My wife who is gluten free, almost gave up gluten free bagels for good after breaking a tooth on one of them. This was during the early days of COVID and the possibility of seeing a dentist was terrifying.
Don’t worry, it all turned out ok with her and her tooth. But she has been a bit hesitant to eat a gluten free bagel ever since.
I can’t make any promises, but my guess is her teeth would be safe from the bagels at Modern Bread & Bagel. This is an all gluten-free bakery that specializes in loaves of breads (including challah) and bagels. It feels and looks like a Jewish bagel shop, but of course, something more modern is happening here.
The space feels very welcoming and clean – a bit brighter than most bagel shops in the city. And it was surprisingly packed one morning. I wonder how many of the customers here knew that the shop was completely gluten free.
I certainly did, which is why I struggled when I was asked if I wanted my bagel toasted. Normally, I would not toast it because of the boiling/baking method that gives full-on high-gluten flour bagels that distinct puffy texture. But this was a different story. Do they boil them first? Would toasting it help?
At the end of the day, I decided to act natural and not toast the thing to see how it stacks up to untested freshly made gluten bagels.
I picked the obvious everything bagel, which I think helped add to the experience. In some ways, this felt like a bagel in disguise but it sort of tasted like the real thing.
The first bite was pretty good. It had that crunch and bagel flavor (thanks in part to the generous dispersion of the classic seeds and seasonings). but as I chewed on, there was no mistaking that this was gluten free.
The bagel had no air with only a slight chew and a gumminess. It kind of reminded me of mochi or something in the rice flour world. I didn’t hate that.
I actually think it was a decent gluten-free bagel. While there were some mistakes, like some slightly burnt pieces of dried onion (which gave a charcoal taste), overall, it was kind of fun.
With the cream cheese schmear and the everything seasoning, it felt like a bread disguising itself as a bagel. For celiacs and those who are gluten sensitive, this works. For gluten eaters, it might not be a full-on replacement anytime soon, but it’s sure fun trying it. Next time, I’ll get it toasted.
Does Modern Bread & Bagel have the best bagels in NY? They probably do have the best gluten-free bagel in the city and that definitely counts for something, so I give it a 7.5 out of 10, but of course, it’s not really fair to compare this to the bagels made with wheat flour. They are two different things – both worth trying.