Bagels are a quintessential breakfast treat. Eaten plain and toasted or with oodles of cream cheese, a dollop of honey or generous slathering of butter, bagels are a classic favourite. Unfortunately though, they are a rarity in Colombo, with only Coffee Bean selling a rather overpriced one with smoked salmon I’ve heard, and the pack of frozen raisin ones available at Arpico Super Centre. So when I heard that freshly baked bagels were (finally) available, I decided to go find out for myself.

Ósk Sturludóttir’s forte is bagels. She bakes them fresh every morning, mostly for breakfast and for orders waiting to be picked up by 9AM. “My husband loves eating bagels for breakfast and I came to realize that they aren’t readily available anywhere, so I started baking them everyday. I was told that I should open a page on Facebook and see if people would be interested, and I proceeded with it to only to discover that the response has been rather positive so far,” she explained.

Island Bagels, run single-handedly by Ósk has been in existence for nearly two weeks now, and the orders are pouring in, mostly from the same customers. The range currently includes five varieties which are the plain, sesame seed, cinnamon and raisin, whole-wheat (made with kurakkan flour) and an onion. Delving into a sesame seed bagel slathered with cream cheese, I found the bagel to be rather tasty and simple without an explosion of flavours. Simple, comforting and ideal for a snack or breakfast, they can even be used as light options for lunch or dinner depending on your choice of filling.

Ósk recommends that whole-wheat or sesame seed bagels can be eaten for lunch paired with a light tuna, chicken or vegetable salad. You can also use hummous and mustard for a change or cream cheese and olives. If you prefer a sweet bagel, the cinnamon and raisin variety is delicious, with slight hints of cinnamon and surprises of fat raisins embedded in the bagel. This can be eaten toasted with butter or even honey. The plain variety goes very well with any kind of jam, and the onion variety with cream cheese. Ósk is currently working on a blueberry bagel which she needs to perfect. She makes the dough from scratch and sources all of her ingredients locally.

The bagels can be kept frozen for as long as three months and when they are taken out to be eaten, it is recommended that they be toasted and not heated in the microwave oven as they harden easily. A bagel is priced at Rs.100 while an order of six is priced at Rs.500. Call Ósk on 0771886914 for orders. Be sure to place your orders at least a day in advance. Do check out Island Bagels on Facebook for regular updates.

By Sarah Kellapatha