My friends at O’Doughs sent me their new Bagel Thins a while back before I left for Switzerland and I have been meaning to review them for a while. I did however, want to first eat my way through each variety before reviewing them.
I received all of their flavors: Original (Plain); Sprouted Whole Gain Flax; and Apple Cranberry. They arrived perfectly frozen so I was able to toss them right into my freezer. Perhaps the first thing you will notice is that these are 100 calories per bagel thin. No, that is not a typo – they are indeed all 100 calories per thin. This alone intrigued me beyond belief because those of you that love gluten-free breads, rolls, and bagels know that they more often than not come with a proverbial side of calories. They also just happen to be Non-GMO, Kosher, and preservative-free – nice! Okay, so these are 100 calories but how do they taste?
Being a bagel purist, I went straight for the Plain variety first. Refreshing these bagels thins couldn’t be easier – you can pop them straight into your toaster from the freezer or let them thaw a bit before toasting. Either way they take very little time to prep. The plain variety is everything you want in a bagel – just slightly chewy even when the bagel is toasted – which is exactly what I look for in a bagel (thin or otherwise). At first bite you immediately get the rich doughy flavor you want in a bagel with the distinct hint of sweetness , that, in my opinion, makes a bagel perfect. Simply buttered with a schmear of jam made this variety one of my favorite morning treats.
Next up was the Spouted Whole Grain Flax Seed. Now, I have to be honest, I am not nor have I ever been a fan of flax seeds in any shape or form. There is something about the smell and flavor that I have always found off-putting – just a personal preference of mine. This bagel thin flavor was actually the first flaxy bread product I have been able to eat. Yes, there was still the slight olfactory note of flax but when toasted it seemed to dissipate to far more tolerable levels. This was actually a pretty complex flavor being more on the nutty side thanks to the addition of both poppy and sesame seeds to the mix. While these are definitely more hearty than the other varieties I still found that they paired well with anything I topped them with from cream cheese to a cheese burger.
The final flavor was the Apple Cranberry. These made for a nice change as they had the wonderful sweetness from, you guessed it, apples and cranberries with the subtle undertones of raisins, orange, and spicy cinnamon. These reminded me of my beloved cinnamon raisin bagels back in my pre-Celiac diagnosis days. Top them with either butter or cream cheese and you are really good to go – their flavor is just robust enough that anything other than a simple topping would likely be a mistake on these.
I am glad that O’Doughs not only made a calorie-sensitive bagels for us Celiacs but made them taste like the real-deal. Oh, and while these are “thins” don’t think thin-thin. While they are thin (and one side when split is thinner than the other – important to note when toasting to avoid burning) they have decent body to them so are ideal for a range of ideas from sandwiches to bagel thin pizzas. You can check out where to find O’Dough’s products on their Web site and a few online gluten-free retailers are carrying the bagel thins as well.
One of the decadent finds on my recent trip to Switzerland was found at an amazing organic market (Urban Bio, 19, Rue des Alpes) that I literally stumbled across while walking around Geneva a day before heading home to the United States. I typically do a bit of research prior to any trip but as the majority of my trip was in my familiar stomping ground of Montreux, I thought I would wing-it for our final night in Geneva. I have a few other goodies that I picked-up in Geneva and will be reviewing them soon. Now on to the chocolate fondant…
