At 4:50 a.m. on Third Avenue in Bay Ridge, there's not a lot of action happening.
Inside Bagel Schmagel, it's a different story, as workers prepare for the breakfast rush only a few hours away.
The shop has been at it for a baker's dozen — 13 years — making bagels the old-fashioned way. They are hand rolled, kettle-boiled and baked in an oven built in the 1940s at 550 degrees.
What You Need To Know
- Bagels were brought to New York in the 1800s by Jewish immigrants from Poland
- Old-school bagel shops hand roll their bagels, then boil them in a kettle and bake them in an oven at temperatures in the 500-degree range
- Some shops, like Bagel Schmagel in Bay Ridge, flip the bagels during the process and bake both sides of the bagel
- Bagel Schmagel bakes 360 bagels on weekdays and more than 700 daily on weekends
During the process, the bagels are flipped so they are baked on each side.
Brooklyn native Gregory Maugeri runs the shop along with Ariel Leventon, who joined the business a few years ago. Both were trained at the Culinary Institute of America. So what makes a great bagel?
"One is the water, two is everything is hand done, so everything is done meticulously," Maugeri said. "The only machine that we use is to mix the dough, which is impossible to do, 600 pounds with your hands."
Making a tasty bagel that isn't just a roll with a hole isn't easy. Once they are rolled, they are put in a refrigerator for 24 hours for proofing, when the dough rises into the bagel shape we are all familiar with.
They are cooked on redwood boards covered with burlap. They make around 360 bagels on weekdays, and more than 700 daily on weekends. It's been a new world for Leventon, who comes from a fine dining background, and most recently, kosher catering.
"I was always used to saute, pan fried, deep fried — never baking, and it's been fun," said Leventon, who is originally from Connecticut but now lives in Bay Ridge.
One debate about bagels has always been, toasted or not toasted. They have their own opinion at Bagel Schmagel.
"Our bagels come fresh out of the oven all day," Maugeri said. "There's no reason to have them toasted."