Bagels in Budapest

You'll be pretty well located to find it if it's available at all.

A stroll or a few stops with tram line 2 takes you to the most touristy areas, tram line 6 to Andrassy street is the diplomatic district with all the embassies.

I think I saw the Nordsee chain open up in Budapest, albeit it might have been Vienna, and they might not have bagels.

Historically, fluffy white bread is "modern"; dark, dense, whole grain bread is a sign of poverty. It takes a while to reverse such ingrained stupidity: most "dark" looking bread is still made fluffy, and only lightly coloured to avoid making it dense. So if you do find bagels, they might be more like round "kifli". Or "zsomle" with a hole in the middle.


Hopefully the Margit bridge reconstruction wraps up by then.

markru wrote:

Hi

I am coming up to Budapest in May and will be staying in district 13 near the Margit Bridge for a couple of days.

Can anyone tell me where I can buy bagels in this area....

Quite a time ago (1995'ish), there was a chain of bagel shops (called New York Bagel) in Budapest run by 2 Americans. They used to be in Bajcsy-Zsilinszky ut (opposite Arany Janos Metro station approximately and this is close to your intended location near Margit Bridge. I passed by there a couple of months ago and I did not see it there but I was not looking very hard - there's still a cafe at the location, but I could not see if it was Bagel related. I used to have lunch there (way back in 1995-onwards). Anyway, one could buy sandwiches (like Subway) and bagels of varying types loose way back then. Might still be in operation somewhere in Budapest.

Would be worth Google'ing it for a current location.

Sorry, Marku, no bagels in Budapest either. At least not real bagels. You can find some fair substitutes at local California Coffee Company and other such places. Cream cheese good, but don't expect real bagels. I even went to the Jewish Quarter once and asked if they knew how to find them and the girl I talked toi told me she'd never heard of bagels. Hmmm. Good luck in your travels, but you'l have to wait until you go to Prague for your bagels.

Gary

Hi,
You can get "Locs & Bagels" (as it was always called in the Bronx, NY/USA) in a small restaurant called SPINOZA (tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g274887-d850299-Reviews-Spinoza-Budapest.html).
SPINOZA is located in the Jewish Quarter of town (behind the Astoria Station stop on the Metro line). When you're facing the large, main, Jewish Synagogue you go 1 block down on the opposite side of the street (on the left-hand side of the synagogue). When you get to the corner you make a left (you can only make a left there!) and you go 1 block down and the make a right. You continue about 1œ blocks down and then there is Spinoza on the right-hand side of the street. They have lots of good food and a friendly atmosphere

Hi,

If you are early enough and lucky enough - you should be able to find fresh bagels for sale at Culinaris. They have three locations - one which is of walking distance from where you are staying.  culinaris.hu

Good Luck!

Hello!

At Plaza Arena (mall close to Keleti railway station) you can find a coffee shop (I don't remember the name, it's like in the middle of the mall, close to the big entrance). They sell bagels, including the smoked salmon-cheese one !

Hi

Bagels are available in Lidl at this time for all of you that love Bagels.

Mcennedy brand, 3 in a packet, sesame and wholewheat. 2 mins in a poaster and they taste good. Not quite as good as the fresh ones but good non the less.

Lidl seem to get these in once a year. It is their own brand.

Cheers

HI, There is a small bread shop that has really good bagels all year round in the lower level of the Mom Park shopping mall. These are not dry but wonderful and moist. They have a few to choose from  and can make some fresh for you in 15 minutes.  The you can get smoke salmon , capers and cream cheese also in the market place there.
enjoy!

Pitzicat wrote:

HI, There is a small bread shop that has really good bagels all year round in the lower level of the Mom Park shopping mall. These are not dry but wonderful and moist. They have a few to choose from  and can make some fresh for you in 15 minutes.  The you can get smoke salmon , capers and cream cheese also in the market place there.
enjoy!

Well I finally got to Budapest and went to the MOM park place and yes they are darn good bagels and they come in frozen from a bakery in the UK. Seems a bit daft to bring them all that way but at least I got some real tasty bagels. I took all they had baked at that point and brought them back here to Pecs.

Thanks everyone who had suggestions, this is what the forum is all about, where we can help each other.

