Unwrapped: Einstein Bros Bagels

Summary

In this episode of Unwrapped, Mark Summers explores the delightful world of bagels, a breakfast staple that has transcended from a New York specialty to a nationwide favorite. The show delves into the rich history of bagels, originating from an Austrian baker's tribute to a Polish prince, and their evolution into an American classic. Einstein Brothers Bagel, a leading bagel producer in Whittier, California, is highlighted for its daily production of nearly a million bagels. The meticulous process of making bagels is unveiled, from the science of mixing ingredients to the art of shaping and baking. The video also touches on the importance of resting and proofing the dough, and the final step of freezing to preserve the yeast's activity. Einstein Brothers' commitment to quality is evident in their attention to detail, ensuring each bagel is a perfect start to the day.

Takeaways

• 🍩 Bagels have a rich history, originating from an Austrian baker's creation in honor of a Polish prince, and have since become a widespread breakfast favorite in America.
• 📈 Einstein Brothers Bagel in Whittier, California, produces nearly a million bagels daily, amounting to an impressive 260 million bagels annually.
• 🔬 The bagel-making process is intricate, involving various scientific disciplines including biology, chemistry, and physics to ensure precision and quality.
• 🌾 The production starts with three truckloads of flour, which is sifted and mixed with precise measurements of other ingredients to create the dough.
• 🏭 The mixing process is followed by a series of steps including hopper loading, elevator transport, and chunker division to form small dough balls.
• 🛌 The dough then rests in an intermediate proofer, allowing it to relax and recover from the stress of processing, similar to how muscles need rest after exercise.
• 🎭 Mandrels shape the relaxed dough balls into the familiar bagel form, and the bagels are then subjected to a warm steam box to activate the yeast.
• 🛁 Bagels are given a quick bath in a 160°F pool to develop their characteristic chewy skin before entering a retarder to slow down yeast activity.
• ❄️ The bagels are then frozen, not to kill the yeast but to put it into a dormant state, allowing for packaging and shipping to Einstein Brothers' nationwide locations.
• 🍯 Einstein Brothers offers a variety of spreads and 16 different flavors of bagels, yet the plain bagel remains the top seller, accounting for over 50% of their sales.
• 🏡 Despite the playful description of the bagels' 'restful life,' they serve a vital role in providing energy for many people's daily activities.

Q & A

What is Mark Summers enjoying for his morning meal?

Mark Summers is enjoying some cereal for his morning meal.

What is Mark's all-time breakfast favorite?

Mark's all-time breakfast favorite is bagels.

How long have bagels been around?

Bagels have been around for more than 300 years.

Who created the bagel and for what reason?

An Austrian baker created the bagel in honor of a Polish Prince, and it was in the shape of a stirrup because the Polish Prince was an avid horseman.

What is the Austrian word for stirrup that the bagel was named after?

The Austrian word for stirrup, which the bagel was named after, is 'Bole'.

How many bagels does Einstein Brothers produce in a year?

Einstein Brothers produces 260 million bagels in a year.

What is the significance of the intermediate proofer in the bagel-making process?

The intermediate proofer is a place for the dough to rest, allowing it to relax after being stressed out from the mixing process.

What does the warm steam box do during the bagel-making process?

The warm steam box wakes up the yeast in the bagel dough.

Why do the bagels go through a retarder after the steam box?

The bagels go through a retarder to slow down the yeast growth, allowing for controlled proofing.

How does the 160° F pool contribute to the bagel's texture?

The 160° F pool gives the bagel its characteristic chewy skin.

What is the purpose of freezing the bagels after they are boiled?

Freezing the bagels after boiling is to stop the yeast activity temporarily, allowing for packaging and shipping without over-proofing.

What is the most popular flavor of bagel sold at Einstein Brothers?

The plain bagel is the most popular flavor, accounting for more than 50% of the bagels sold.

Outlines

00:00

🥯 The Journey of Bagels from New York to Nationwide Popularity

The video begins with Mark Summers enjoying cereal and discussing his love for bagels, which have evolved from a New York specialty to a nationwide favorite. Bagels have a rich history dating back over 300 years, originating from an Austrian baker who created them in honor of a Polish prince, hence their original shape resembling a stirrup. By the 1800s, Europeans brought the 'Bole' to New York, where it became the 'bagel' and an American staple. The video highlights Einstein Brothers Bagel in Whittier, California, as a major producer of bagels, making nearly a million bagels a day, amounting to 260 million a year. The process of making bagels is complex, involving various scientific disciplines such as biology, chemistry, and physics, emphasizing the precision required in every step of baking.

