An actual unpopular opinion.

You haven't had a good bagel, or a fresh one. Sounds like you're eating grocery store or brand name.

Bagels are something that can only be done right at a bakery that knows that they are doing.

Say you never had a proper bagle. No need to insult a culture.

Try a bagel from a bagel shop in nyc then post

You're a disgusting, nasty, dried out bread donut! throws chair

Hold me back, bros! Home me back, RRRARGH!

If they're dried out, you've been getting bad bagels. They are literally just regular bread that's boiled before being baked to give it that smooth, shiny crust.

You also don't generally eat them plain. You put stuff on them like at least some creamcheese or butter.

I will agree they make bad sandwhiches. Condiments end up leaking out of the holes, getting your hands dirty and I am pretty sure that goes against the Earl of Sandwich's intentions. Now I got mustard and mayo all over the cards.

The first time my grandparents from both sides met each other, my father's mother brought a bunch of bagels as a food offering. My mother's mother took one and ate it. When she was finished she said "I'm not sure these donuts are very good" because she had never seen a bagel before. When informed of what a bagel was, and given cream cheese, she said the second bagel was better lol.

Well, you have a point.

Bagels are a dense dough, we're talking around the 50% range, depending on who's making them. Could be closer to 60, but that's still dense as fuck compared to your basic sandwich bread, that tends to start in the high fifties, or something like brioche that's gonna sit in the mid sixties (again, depends on the exact recipe, but you don't see brioche under maybe 58ish on a regular basis). You'd be amazed the figurine difference as little as two to three % can make. (Edit: That's the percentage of water to flour)

They're also not made with any fats at all. No milk, no butter, no oil, nada.

So dry is indeed the case. That's not necessarily a bad thing, they'll stay edible longer than some of the higher hydration doughs, and respond rather well to toasting for a softer chew. You toast regular bread, you get, well toast; dry and crunchy. You toast bagels, you crisp the exterior and soften the inside.

Even fresh out of the oven, they're not soft initially. They tend to be softer after a toasting. But they're softer than when sat around. They're also more elastic, they pull delightfully the way some pizza crust does, because the gluten tends to be well developed.

When I was still baking, I made sourdough bagels a few times, and even though the density was still there, holy shit was the taste amazing.

I'd honestly say that if you've had them fresh from the oven (not just made fresh at the bakery then stored until sale an hour later) and didn't like them, you never will. Which is perfectly fine. It you haven't, then I wouldn't totally dismiss them because when they're still hot and chewy like that, it isn't just texture, you get the scents of the boil used, the yeastiness, and that "bread" smell all hitting your sinuses at once along with that stretchy chew for maximum flavor.

But yeah, unless you know a home baker willing to put in the extra effort for good bagels, chances are that they aren't for you.

Are you toasting them in the microwave? Can’t imagine how they dry out otherwise.

Some people just do not like bagels, i get at least 1 person a week who stops by my bagel stand at the farmer's market to tell me they like donuts more. To each their own, but the two are far from comparable.

Do you like pretzels?

Good content for the community.

I'm assuming you eat them without anything on them? Like cream cheese? Butter even? Something to make any bread seem less dry?

You have to fuck them first, obv. Gawd heckin amateurs in here.

If you haven't had a bagel in New York or Montreal, you haven't had a bagel.

Hard core man, nice

I friggen love bagels. I have one every morning. My body consists of like 25% bagel at this point.

Did you have one bagel from one place? Because you mentioned 'dried out' and I have to assume you didn't pick a good place and/or didn't know what/how to order it. Bagels should generally be toasted, and I'd argue that without cream cheese you didn't really get the full bagel experience.

If I ordered a day old baguette at the shittiest bakery in Paris and then complained that baguettes are overrated...

And I love that thick hard chew.

Honestly, if I moved out of New York to a place that didn't have good bagels I would probably have your opinion as well.