Did the Bagel Come from Poland… or Palestine?

Tracing the Ancient Roots of the Modern Bagel Through Arab and Ottoman Streets 

---

🥯 Did the Bagel Come from Poland… or Palestine?

The bagel, beloved worldwide, is commonly believed to have originated in 17th-century Poland, where Jewish communities baked chewy, boiled ring-shaped bread as a staple food. But dig deeper, and you'll find that this story might not begin in Europe at all.

Long before the word “bagel” was written down, Arabs were baking something remarkably similar: Ka’ak (كعك) — a ring-shaped bread with a rich, golden crust, often topped with sesame seeds. Found in Jerusalem, Syria, Lebanon, and Egypt, ka’ak was more than food; it was part of daily life, often sold by street vendors and shared during special occasions. Some recipes even involved boiling the dough before baking, just like a modern bagel.

Enter the Ottoman Empire, where cross-cultural exchange was constant. In Turkey, you’ll find Simit — a sesame-covered circular bread that’s been baked since at least the 1500s. Simit, ka’ak, and bagels are cousins, connected not just by shape but by history, trade, and migration.

So, is the bagel Polish? Yes — and also Arab, Ottoman, and Levantine. It’s a testament to how food travels, transforms, and connects us.

Next time you bite into a bagel, think of Jerusalem’s stone streets, the ovens of Istanbul, and the spice markets of Damascus. Sometimes, what seems local is deeply global.

---