COOKING IN THE ROUND: COUPLE BAKE BAGELS

Wisconsin State Journal, December 15, 1991

Byline: By Judy Newman For the State Journal

 © 1991 Madison Newspapers, Inc.

When Sonia Yaco and John Kalfayan hold their annual holiday party, they don't serve the usual Christmas or Hanukkah fare. They bake bagels.

``They're the most delicious thing on earth,'' says Yaco.

But baking enough homemade bagels to feed a crowd of 100 is no piece of cake, so to speak.

For one thing, they need 40 pounds of flour and five dozen eggs, and all the big bowls they can borrow from everyone in the neighborhood.

The dough-making starts at 9 a.m. on the day of the party, which, this year, was held last Saturday. Mixing up 10 batches of bagel dough in the food processor takes four hours, Yaco says, and each one has to rise and be kneaded down three times.

Sons Alex, 7, and Andy, 10, play a crucial role. They help keep the mixing bowls clean. And they polish the family's heirloom silver pieces, used to help serve fixings for the bagel banquet. These are dishes that once held the bagels and lox Yaco's grandmother served.

``The part the boys like best is punching down the batter after it's risen and hearing it `whoosh,' '' Yaco says.

After the dough has risen the third time and balloons gently out over the rim of the bowl, it's time to knead it down and make bagels.

Yaco dips her hands into some flour and pulls out a chunk of dough, enough to make a 2-inch ball. She rolls it between her palms into a snake and then presses the two ends together to form a circle.

When a plateful of the small circles has collected, it's time, Yaco says, for the part most people don't know about - boiling the bagels.

``It's the only bread I know of that's boiled,'' says Kalfayan. He is stationed at the stove, making sure the bagels only cook a couple of minutes per side. ``They come off the bottom of the pot (of boiling water), float to the top, and bubbles come up through the hole in the middle. You wait for the right kind of foam and flip them,'' Kalfayan says.

As they boil, they expand, ``sort of like a dumpling,'' he says. And it's during that process they form a skin on the outside.

Then they're removed from the water, brushed with an egg wash and sprinkled with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. After that, it's into the oven.

All the while, the crowd is gathering in the couple's West Side home. They slice open the freshly baked bagels and inhale the heavenly steam that rises. Most slather them with cream cheese, served from a huge antique etched silver German butter dish. Some slap a slice of lox on top; others go for the caviar.

``Mmmmm, they're great,'' says one guest.

``I'm really going to do this at home and not just wait until next year,'' another promises.

Usually, Yaco and Kalfayan stick to egg bagels, but this time, at the group's request, they've branched out and tried a batch of garlic bagels and one with Szechwan peppers. And traditionally, the last batch is cinnamon raisin. ``We do it last because it dirties up the (boiling) water,'' Yaco says.

This is the ninth year they've held their bagel bake, and it's a celebration and a ``thank you'' for their friends, clients and colleagues. Yaco is a computer consultant [for Anlex Computer Consulting LLC]. Out of her home, she designs computer systems for small- and medium-size businesses and non-profit agencies. Kalfayan is an economic analyst with Christensen Associates.

``It started as a Christmas cookie bake, but that seemed like a women's thing and we didn't think most men would come. So we expanded it to bagels, and even made homemade noodles for a while,'' Yaco says.

Guests often bring their additions to the buffet, as well as food for the needy. The donations collect in a corner of the living room, mostly canned goods and prepared foods.

``We had 12 bags of food for the Community Action Commission food pantry last year,'' says Yaco. This year, there were 15 bags and several checks.

While she can't contribute bagels (there are never any left over from the party), she believes it's important to share with those who have less. ``I felt bad in a time of so much need,'' she says.

And there's a bit of the bagel-making heritage in Yaco's family. Her great-grandmother made them in Russia. ``When her broom handles wore out, my great-grandfather would take the paint off and sand them down, and she would use them to pull the bagels out of the boiling water.'' These days, Kalfayan uses spaghetti tongs.

Yaco and Kalfayan do a lot of cooking, focusing on ethnic foods such as Armenian, French, Thai and Middle Eastern specialties. This is the only time of the year they make bagels.

For Kalfayan, there's a blend of textures he looks for. ``They're best with a little chew to them, and skin around the outside,'' he says. ``I've eaten good bagels in Chicago, but these are the first really good ones I've ever had.''

For Yaco, it's a complete experience: ``It feels like the warmth of holding a little baby. It's the most wonderful taste I taste all year.''

[Photo: State Journal photo/Meg Theno
Sonia Yaco shows what her bagels look like just before they go into the boiling water. Guests at the bagel party include, from left, Nancy Crabb, Beth Reschke, 10, and Janet Reschke.