The Great Bagel Taste Off of 2024

Plus, a must-have bread recipe from bygone Laughlin’s Bakery.

In this post:

• Results from our recent blind tasting of local bagels (and one New Yorker)

• Do you miss Laughlin’s Bakery? We have a perfect fall recipe for you.

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Carb Load

The Great Bagel Taste Off of 2024

Last Saturday, we invited friends over for a taste-off that put eight different bagels from around the city (plus one NYC interloper) to the test. In this blind tasting, both plain and everything varieties were assessed, and each was scored on taste, texture and appearance.

Our judges included a professional baker, several accomplished home bakers, a few professional gluttons (I’m looking at me), and a couple of precocious children with varying attention spans. 

The contenders were: Barry Bagels, Bears Bagels, Block’s, Bruegger’s, Cocky’s, New Yorker Bagels, Sammy’s, The Lox Bagel Shop and Wootown Bagels. 

Once the scores were tabulated–and after several of us vowed to never eat a bagel again–several surprises came to light. Here’s what we discovered:

• Everyone consistently rated The Lox as the top pick for both plain and everything varieties, with one lone dissenter. The Lox bagels were noted as having “an awesome chew,” “darkened, blistered crust,” and a “pronounced and appealing aroma.”

• We were surprised how much the group liked Bruegger’s. Participants expressed appreciation for the “browned and bubbly crust,” “satisfying chew,” and “yeasty-salty flavor.”  Bruegger’s placed third for plain and second for everything.

• The much-discussed irritation over the whole Sammy’s/Fox’s brouhaha didn’t compromise their competitiveness in a blind taste-off setting. Sammy’s placed second for plain, and fourth for everything.

• We’ll never know where Barry Bagels might’ve ranked for its plain bagel since they forgot to include it in our order. Their everything bagel placed third. 

• Rankings for fourth through seventh places were inconsistent to the degree that it doesn’t seem fruitful to make distinctions between them. 

• New Yorker Bagels thoroughly annoyed the group with its bizarre sweetness and soft, bready texture. Do better, New York! And by that we mean that we should probably do better in choosing which NY bagel to include. 

• Cleveland-based Cocky’s was the only Ohio competitor who could beat New Yorker Bagels in the race to the bottom. Comments included “hamburger bun-like,” “too bready,” “very pale,” and a scathing Midwestern “meh.”

While everything above is true, many of us were left with lingering questions about whether or not the results were entirely fair. Freshness is a variable for which we couldn’t control. Though we bought all of the local contenders on the same morning, we can’t know how much it influenced the results. We do know that there was a strong correlation between a high ranking and being obviously freshly baked. 

On the other hand, we also know that The Lox puts a high priority on freshness, and they deserve credit for that. Congratulations to them for such a great showing! 

Our top three plain bagels, clockwise from bottom: The Lox, Sammy’s, Bruegger’s (Photo: Bethia Woolf)

In sum, here are our top three rankings: 

Plain: 

• The Lox 

• Sammy’s

• Bruegger’s

Everything:

• The Lox 

• Bruegger’s

• Barry’s

Have a bagel you love? Let us know!

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Recipe

Nostalgic for Laughlin’s Dried Fruit & Nut Bread

By Bethia Woolf

Ahem, continuing with the comfort food theme of this week…

Laughlin’s Dried Fruit & Nut Bread does not fit neatly into the typical comfort food mold. It has no relationship to a childhood nostalgia dish, nor does it bear much resemblance to anything I grew up with. It’s something I baked once that the whole family enjoyed tremendously, and I’m drawn to repeating it every time there’s a chill in the air.

This recipe originated from the sorely missed Laughlin’s Bakery, and was featured on a local TV cooking segment when owner Jonas Laughlin shared the recipe.

The name Dried Fruit & Nut Bread really undersells its pleasures. The bread is moist and dense, sweet but not too sweet, both crunchy and chewy with caramel and chocolate undertones—all thanks to the eye-popping quantities of figs, dates and walnuts found within. It’s over-the-top decadent, and I haven’t found a person yet who didn’t love it. Plus, there’s no added fat!

It’s not exactly a cheap evening in the kitchen. We figured the ingredients cost roughly $20 from Giant Eagle. But give it 15 minutes or so of prep, plus a little over an hour of oven time, and we think you’ll agree that it’s worth it. 

I’ve found the recipe to be very reliable, and it has always turned out perfectly. I do have one tip that’s not in the recipe: Be sure to line the tin with parchment because the dates do tend to stick.

Give it a shot, and let us know what you think. It pairs best with a lit fireplace and a mug of tea.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup All-purpose flour

• 1/4 tsp. Baking soda

• 1/4 tsp. Baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. Salt

• Pinch nutmeg (freshly ground)

• 3/4 cup Light brown sugar

• 1 cup Figs (dried, stemmed)

• 2 cups Dates (dried, pitted and quartered)

• 3 cups Walnuts (halves or pieces)

• 3 Eggs (large)

• 1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Grease a metal 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan.

3. Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and brown sugar in a large bowl. Combine well with your hands or a spatula.

4. Add eggs and vanilla and whisk to form a moderately thick batter.

5. Stir in figs, dates and walnuts.

6. Scrape into prepared pan and tap several times on counter to remove air.

7. Bake for 1 hr. and 15 min.