Bagel Bread

THERE’S NOTHING BETTER than a fresh bagel—a dense but soft interior surrounded by a chewy exterior. But many bagels fall short on two important physical challenges: fitting into a toaster and creating a sandwich that you can actually fit into your mouth. We set out to find a work-around and, after a few clicks online, came across the idea of bagel bread.

The promise was simple: a sliceable loaf with all the qualities of a fresh bagel, including that signature chewy exterior. The versions we saw were adorable, like a stack of bagels turned sideways. And following existing recipes, which called for boiling separate chunks of yeasted, risen dough (boiling