For next time: You must visit BRIOS! District 13. Pozsonyi ut 16.
Tasty bagel sandwiches.
Me too have found fresh bagels at Lidl shop close to my place, at VI. Lövölde tér (corner of Sziv and Kiraly street). Also at DZSEM, in V. Vigyazo Ferenc street.

Olmo wrote:

For next time: You must visit BRIOS! District 13. Pozsonyi ut 16.
Tasty bagel sandwiches.
Me too have found fresh bagels at Lidl shop close to my place, at VI. Lövölde tér (corner of Sziv and Kiraly street). Also at DZSEM, in V. Vigyazo Ferenc street.

I have now started making my own due to none being available in Pecs. Really simple and being a bit non-complient, I make them without the hole and they make great sandwiches. I make wholemeal ones, only takes about 1-2 hours with the help of the dough mix on my bread maker. Taste really good.

markru wrote:

....I make wholemeal ones, only takes about 1-2 hours with the help of the dough mix on my bread maker. Taste really good.

Got a recipe for these (using HU ingredients)?

TIA

fluffy2560 wrote:

markru wrote:

....I make wholemeal ones, only takes about 1-2 hours with the help of the dough mix on my bread maker. Taste really good.

Got a recipe for these (using HU ingredients)?

TIA

Bread Machine Bagels

For 8 medium or 6 large bagels

White Bagels                       Wholewheat Bagels
   
7 g active dry yeast               7 g active dry yeast
400 g white bread flour               250 g white bread flour
                                       150 g wholewheat or brown flour
2 tbls of mixed seeds if used       2 tbls of mixed seeds if used
2 tablespoons white sugar       2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt               1 1/2 teaspoons salt
250 ml warm water                275 ml warm water
   
2-3 litres boiling water       2-3 litres boiling water
2 tablespoons white sugar       2 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon corn crumbs       1 tablespoon corn crumbs
1 egg white                       1 egg white
Any seeds to sprinkle on top       Any seeds to sprinkle on top


Directions

Place yeast, flour, sugar, salt and water in the bread machine pan in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough setting.

When cycle is complete, let dough rest on a lightly floured surface. Note: you can just let the bread machine come to the part of the cycle where you add other ingredients, about 1 hour. This is what I normally do.

Cut dough into 8 equal pieces, and roll each piece into a small ball. Flatten balls. Poke a hole in the middle of each with your thumb. Twirl the dough on your finger or thumb to enlarge the hole, and to even out the dough around the hole. Cover bagels with a clean cloth, and let rest for 30 - 90 minutes. The longer left the more they rise. You can do as I do and just leave the flattend balls and not bother with the hole, they taste just the same.

In a large pot bring the water to the boil. Stir in 2 tablespoons of sugar.

Sprinkle an un-greased baking sheet with cornmeal. Carefully transfer bagels to boiling water. Boil for 2 minutes, turning half way through. Drain briefly on clean towel.

Arrange boiled bagels on baking sheet. Glaze tops with egg white or milk or whole egg, and sprinkle with the seeds.

Bake in a preheated Gas Mk 5 (190 degrees C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until well browned.

All the ingredients are available from Tesco, Interspa etc.

I also add Panirmorsha to the mix to give extra flavour, about 2 tablespoons. When I do this I increase the water to 300ml.

There you go, you can mix and match seeds, nuts, anything that takes your fancy. I sprinkle poppy seeds or toasted sesame seeds on the top.

Happy baking.

markru wrote:

fluffy2560 wrote:

markru wrote:

....I make wholemeal ones, only takes about 1-2 hours with the help of the dough mix on my bread maker. Taste really good.

Got a recipe for these (using HU ingredients)?

TIA

Bread Machine Bagels

......

Happy baking.

Ooooo...thanks, that was quick. I'm going to give it a go in a week or so and I'll report back!

Fluffy

When I was there, I was also not lucky enough to find bagels. I guess this is a business opportunity, considering so many people are looking for them..

tommyv wrote:

When I was there, I was also not lucky enough to find bagels. I guess this is a business opportunity, considering so many people are looking for them..

There are quite a few places that have bagels to buy or as filled bagels. The MOM park shopping centre has the best. More and more coffee bars are stocking them filled. My problem is that I live near Pecs and no-one sells them here filled or unfilled.

