Into the Brick Oven

Into the Brick Oven, a photo by susanvg on Flickr.

St. Viateur Bagel Bakery is a Montreal landmark. Open 24 hours a day, people often line up to purchase bagels fresh out of the brick ovens. It is very difficult to come home with the full bag as the aroma of hot bagels is hard to resist.

When you enter the store, you pass stacks of bags of flour. I can't imagine how many they must go through each week! Breakfast of bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon - life is good.

May 3/10: Bagels in Quebec City

May 3/10: Bagels in Quebec City, originally uploaded by susanvg.

I had to make a quick trip to Quebec City (Sainte-Foy, actually - a suburb of Quebec) for work. I drove there in the morning and worked with a colleague. We took a break for lunch and went to the local bagel place. It was a surprise to me to find a place that actually makes bagels much the way they are made in Montreal - even baked in a brick oven, heated by a wood fire. We Montrealers take our bagels seriously. We have several bakeries which have their ovens going 24 hours. I featured one bakery a while ago in this blog. Although some make designer bagels with ingredients like blueberries or sundried tomatoes, most feature the standard poppy seed or sesame seed bagels. And there is nothing like carrying home a bag of bagels, still hot from the oven. It is rare that the number bought is the same as the number unpacked at home.

Day 70: Montreal Bagels

Day 70: Montreal Bagels, originally uploaded by susanvg.

There are not many things that are still made by hand. Machines have taken over many jobs, but Montreal bagels are the exception. We take pride in our bagels. In fact we brag that they are the true bagels and anything else is just imitation or rolls with holes. The recipe was brought from the “old country” and replicated to perfection. They are baked in wood-fired ovens and the dough is shaped by hand. One of the key secrets to our bagels is that they are dipped in hot water, sweetened with honey, before the seeds are added. Then they are put on a plank to load them into the oven to bake. It is impossible to resist eating one as soon as you buy them as they are so fresh they are still hot. The aroma, the taste, the texture all contribute to the pleasure of partaking.

We have a few places that make bagels this way and there is always fierce debate about which makes them the best. There are even bagel bakeries that are open all night should you have a yen for a bagel. And perfection is a bagel topped with cream cheese, smoked salmon and, maybe, a few capers. Now that is living!