The Greater Knead — Restaurant in Bensalem Township

Update: What AMAZING customer service!! The Greater Knead tweaked their bagel recipe to address the salt issue I pointed out in my previous review below. It doesn't get better than that!! Thank you TGK!!

Best store-bought bagels out there. And they ship nationwide. Here’s a review of their new and improved recipe.

I always worry when a company makes changes to a product I love. I found that the ‘new and improved’ is often worse than the original.

So I was quite concerned when The Greater Knead announced their bagels now have “an improved texture.” You see, bagels (especially poppy) are my favorite food in the world. I tried at least six other brands before I discovered TGK a few years ago. I’ve been a big fan of TGK ever since and didn’t want them messing with their winning recipe.

I got my order of new and improved poppy bagels last week and decided to do a side-by-side taste test. Yes, I ate nearly two bagels for breakfast (please don’t judge!) but that means you don’t have to (you can thank me later).

Taste is highly personal. However, I grew up eating NY bagels for most of my life before having to go gluten-free, so I think I know a thing or two about what makes a good bagel.

Here are my “unbiased” results:

Initial impression Out of the freezer both bagels are similar with a substantial amount of poppy seeds. The new bagels are slightly larger than the original, which is a good thing. More surface area for your favorite spread.

Winner: New recipe

After Nuking The new improved texture becomes immediately obvious once the bagels come out of the microwave. The original bagels look significantly more dense. The dough in the new recipe looks more airy and closer to a real (not GF) bagel.

Winner: New recipe

Toasting Although the photo doesn’t quite capture it, the new bagels toasted more evenly.

Winner: New recipe

Mouthfeel This is an important characteristic. Bagels are supposed to be dense and chewy. They are not supposed to be so soft that they squish down like white bread when you bite into them. This is where so many supermarket brands fail (like Udi’s, Schar, etc).

The original recipe did a good job here. It had the right density and chewiness. I was very concerned that the new recipe with its new texture would lose the mouthfeel that makes TGK better than other brands.

Fortunately, the mouthfeel and bite compression of the new recipe maintained most (but not all) of the denseness and chewiness of the original. When you take a bite, the new bagel does compress more than the original recipe, but it’s tolerable. Any less dense and the new recipe would have compromised what makes TGK bagels special.

Winner: A tie

Taste How a bagel tastes is as important as its mouthfeel. When I first tried the new and improved bagel I thought it tasted a bit salty. However, I wrote it off thinking maybe I ate something salty the night before and that was influencing my taste buds. But I had the same impression the next day when I had my morning bagel.

That was the impetus for the side-by-side comparison. I wanted to see if I was crazy or if the new recipe really did taste saltier.

Yes, the new recipe tastes saltier. Although a representative from TGK said the proportions are consistent with the previous recipe, something definitely changed. If you love salt, you are unlikely to even notice the difference. But I don’t want my poppy seed bagel to taste salty. It leaves me thirsty all morning.

Winner: Original recipe

Final thoughts So, there you have it. The new recipe for poppy bagels is an improvement and the winner in nearly all categories. But – and it’s a big but – it falls a bit short in the critical taste category.

If TGK is reading this, please rebalance the salt in the poppy bagels. If you get that right, your new recipe will be the undisputed winner in the original vs new bagel recipe taste test! Salt issue aside, I’m still a big fan!!

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed are mine and mine alone and only apply to TGK poppy...

I was so excited to get these and ended up being horribly disappointed. For quite sometime I put off buying these due to the price. I finally decided to treat myself and I purchased a pack of French toast, cinnamon raisin, everything and plain. First let me say, I wish these weren't pre cut. Every single one of these bagels was sliced so close to the top so you have one really thin side and then a really thick side. Not great for toasting as the thin side will burn far before the other side even gets properly toasted. Next, the texture of these bagels is just strange. You can't just let it thaw naturally and then expect to use it or toast it. You absolutely have no choice but to "soften" it in the microwave. This can also be a gamble as I attempted to microwave a plain one to use as a breakfast sandwich and after the recommended time in the microwave, it turned from a bagel into a rock. These bagels are just so dense and dry. I also don't find the flavor to be anywhere but a last minute addition to the top. The French toast especially seems to only have the French toast flavor concentrated to the pre sliced "top". There is no flavor to the bottom half of this bagel. These bagels are definitely not worth the price. There are other options that are closer to a real...

EDIT:

I changed my review to 5 stars! The company offered me the resources & information I needed to try again and i can honestly say these are the best GF bagels out there. I’ve tried a lot of different GF bagels but I’m sure I’ll be sticking strictly to this brand from here on out. Nowadays, I microwave them for about 30 seconds and put them in the air fryer at about 300° for ~15 mins and they come out perfect every single time. Thank you, Greater Knead!!

OLD REVIEW: I was so excited to find a new brand of bagels at my local Meijer. I made all these bagels as directed at the same time but they came out hard as a rock. After the first 60 seconds they looked like they needed a bit more microwaving. I was looking to achieve the crispness on the outside (as mentioned on the bag in the directions). So I flipped them around and put them back in, and after 17 more seconds they were inedible :-( I think if I ever decided to spend nearly $2/bagel on this brand again I would do it differently… but with the risk of wasting another ~$8 I just don’t know if...