort food. That’s why it’s no surprise that the rhythm crew is obsessing over this pastry to ease a little bit of stress. Just three weeks ago, John M of the Afternoon Drive bought some bagels for his children and just last week, the Mighty Mike Solo paired his with coffee.

Why does a bagel have a hole?

Bagels are not doughnuts. Doughnuts are deep fried and sweet while bagels are made from a heavy wheat dough and are baked. However, these two pastries do look the same due to the hole in the middle. The reason why bagels have a hole is to allow it to cook faster since there’s greater surface area for the volume of dough. With this process, you will also get more crust for the same amount of dough.  

Origins

Bagel means “bracelet” in German. This crusty ring-shaped pastry used to be the everyday bread of the Jews in Europe starting in the 17th century. Now it has become Americanized with pastry shops selling different flavored bagels including blueberry and grilled banana.