Udi's Cinnamon Raisin Bagel
Recently, my husband surprised me by coming home from a supermarket trip with cinnamon raisin bagels from Udi's. I had previously tried their plain bagel and was curious about this one. Admittedly, since I'm originally from the northeast, I have a real bias toward New York bagels. Even wheat bagels on the west coast just don't taste a thing like a real New York bagel - light, airy, fresh, and uniquely doughy. As New Yorkers say, "Whatareyougonnado?" So a New York bagel this is not.
That said, I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor (not too sweet) and the firm texture (no crumbling like so many other non-wheat products) of these bagels. Sometimes I find non-wheat flour to be so absorbant (like a sponge) that I feel like I have to overload my g-free toast or bagel with butter just to taste it and then it usually feels like a 5 pound brick. Not the case with these bagels at all. My only real complaint is a small one; every bagel in the packet was precut such that there was a huge fat side (notice how large my bagel is in the photo?) and a skinny, pathetic side.
Overall, though, Udi's Cinnamon Raisin bagel is a solid addition to the g-free line-up and one that adds some much needed diversity to my quick and easy g-free breakfast options. Just a few years ago, if you were gluten-intolerant you were grateful if you could find ANY g-free bagel, so when one manufacturer alone has 3 g-free varieties, you know things are moving in the right direction.