Keywords

💡Bagels

Bagels are a type of bread product originating from the Jewish communities of Poland. They are characterized by their round shape, hole in the middle, and chewy texture. In the video, bagels are the central theme, with a focus on their history, preparation, and popularity in American breakfast culture. The script mentions that bagels have come a long way from being a New York specialty to being available across America.

💡Einstein Brothers Bagel

Einstein Brothers Bagel is a chain of bagel shops in the United States known for producing a large quantity of bagels daily. The script highlights that they produce close to a million bagels a day, making them a significant player in the bagel industry. The brand is used as an example to showcase the process and science behind making bagels.

💡Flour

Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains or roots and is a primary ingredient in baking. The script describes how truckloads of flour are delivered to the Einstein Brothers Bagel bakery, where it is sifted and used in the bagel-making process. The flour's quality and quantity are crucial for the bagels' texture and taste.

💡Proofing

Proofing is the process of allowing yeast dough to rise before baking. In the context of the video, the dough is given time to 'rest' in an intermediate proofer, which is likened to a relaxation period for the dough after being 'stressed out' from the mixing process. This step is essential for developing the bagels' texture and flavor.

💡Mandrels

Mandrels are cylindrical rods used in the bagel-making process to shape the dough into the characteristic bagel form. The script describes how the relaxed dough balls are formed into recognizable bagel shapes using mandrels before further processing.

💡Yeast

Yeast is a single-celled microorganism that ferments sugars, producing carbon dioxide and alcohol, which causes dough to rise. In the video, yeast is mentioned as a key component that 'wakes up' in a warm steam box and is later put into a dormant state in the freezer, which is part of the bagel's unique preparation process.

💡Seasonings

Seasonings are substances used to add flavor to food. The script refers to the use of 'special seasonings' in the bagel dough, which contribute to the diverse flavors of the bagels produced by Einstein Brothers Bagel. These seasonings are mixed at precise times and intervals to ensure consistent taste.

💡Chewy

Chewy is a term used to describe the texture of food that is tough but not hard, requiring some effort to chew. In the video, the chewy texture of bagels is highlighted as a desirable quality, achieved through the specific baking process involving a warm water bath before freezing.

💡Cream Cheese

Cream cheese is a soft, mild, and slightly tangy cheese that is often served with bagels. The script mentions 'a shmear of cream cheese' as a traditional accompaniment to bagels, indicating the popular way of enjoying this breakfast food.

💡Spreads

Spreads refer to various toppings or spreads used on bagels, such as cream cheese, jams, or butter. The video mentions that Einstein Brothers Bagel has invented a variety of spreads for their bagels, showcasing innovation in the traditional bagel experience.

💡Plain Bagels

Plain bagels are bagels without any added flavors or toppings, allowing the basic taste and texture of the bagel to be the focus. The script notes that the plain bagel is the favorite of many customers, with more than 50% of the bagels sold being plain, indicating the enduring popularity of the classic bagel.

Highlights

Bagels have evolved from a New York specialty to a nationwide breakfast favorite.

Einstein Brothers Bagel is known for its chewy bagels that pair well with cream cheese.

The bagel's origin dates back over 300 years to an Austrian baker honoring a Polish Prince.

The bagel's shape is inspired by a stirrup, reflecting the Polish Prince's love for horse riding.

By the 1800s, Europeans had brought the bagel to New York, where it became an American staple.

Einstein Brothers Bagel in Whittier, California, produces nearly a million bagels daily.

The bagel-making process involves a complex interplay of math, science, biology, chemistry, and physics.

Precision is key in every step of the bagel-making process to ensure consistent quality.

Three truckloads of flour are delivered daily to the Einstein Brothers Bagel bakery.

Sifted flour is pneumatically transported through pipes to a large mixing bad.

Ingredients are mixed in specific sequences to create the dough for bagels.

The dough is then loaded into elevators and chunkers to form small dough balls.

Dough balls rest in an intermediate proofer, allowing them to relax like muscles after a workout.

