Bagels and Chemistry: Exploring the Power of Yeast

Humans have made leavened bread for millennia, but the first true bagels were likely originated by 13th century Jewish communities in what is now known as Poland. At the time, antisemitic laws segregated Jews from Christians, creating insular Jewish enclaves throughout the region. It was in these neighborhoods where bakers invented a smaller version of the boiled, ring-shaped Polish bread known as obwarzanek. These became known as beygals in Yiddish and took on great cultural significance in the communities. They were given to new mothers to protect newborn children and became part of mourning rituals. During the 19th century, bagels came to the United States with European Jewish immigrants and would become a staple food in the following decades.

Our group chose to make a bagel to examine four things: how yeast works in baked goods, how gluten works in baked goods, why bagels are boiled, and why the Maillard Reaction occurs when baking bagels. We documented the process of making bagels and did additional research to investigate these topics.