Have you ever tried a BCB Café bagel? If you have, then you understand what we are talking about when we describe them as perfectly crunchy on the outside and fluffy dough on the inside. If you haven’t, then you have something to look forward to! Ever since we opened in 1994, we have been making fresh bagels that we are proud of. Here are five secrets that you didn’t know about BCB Café bagels:

1. New York style

It is rare to find a traditional New York style bagel these days, but staying true to this specialty is one of our secrets. What does this mean exactly? A New York style bagel is both boiled in water and then baked in an oven. Here at BCB Café, we bake our bagels at five hundred degrees in a rotating shelf oven. This is how you get that crispy layer on the outside and fluffy dough in the middle.

2. Seeding on not one but TWO sides

Why would we seed one side when we can seed both? Typically, there is seeding only on the top of bagels, but we believe that there should be more. When we seed our bagels, we line burlap with seeds, place the bagel on the burlap board, and then seed the top of the bagels. Voila! Magic happens. It is no wonder that our most loved bagel is the “everything” bagel.

3. Scoop out the center

Did you know that one of our favorite ways to eat a bagel is scooping out the middle? Yes, you heard that correctly. We scoop out some of the dough to add yummy toppings for our bagel sandwiches. Don’t worry; you will still get that crispy, soft bagel experience. It just cuts down the calories and makes each bagel unique. You should really try the Skyscraper bagel sandwich with oven roasted turkey breast, ham, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, mayo, and creamy Dijon mustard.

4. Made on site

Here at BCB Café, we are proud to say that we make and bake fresh bagels daily from our café. Our bakers bake approximately two thousand bagels a day and then proof the bagels overnight for about twelve hours.

5. The gluten-free bagel

We finally have discovered the best gluten-free bagel recipe. After a few trials and errors, we have chosen the greatest recipe that is still perfectly golden, crispy, and fluffy. Our dough comes from the brilliantly talented Coronado’s Gluten Free Pantry. As of recently, we now have plain and everything bagels in gluten free. Come try one for yourself and let us know what you think!