Hungary as a whole tends to forget Pecs actually exists even though it has one of the finest universities in the world and has a history so varied that there is something foe everyone to see or visit. Not forgetting Zsolnay of course, who started his amazing pottery process here.

markru wrote:

.....

Hungary as a whole tends to forget Pecs actually exists even though it has one of the finest universities in the world and has a history so varied that there is something foe everyone to see or visit. Not forgetting...

I think most expats know it exists (and I've been there - twice, once in 1995 and once in 2011!). But recall Pecs is a place where odd things happen. At least that seems to be the opinion of Hungarians I know. Any truth in the rumour?

fluffy2560 wrote:

markru wrote:

.....

Hungary as a whole tends to forget Pecs actually exists even though it has one of the finest universities in the world and has a history so varied that there is something foe everyone to see or visit. Not forgetting...

I think most expats know it exists (and I've been there - twice, once in 1995 and once in 2011!). But recall Pecs is a place where odd things happen. At least that seems to be the opinion of Hungarians I know. Any truth in the rumour?

Odd things, I know that there are very good energies in this area. I know that at some time a plane was knocked out of the sky over the Metsecs just above where I live and the Russians dug right down into the hills to try and find where this energy eminated from. They were not successful but I feel the energy when I go up onto the hill. Then again I am a Reiki healer so I would say that.

It must be all this Uranium around here that makes strange things happen or our old Church. One of the oldest around and with original wall paintings. They covered them up during the occupation so they would survive.

So yes there could be strange things down here but it is still a nice place to live.

markru wrote:

....I make wholemeal ones, only takes about 1-2 hours with the help of the dough mix on my bread maker. Taste really good.

It took me a while but I finally made these bagels. We replaced the sugar with sweetener and only used half the salt. We used "Graham Liszt" (Tesco) for the wholemeal flour.

They came out well and are very popular with Mrs Fluffy and the Fluffyettes. I used poppy seeds (very nice) and sesame seeds (reasonable). I am thinking now of using sunflower seeds for a variation.

There's a second lot already in progress and I've doubled the quantities!

fluffy2560 wrote:

markru wrote:

....I make wholemeal ones, only takes about 1-2 hours with the help of the dough mix on my bread maker. Taste really good.

It took me a while but I finally made these bagels. We replaced the sugar with sweetener and only used half the salt. We used "Graham Liszt" (Tesco) for the wholemeal flour.

They came out well and are very popular with Mrs Fluffy and the Fluffyettes. I used poppy seeds (very nice) and sesame seeds (reasonable). I am thinking now of using sunflower seeds for a variation.

There's a second lot already in progress and I've doubled the quantities!

Good, I am glad you got around to trying the recipe. I am in Scotland for about 6 months on contract, so the shops are full of bagels in all flavours, spoiled, yum

markru wrote:

....Good, I am glad you got around to trying the recipe. I am in Scotland for about 6 months on contract, so the shops are full of bagels in all flavours, spoiled, yum

Ah, well, I'm a sassenach, so I'm not up on Scottish bagel production but for sure, you will have more choice back there.

Fluffy would you ever consider telling me the recipe because i Am considering selling Bagels......

attila1967 wrote:

Fluffy would you ever consider telling me the recipe because i Am considering selling Bagels......

Read from the beginning of the thread.

attila1967 wrote:

Fluffy would you ever consider telling me the recipe because i Am considering selling Bagels......

Maybe I should charge a roayalty for everyone you sell for th use of my recipe.

I have no issues with that.....or maybe i can buy them from you?....

Hi

That might be a problem to buy them from me, I am in Scotland for at least the next year.

markru wrote:

Hi

That might be a problem to buy them from me, I am in Scotland for at least the next year.

Bagel licensing? Bagel franchise? Outsourcing?

markru wrote:

I am in Scotland for at least the next year.

I would like to order 3 liters of Glenmorangie's The Quinta Ruban, a couple bottles of Cardhu 18 year old single malt, and three sesame seed bagels.

the recipe looks rgeat , do you think it can be done even if you don't have a bread maker? or have you always used a bread maker ?

Pitzicat wrote:

the recipe looks rgeat , do you think it can be done even if you don't have a bread maker? or have you always used a bread maker ?

You could probably do it by hand but it would take a while and you'd have to manually let the bread rise. On the other hand, kneading the dough would probably be quite relaxing.