Mandrels shape the relaxed dough balls into the iconic bagel form.

A warm steam box activates the yeast in the bagels before they enter a retarder to slow yeast growth.

Bagels are given a quick bath in a 160°F water pool to develop their chewy skin.

The bagels are then frozen to halt yeast activity temporarily without killing it, allowing for later revival.

Einstein Brothers Bagel ships fresh bagels nationwide to their shops.

Plain bagels remain the favorite, accounting for over 50% of sales at Einstein Brothers.

Einstein Brothers Bagel has invented a variety of spreads for their 16 different flavors of bagels.

Bagels, despite their restful production process, are relied upon to kickstart many people's days.

Transcripts

[Music]

welcome back to unwrapped I'm Mark

Summers enjoying some cereal for my

morning meal but my all-time breakfast

favorite just might be Bagels Believe It

or Not bagels have come a long way they

used to be just a New York specialy but

now bagels are available all across

America let's ask the Einstein

Brothers you know that breakfast food

that can roll like a doughnut is really

chewy and goes great with a shmear of

cream cheese

it's the bagel and it's been around for

more than 300

years it was created by an Austrian

Baker in honor of a Polish Prince and it

was in the shape of a sturup because the

Polish Prince was an avid Horseman and

the Austrian word for stirrup was

Bole by the 1800s Europeans brought the

Bole to New York soon to become the

bagel and an American staple but it just

is something that people absolutely

love when it comes to this breakfast eat

nobody in the nation makes more of them

than Einstein Brothers Bagel in Whittier

California we produce somewhere in the

neighborhood of close to a million

Bagels a day 5 days a

week that's a whopping 260 million

Bagels a year and take it from one of

the Einstein brainiacs making them is no

easy task there's a lot of math there's

a lot of science there's a lot of bi

biology a lot of chemistry and physics

every aspect of science basically falls

into baking in one way or

another so everything that we do here

has to be very precise or else our

products don't turn out the way that we

like them

[Music]

to it all starts with three truckload

deliveries a flower our silos are are

will hold 100,000 lbs of flour each all

of our flow as it as it enters our

building goes through a flower sifter

every minute air shoots 170 lbs of

sifted flour through the pipes and into

a huge mixing bad precise measurements

of sugar water special seasonings and

yeast are mixed at different times and

intervals to make one

batch after the mixing process it goes

into our Hoppers and our Hoppers will

then be loaded into the elevators the

elevators then go up and dump into our

chunkers the chunkers spit out thousands

of tiny dough balls now exhausted from

their workout well yeah everybody needs

to relax before you get to be the best

that you can be and the intermediate

proofer is basically a place for the

dough to rest the Dough's been kind of

stressed out it's kind of like after

people work out their muscles are tense

and tight and they need to relax a

little bit for 10 minutes they chill out

on miniature hammocks and then head off

to get a massage where mandrels form the

relaxed balls into that recognizable

[Music]

shape next up the sauna a a warm steam

box wakes up the

yeast then the bagels enter a circular

retarder that slows yeast growth back

down a quick bath through a warm 160°

fhe pool gives the bagel that chewy skin

and then into the freezer it's cold

enough to freeze a bagel but it's not

cold enough to kill the yeast that SS in

there the yeast is still continue to

grow it just basically goes into a

dormant state that gives plant workers

just enough time to package and ship the

bagels to Einstein Brothers Bagel ship

shops

Nationwide hi what can I get for you

once here they get to do more lying

around and then what we'll do is we'll

put it on these slacking boards it's a

bakery term to let dough thaw out to let

it rest it's slacking it's lazy

basically you're giving it a chance to

be lazy and to wake

up all thought they're coated in a

variety of toppings and baked fresh for

your morning meal you know the bagels

hair

fresh and they're really good over the

past 12 years Einstein Brothers have

invented a variety of spreads for their

16 different flavors of bagels but the

favorite Still Remains my favorite Bagel

is probably the plain I love plain

Bagels more than 50% of the bagels that

we sell are plain while Einstein Bagels

may not make you smarter connoisseurs

say they will fill you up I know that

the kids will get filled up and then we

can go and do what we have to do for the

rest of the day kind of funny to think

that a food that lives such a restful

life is what so many of us rely on to

Kickstart our day