Matteson Koche wanted to create something the community really needed: a good bagel. “I’m looking for a nice chew and crunch,” says Koche, “A distinctive taste – a bagel shouldn’t taste like bread.”
So the 27-year-old, who grew up in Weston and earned a master’s degree in urban planning, set out to create the ideal bagel. Starting with an Internet recipe, he made bagels every day for three months, using a sourdough starter, high-gluten flour, and no corn syrup or dough conditioner. Koche realized that the water doesn’t matter – “We just use tap water” – while proper refrigeration of the dough is essential. He keeps his bagels vegan by not using an egg wash.
Koche named his business El Bagel, selling his wares in a mini-truck parked in front of Boxelder in Wynwood. His chewy bagels with a golden crust covered with little blisters developed a following: “New Yorkers who say their bagels ‘better be good’ to hungover young people to families and kids.’” To meet demand, he needed a bigger truck. He revamped a former California taco truck so he could offer a selection of hand-rolled bagels. Working in a commissary kitchen, Koche is up at 4:30am to bake the bagels, load the truck and sell bagels, using Instagram to let customers know when they’re sold out.
The next step is a brick-and-mortar in the MiMo district, where El Bagel will become a bakery/eight-seat cafe where they will make and sell more bagels until they run out. “When we’re out, we’re out.”
EL BAGEL
elbagel.miami
6910 Biscayne Blvd., Miami (Opening soon)
