notable edibles

A Rebellious Spirit Becomes a Bagel Baker

By | September 06, 2017
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Like your bagels crunchy with soft insides? Lots of seeds? A hint of malt in the crust? So does chemical-engineer-turned-bagel-baker Milena Pagan, who applied her considerable knowledge of ingredients and her enthusiasm for a good-tasting bagel to establish Rebelle Artisan Bagels (accent on the “belle” for “female rebel”). Pagan emphasizes that her bagels are always hand-rolled and always boiled in malted barley water and baked on soaked cedar planks. She and her bakers also dip the bagels on both sides in poppy seeds, sesame seeds or “everything”—a mix of sesame, poppy, caraway, onion, garlic and salt. There’s also an occasional rye or pumpernickel and rotating specialty flavors. Cream cheese comes in several variations, plus a vegan cashew “cream cheese.” Rebelle cures its own salmon, in salt, sugar and seasonings, similar to gravlax. This bagel bakery will offer specialty teas from MEM in Somerville, Massachusetts, coffee from Riverside’s Borealis, plus pastries that include halvah chocolate cookies (the halvah recycles the leftover sesame seeds from the bagels) minibabkas, fruit or nut breads, coffee cakes and more. Stay tuned for Pagan’s next big idea: “I can’t just peak at 27, you know!”

Visit the recently opened storefront at 110 Doyle Ave., Providence. RebelleArtisanBagels.com

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