Greetings, Neighbor!
We make bagels at home. Why? We are transplants from New York and, like so many others--we love Florida... but we find it hard to live without a decent bagel.
Sure, there are bagels available, but most of them are "rolls with holes." If you've ever had a real bagel: still warm, that unique texture and delicious oven-baked taste with each bite, packed in a simple paper bag straight from the little shop on the corner... then you know what we mean.
So after 20 years of feeling sorry for ourselves, we decided to learn the art and science of real, authentic, traditional bagel making. This is kind of a family theme--we are research scientists, award-winning home brewers, and we are obsessed with learning to make things ourselves. We make a variety of ethnic cuisine and restaurant replicas--along with soap, beer, cheese, jam, ice cream, jerky, mayonnaise, sausages, dog biscuits, etc.--just for good old-fashioned family fun. For our bagels, we tested and tried many recipes, techniques, and ingredients. We practiced a few different shaping methods, and turned our friends and family into "guinea pigs." We think we've now got a recipe and a method that produces something that may even be better than what we grew up with--because of the passion behind the process. Now we want to help fellow transplants who also yearn for a good bagel...and perhaps even convert some others to the simple pleasure of a time-honored New York favorite.
Why did we start a bagel business? Well, we were already making baked goods and giving them away by the carload to neighbors and friends, and they have given us the courage (and prodding) to consider broadening our scope. The main reason we are building a tiny neighborhood-based business is that it's an opportunity for us to work along side our 12-year-old and 6-year-old sons (they were 10 and 4 when we started), teaching them the value and pleasure of honest hard work and craftsmanship. Our goal is to help them learn and grow in his skills and responsibilities. We believe character development is fundamental. All profits go directly to their college fund, and we thank you for helping us to help them grow as a citizen of the world.
We are operating as a "cottage food operation," under the common-sense legislation provided in Florida. It means that we cook and bake in our kitchen, selling directly to our customers.
Our product brings our home into yours, and we thank you for your support.
