Twelve years ago, I made the decision to go from vegetarian to vegan and I’m so glad I did. And what better way to celebrate a dozen years than to make a dozen bagels! I first tried a bagel shortly after my 13th birthday in Miami, Florida on my way to Costa Rica, my very first journey outside the United States. I had to stay overnight in a hotel (it was coincidently also the day of the Challenger explosion and I was trying to make sense of it all when I saw what had happened on the television in my hotel). I don’t remember who picked me up and took care of me overnight, but I would imagine it was someone on the Quaker trip that would take me to Costa Rica. My grandmother had invited me and I must say that that trip changed my life forever, arming me with the desire to see as much of the world as I could. The woman who stayed with me at the hotel had purchased onion bagels and I loved them! I’ve been enjoying bagels around the world ever since. I was excited to make them from scratch in my kitchen with my fiancee.
Significance of Twelve
Curious about any notable meaning(s) behind the number 12, I took to the internet to see what I could learn. Firstly, the linguist in me was thrilled to learn that the English word dozen can be traced to Middle English, which was influenced by French (dozeine), which also has roots to Latin (duodecim), all meaning simply twelve of something. And it turns out that the number 12 itself holds significance in religion, mythology and magical symbolism.
In ancient Greece, the Greeks worshipped 12 major gods of Olympus and in Christianity, Jesus was followed by 12 disciples. Because of this, some Christians apparently used to wear 12 buttons to church on Sundays. Mythologically, the number 12 predicts positive changes in relationships, career and money and it can also signify a clearer life path as well as spiritual growth. Twelve is also associated with the heavens, such as the 12 months, the 12 zodiac signs and the 12 stations of the Sun and Moon.
History of the Bagel
Influenced by early forms of the German soft pretzel perhaps, the origin of the bagel seems to be largely accepted to have arisen from the Ashkinazi Jewish populations in Poland in the 1600s. However, according to Serious Eats, there is indication of an Arab origin dating back to at least the 13th century, as evidenced by ka’ak (an Arab form of bread that is boiled before baked) being mentioned in Arab cookbooks from that time period.
Is it possible that both origins can be true? Absolutely! Maria Balinska, who wrote a book entitled The Bagel traces the bagel to an Italian woman named Bona Sforza, who moved to Krakow in 1518 in order to become queen. But, the idea of the ring-shaped bagel was apparently not entirely new to the royal Poles as they already had such a bread (that is boiled before baking) made out of wheat flour dating back to 1394. This bread was called obwarzanek. This is noteworthy, because rye had been the leading grain in Eastern Europe before wheat was introduced to the area.
Arabs gained and maintained control of the entirety of the southern Mediterranean coastline from the sixth to the ninth century. Due to this, the spread of wheat flour throughout Europe is credited to the Arabs. More specifically to the story of the bagel, the Bona Sforza’s hometown of Bari had been influenced by Arabs for centuries before she moved to Poland. In short, she brought with her the Italian bread called tarallo, a boiled then baked ring-shaped bread.
Given the already familiar shape, ingredients and cooking style of obwarzanek, it was easy for the Jewish populations of Poland to embrace the newly-arrived bagel from Italy.
The idea of the bagel spread across the Atlantic via Jewish immigrants who landed in New York City and Montreal. To this day, producing bagels in these two New World cities is serious business and getting a daily or Saturday morning bagel is a tradition in a many a household.
Making Bagels
Before even gathering together the ingredients, I had to decide which type of bagels I wanted to make: original style from the Jewish communities in Poland or a more modern style, such as the bagels from New York or Montreal. Given that the Montreal bagels are made with honey and that the first type of bagel I ever tried was a New York style, I decided on making bagels known in the Big Apple.
On the eve of my twelfth veganniversary, I made the vegan cream cheese using a recipe by Nora Cooks. Taking Nora’s advice, I began soaking the cashews 24 hours in advance – the longer you soak them, the creamier the cream cheese will be. This very simple recipe afforded me the opportunity to use my high-speed Vitamix in which I simply blended the cashews, plant-based yoghurt (I used Forager’s cashew yoghurt), apple cider vinegar, fresh lemon juice and salt. After blending for about 20 minutes, scraping down the sides when necessary, I added the optional onion powder and fresh chives.
I chose this recipe from The Curious Chickpea, but honestly, I found it complicated with steps not clearly spelled out. The next time I make bagels, I think I’ll try this recipe from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken, a site I have used many times.
