Praise for London’s bagel culture has come from none other than US comedy legend Steve Martin. The Texan comic and actor is currently in the UK filming season 6 of Disney+ show Only Murders in the Building and has been posting about his experiences in the capital. In his latest update, he shared a photo of Brick Lane’s Beigel Bake, captioned: “Having been in London for a month, I now understand the need for a 24 hour bagel shop.“
Disputes over the origins of bagels might linger, but the best bet is that somewhere in 13th century Prussia — now part of modern-day Poland — antisemitic laws which prohibited Jews from baking bread led them to boil it instead. Combined with a Christian need for lighter meals during Lent, early bagel-lovers quickly sought out the delicious bread throughout central Europe. It would take another seven centuries for bagels to leave the Jewish kitchens and enclaves in New York and Europe to garner mainstream popularity. These days they are everywhere.
