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Friday, May 18, 2012
Covering Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and surrounding areas since 1868
Wail El-Telbany started New York Bagel and Bistro in Monmouth in 2003, and uses only traditional methods to create true New York-style bagels.
February 07, 2012
MONMOUTH -- Wail El-Telbany said there was a period of self-pity that he couldn't shake during his first few years in the United States.
In his native Alexandria, Egypt, he was a college graduate with an engineering degree. Yet, here he was in the early 1990s, wrestling with English and the customs of a new country, and trying to make ends meet at a Jewish-owned bagel shop in Denville, N.J.
"I baked," he said. "You could be in front of a 500 degree oven for three, four hours at a time ... you couldn't step away.
"It was hot and busy."
One of his bosses -- "old, very strict" -- warned him from the start he wouldn't last if he didn't like the job.
As tough as it was, El-Telbany said he came to admire the simple, yet demanding tradition of making New York-style bagels.
And the advice of his employer stuck with him -- "there's only one way to do things, the right way."
Baking is rewarding, El-Telbany said.
"You see what you do right away," he said. "Bread, bagels ... this is a basic meal worldwide -- when you have nothing to eat, you eat bread.
El-Telbany, right, and Juan Coronado roll 50-pound batches of dough into hundreds of bagels at a time.
"It's something very honorable to do, to work like this."
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It was a relative rarity to find fresh boiled-before-baked bagels in Oregon when El-Telbany opened New York Bagel and Bistro on Main Street in Monmouth nine years ago.
And it's still uncommon, with only a handful of operations in the state's largest cities utilizing the old process today, he said.
"Any other way of baking besides this? It doesn't produce real bagels," El-Telbany said matter-of-factly.
El-Telbany put in six years in bagel shops in New York and New Jersey before coming to Oregon. The classic method he uses -- "the right way" -- hasn't changed.
Though he has his own employees now, he's in his shop at 2 a.m. several days a week. Raw bagels that have adequately proofed -- risen -- are dropped into a vat of boiling water for a minute or two to seal in the moisture.
They're then retrieved, placed on wet burlap-covered boards, seeded and spiced depending on the variety, and popped into a stone-surface oven set to 450 degrees. When the bagels brown on one side, they're flipped.
They should be almost crispy on the outside, and soft and chewy inside if done right, El-Telbany said.
"There's no room for mistakes," he continued. "In the summer, the dough can overproof on us too quickly; during the winter, you add a little warm water into the dough to speed the process."
As the morning progresses, he'll make dough for the following day. Per tradition, the recipe for plain bagels is spartan: gluten-flour, brown sugar, salt, four ounces of cake yeast and water for a 50-pound batch.
The proofed (risen) bagels are boiled for a few moments before baking to seal in moisture.
In 5 to 7 minutes, the dough is ready to knead. Strips are cut off a mound of dough and rolled narrow. El-Telbany connects the ends with a quick, almost reflexive move of the hand.
Juan Coronado, who's worked with El-Telbany for six years, is here on this day. Coronado said he considers bagel making an art form. His boss can be demanding, he said with a smile.
"He's good unless you make mistakes," Coronado said with a laugh. "Then he lets you know about it."
El-Telbany came to Oregon in 1995, not long after meeting his wife, Valerie. He attended Western Oregon University and earned a computer science degree in 2001.
But he struggled to find a job. He fell back on bagels and started his bakery and bistro in 2003. Locals slowly warmed to the New York-style bagels. Out-of-towners discovered him after a 2005 newspaper article. Eventually, El-Telbany began wholesaling them to a cooperative in Corvallis, places in Salem and Oregon State University.
"It's been a blessing," he said.
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About the only thing that's interrupted his rigid process? Going back to Egypt in 2010 -- and a revolution.
El-Telbany relocated to Alexandria for more than a year to participate in a family real estate project, while Valerie remained behind to manage and run the shop.
After boiling, the bagels are placed on burlap-covered wooden slats and cooked in a 450-degree pizza oven.
"There was an option of staying, but it didn't work out for me there," El-Telbany said. "It didn't feel like home."
Before coming back to Monmouth, El-Telbany was caught up in the Egyptian Revolution that started just over a year ago and continues today.
That uprising saw millions of people take to the streets to decry decades of police brutality, lack of free elections and political corruption. It sparked some clashes with security forces, led to the resignation of Egypt's former president and several hundred deaths.
"There was so much corruption, the environment was ready for it," said El-Telbany, who had been following the widespread calls for assembly on Facebook and Twitter before the start on Jan. 25, 2011.
He visited one meeting place the following day, to find 20 or so young people bearing flags. It grew to 200. Then 1,000. As he and the demonstrators marched around the west side of Alexandria, numbers swelled to tens of thousands.
Eventually, authorities responded. The streets were filled with tear gas, fires and "(chaos) like no other."
By the week's end, "before sunset, the police were running from the people, the people could not be stopped," El-Telbany said. "We needed that 30 years ago."
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El-Telbany returned to his wife and three children in Monmouth in March last year -- and to his normal routine since.
El-Telbany said he would like to someday expand his store to make it more inviting to customers. Or possibly open a second branch.
A photo taken by El-Telbany on the first day of the Egyptian Revolution on Jan. 25, 2011, shows the streets of Alexandria packed with demonstrators.
But the bagels and how he makes them won't change, he vowed, noting he'll continue the shop as long as he can.
"I love baking bagels, it's a part of me," he said. "They have their magic.
"Maybe it's the hole, I don't know."
Got Bagels?
What: New York Bagel and Bistro.
Where: 450 Main St. E, Monmouth.
Hours: Open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m to 3 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Of note: The shop sells 14 varieties of bagels, an even greater array of bagel sandwiches, deserts and salads.
Fact: New York Bagel and Bistro produces three or four batches of bagel dough a day, which translates to between 600 and 1,000 bagels.
For more information: 503-838-4602; visit New York Bagel and Bistro on Facebook.
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