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From New World Encyclopedia
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Featured Article: Bagel
A bagel (Yiddish בײגל) beygl) sometimes beigel, is a bread product traditionally made of yeasted wheat dough in the form of a roughly hand-sized ring which is first boiled in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior. Bagels are often topped with seeds baked onto the outer crust with the most traditional being poppy or sesame seeds.
Bagels are similar in shape to doughnuts and texture to bialys. Russian bubliks are very similar to bagels, but are somewhat bigger, have a wider hole, and are drier and chewier. Pretzels, especially the large soft ones, are also very much like bagels, the main exceptions being the shape and the alkaline water bath that makes the surface dark and glossy.
The bagel has been regarded as a Jewish specialty, in part because its method of preparation made it popular among Jews as a convenient form of bread that could be baked without breaking the rule of no work on the Sabbath. Today the bagel is commonly eaten at breakfast, or as a snack or light lunch, often topped with cream cheese or smoked salmon (lox), giving rein to human creativity as new types of bagels and new toppings continue to appear. Still it retains its historical significance, representing Jewish Eastern European culture to many, while for others it is seen as quintessentially a product of New York City or simply the United States.
