Brooding Over Bagels

One of my co-workers enjoys baking and keeps me up to date on what desserts are popular on TikTok. Examples: Vietnamese Coffee Swirl Brownies and Ina Garten's Brownie Pudding. How fabulous is that? When I'm in a baking rut she inspires me to branch out and make something I wouldn't normally attempt. Most recently, she's inspired me to make bagels and I think I'm going to go for it this weekend - naturally leavened, of course. It's too difficult to bake during the week with having little ones and working full-time. Although, I did manage to bake two loaves of sourdough on Monday night after they proofed all day. They didn't turn out as well as the last batch and I think it's because I didn't let the dough bulk ferment enough.

Which brings me to my question: What's the best bagel you've EVER had? Have you even had a really, really good bagel? I feel like truly good bagels are few and far between. The best bagels I've ever had were from St-Viateur Bagel shop in Montreal, Canada. Montreal-style bagels are smaller, thinner, hand-rolled, wood-fired, and a little crunchier than New-York Style bagels. When I was a flight attendant I would always stop by St-Viateur in the airport for a delicious sesame bagel with salted butter. Those bagels made layovers in cold, snowy Montreal a little more tolerable. Paired with a hot Tim Horton's coffee? Get out of here.

I had to dig through my Instagram to find a picture of a Montreal bagel I had and this was the best I could find from 2016. I mean, we are sharing photos from 2016, right? Apparently I had a smoked meat bagel this particular time. Not the most enticing picture, I admit. I swear, they're good! Side note - why did I post a picture of every Bloody Mary I drank and why did I drink so many? Oh my gosh, my sodium levels must have been through the roof.