FAQ

-Are you kosher?
Yes, we are proudly under the supervision of East Bay Kosher, a joint initiative of Congregation Beth Israel and Beth Jacob Congregation.

-Are your bagels vegan?
Yes!  All bagels and bialys currently planned for are vegan.  If we add an egg bagel that will be the exception.
Also, we are proud to offer Kite Hill vegan cream cheese, on sandwiches and to go.

-Are you shipping water from NY?
No!  That would have a ridiculous carbon footprint.  Actually our tap water is chemically similar to NY's, enough so that it is really not a critical factor.  

-But don't you have to have NY water?
Please taste our bagels and judge for yourself.

-What makes a NY-style bagel?
In general, a barley malt sweetness, long cold dough fermentation to develop flavor, kettle-boiling, and then baking on boards in a gas-fired revolving stone deck oven to create the proper crust.  Go watch at Ess-A-Bagels or Absolute to see the same process we are using.  

-Do you have gluten-free bagels available?
No.  We do not currently have plans to bake our own gf bagels, since the key ingredients are high-gluten wheat and malted barley.

-Will you be making blueberry, chocolate chip, asiago, or rainbow bagels? 
Nope.

Please?!  How about green bagels for St. Patrick's Day?
No.  

-Where are you sourcing your ingredients from?
We are "importing" our smoked fish from NY.
Our white wheat flour is Organic High Mountain from Keith Giusto Central Milling in Petaluma.
The remaining bagel ingredients are all organic, except for the yeast, which is tricky.
All other ingredients are sourced with an eye towards sustainability, local, seasonal, and organic as conditions and availability permit.

How about an ingredients list?

Plain bagel: Organic wheat flour, water, organic brown sugar, organic malt extract, sea salt, organic malted barley flour, yeast.

Egg bagels also contain egg yolk and turmeric.

Pumpernickels also contain organic pumpernickel meal, organic coffee, apple cider vinegar, cocoa powder, caraway seed, and canola oil.

Cinnamon raisins also contain organic raisins, sugar, and organic cinnamon.

Everything spice mix blend contains organic sesame seeds, organic poppy seeds, dehydrated onion and sea salt.