Chrissy and I each made a batch simultaneously. I think she kneaded her dough better because hers looked much smoother than mine did and hers rose more. Also, I mistakenly added a tablespoon of baking soda to our bowls of flour. This baking soda was intended for the boiling water the next day. I caught my mistake before I whisked the flour, yeast and salt together so I was able to remove some of mine and come to think of it, I think the reason my dough didn’t rise as much as Chrissy’s is because I probably removed some of the yeast by mistake. Chrissy, on the other hand, had already mixed her dry ingredients together so the choice was either through out her batch and go back to the store and buy more bread flour or simple go with it and see what happens. To counteract the baking soda, she added some more yeast, which I’m sure was another reason that Chrissy’s dough rose much more than mine did. We moved forward with two imperfect bowls of dough, hoping my mistake wouldn’t effect the outcome too terribly.
After allowing the dough to rise in covered glass bowls for about an hour, we used our Ulu knife to cut the dough into eight equal pieces.
One aspect to the recipe I used that I liked is that it included two ways to form the bagels from a ball: 1) by pushing a hole in the middle and widening it or 2) by rolling out a strip of dough and connecting the ends. I set out to try both styles, seeing which I preferred. I used a Korean metal chopstick to form the whole in the middle of the ball of dough and I found it was easy to widen the hole by substituting my finger for the utensil. At the end of forming all the bagels, I liked the first bagel-creating style to the second as there was no need to try to adhere the ends.
At this point, the recipe dictated that we were to place the formed bagels on parchment paper sprayed with some oil on a baking tray and cover it with saran wrap before placing it in the fridge for the night.
The next morning, Chrissy and I checked on our bagels and, as per the recipe, checked to see that they were ready for the next step by placing them in water. If they floated, they were good to go; if not, we were to allow the bagel to sit on the counter for ten minutes to allow it to rise some more. Fortunately, all our bagels passed the test.
We set the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit and began boiling two large pots of water, salt, baking soda and malt syrup. Using tongs, Chrissy and I carefully placed each bagel in the boiling water for a minute before flipping them over to boil an additional minute before gently placing them back on the baking tray.
Before putting the hot bagels in the oven, we covered them with toppings. Chrissy chose to put everything seasoning on her entire batch and I included two bagels with black sesame seeds, two with dehydrated onion (I had to rehydrate them before adding to the tops of the bagels) and the rest with everything seasoning. I had considered making my own everything bagel seasoning using this recipe from It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken, but it was simpler to buy it already combined.
We placed the bagels in the oven and waited with anticipation. “Happy Veganniversary”, Chrissy said to me as we began cleaning up the dishes together. We waited about 20 minutes, turning the trays around after 10 minutes. Before we could cut into the finished product, we were rightly advised to wait about 15-20 for the bagels to cool. As I cut into my first bagel, I remembered owning a bagel slicer in college and now I remembered why. They are so convenient, especially with a hot bagel.
I got my vegan chive cream cheese shmear out of the fridge and spread it on the two halves of my bagel. Chrissy tried her first bagel with VioLife cream cheese. To further celebrate the occasion, I had made Jewish lemonade with lemons, sugar and fresh mint. I made the very good decision to substitute the water with sparkling water, resulting in a glass of effervescent refreshment to accompany my bagel.
Supporting Vegan Businesses
I like to support vegan businesses year-round, but I make a special point of doing so when celebrating my veganniversary. This year I gave a new vegan business a try: Rebel Cheese. I bought five vegan cheeses from them: brie; truffle brie; honee pistachio chevre; pepper jack and Hatch chili cheddar. When they arrived, I enjoyed creating a charcuterie tray with them and as a result, I highly recommend all of them. It’s hard to choose, but I think I liked the brie and honee pistachio chevre the best. I noticed they have interesting recipes on their website, so I might give those a try when I order again.
I also made my annual donation to Florida Rescue Farm, an animal sanctuary in Duette, Florida dedicated to caring for animals rescued from the meat, dairy and egg industries.
Bought Myself a Veganniversary Gift
Quite disappointed that the traditional 12 year anniversary gift was silk, I quickly looked elsewhere, not wishing to support the brutal practices of the silk industry. I looked up what stone was associated with the 12th anniversary to discover jade fits the bill and it represents harmony, purity and wisdom.
After searching for the perfect gift to commemorate 12 years of the best decision I’ve ever made, I bought myself a jade necklace. Although it’s called a “donut necklace”, I think it looks like a bagel instead. I plan to hang it from the rearview mirror in my car as a wonderful reminder of my 12th veganniversary.
Vegan Vixen Ventures 