Save a Bagel: Make BAGEL CHIPS!


We have many problems here in New Jersey.

We have pollution & congestion, we're overpopulated, and we have HIGH taxes.

Aside from that we have some very good points.

We have the best city in the world at our disposal (that would be New York City), we have 120 miles of beautiful coastline, we also have farms (excellent produce), and even mountains (we really do!) all within a 1 hour drive.

But the best part of living here is that you can get a decent slice of pizza (you have to look, but you will find it) and a VERY DECENT bagel.

Go elsewhere in the country and you will be eating a soft, doughy, flavorless Dunkin' Donuts style bagel. It's just white bread with a hole in the middle.

Making bagels is a lost art, who aspires to be a bagel master these days? I'm sure he or she is out there.


Personally, I like my bagels w/ lots of seeds (the bagels in the photos are shown upside down) and covered in stuff.

No plain for me (boring), no cinnamon raisin (it's not a donut) and no sundried tomato (the newest fad).

Tradition is best when it comes to bagels. Stick with poppy seed; sesame; onion; garlic; egg; pumpernickel; or an "everything" bagel.

The bagels should be shiny and golden, not white, and they should be firm on the outside with a soft, almost wet interior.

Ok, now that we have had our bagels 101 lesson, let's talk stale bagels.

Ew.

Throw them away is my usual response. You buy a bag of bagels on Sunday, and by Monday you have to throw them out (unless you freeze them right away).

Solution:
Make bagel chips.

So easy and so yummy. They last a long time and are delicious with dips and spreads.

Here's how:

CAREFULLY, using a good, heavy, serrated knife, cut the day old bagels in half on a cutting board (not sliced open, just down the center, to create a U shaped handle).


Now cut the little handle into 1/8" slices and lay on a heavy baking sheet.

In a small bowl, mix some olive oil with a generous pinch of kosher salt & pepper (measurements depend on how many bagel pieces you have). Add garlic powder if you want (I want), and brush the bagel slices with the oil mixture.


Bake about 18-20 minutes total at 350F. Turn over after the first 10 minutes and be careful that they don't burn.


Lay in a paper towel to blot excess oil and store in a ziploc or paper bag for a week.

These were delicious swiped with whitefish salad!

Yum.


I'm glad I could do my part to save a bagel.

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Comments

Alicia said…
I was looking at the dozen in my fridge ,that have gotten hard.Thank you for the solution. When Is was 15(umpteen years ago) I worked in a place called Bagel Nosh in Brookline ,and there was nothing better than a Bagel right out of the oven!
Anonymous said…
Nice! I want garlic powder, too - a declasse ingredient I secretly use liberally in my kitchen. I'm not as doctrinaire as you about shunning leftover bagels - as long as I toast them, and top them with something tasty (WHITEFISH SALAD!!!), they work for me!
Bebe said…
I cut mine crosswise into discs. Spread them with garlic oil and toast them in the oven until they are dry. They keep well in a tightly closed jar and are great for dips.

Bebe
Oh Stacey....what I wouldn't give for a "real" sesame bagel...even a stale one! Since moving down to the Philly-area a few years ago, the fact that bagels around here are really just bagel-shaped rolls has been my biggest food complaint! Thanks for the idea. Now I know what to do with the bagels I pick up when I go back home that have accidentily gone stale!
Susan..... said…
That is the one thing I have within 1 mile of my town, is an honest to "baked that morning" bagel shop that sells all the traditional flavors. No sun-dried here. My fav is the onion or garlic with lox, cream cheese and thin red onions, still slightly warm. Fresh made chips from fresh made bagels, just do not get any better. Yum.
Christine said…
Great idea! So much better than potato chips. Getting a real bagel on the West coast is a challenge I must say. But every now and then, one can luck out. I'm guessing the whitefish spread is something like smoked trout and cream cheese...?
Joanne said…
TO be honest, I have a hard time finding awesome bagels even in manhattan! My favorite come from queens. :)
Carol said…
Yum. I have to admit I do make my own bagels and challah.
Same Day Loans said…
I already made them twice, because my co-workers loved them so much! I will for sure be making these again!!