The Ultimate Guide to St. Louis Homemade Bagels
Published January 13, 2025
So in honor of the St. Louis Jewish Light’s Third Annual Bagel Week celebration, here is our Ultimate Guide to St. Louis Homemade Bagels.
The bagel. Is it simplicity or complexity that has allowed the bagel to endure for centuries and become a staple of Jewish cuisine? Perhaps both.
The bagel traces its history back to 1600s Europe, arriving in the United States along with Eastern European immigrants in the late 19th century. In the 1970s, the Lenders family began marketing their brand of bagels nationwide, but the homemade bagel still had a place in the hearts of millions, especially American Jews.
Locally, Jewish St. Louisans had much to choose from when looking for homemade bagels over the years. Purveyors such as Petrofsky’s Bakery, Marlin Klein’s New York Bagelry in Bridgeton, Leonard, Jesse, and Kenneth’s New York Bagelry in the old Jeffrey Plaza, Basically Bagels in the Central West End and until recently the Bagel Factory in Creve Coeur.
While our bagel history may be bleak, our bagel future remains strong. In 2023 alone, three new bagel shops will be open by summer, adding to an impressive group of bagel makers already with years of experience under their belts.
The Ultimate Guide to St. Louis Homemade Bagels
Amighetti’s at the Top of the Hill
5390 Southwest Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63139
The current lineup includes classic options like original, garlic, onion and everything, alongside more unique offerings such as cinnamon raisin, blueberry, cranberry walnut, cheddar jalapeño, Maldon sea salt, poppyseed and asiago. To make these bagels even more irresistible, Amighetti’s has teamed up with Hank’s Cheesecakes to offer a full line of schmears that perfectly complement their bagels.
Bagel Union
8705 Big Bend Blvd
Webster Groves, MO 63119
Bagel Union, located at 8705 Big Bend Boulevard in Webster Groves, Missouri, is a popular bagel shop established by the team behind Union Loafers Café and Bread Bakery. Since its opening, it has gained a reputation for offering a variety of freshly baked bagels and innovative sandwiches.
Flavors: Everything, plain, poppy, sesame, tzitzelnickel, cinnamon raisin, onion, salt, whole wheat, egg, cherry crunch
Bagels and Bliss
8141 Delmar Blvd
University City, Mo.
Bagels and Bliss will begin with basic bagel flavors, including plain, poppy and everything. Eventually, it will add blueberry and cinnamon raisin. Also planned for the menu: coffee, cream cheese, tuna salad, egg salad and whitefish salad. The partners also plan to cure and cold-smoke lox. The immediate goal is to ramp up production and bake 300 to 500 bagels per day, depending on demand.
Baked & Boiled Bagels
1801 S. 9th Street
St. Louis, Mo.
At Baked & Boiled Bagels, each bagel is hand-rolled with care, creating unique, one-of-a-kind shapes that reflect the artistry behind their craft. This hands-on approach results in a chewy texture, a malty flavor, and a perfectly crisp crust that sets them apart from machine-made alternatives.
Flavors: Everything, plain, sesame seed, cinnamon raisin, cheese, poppy seed.
Breadsmith St. Louis
10031 Manchester Rd
Kirkwood, MO 63122
(314) 822-8200
Breadsmith’s bagels are baked in-house and come with a thin crust, but are very crispy with a great crumb on the inside.
Flavors: Sesame, Poppyseed, and Everything toppings.
Also found at:
- Protzel’s Deli
- Circle@Crown Café, inside the Gladys & Henry Crown Center for Senior Living.
Bridge Bread (Scratch)
2639 Cherokee Street
St. Louis, MO 63118
(314) 296-3077
[email protected]
New York-style kettle-boiled bagels (also called water bagels). The made-from-scratch process is mixing ingredients, kneading the dough by hand, letting it rise, then boiling, and baking the bagels.
Flavors: Classic, cinnamon, everything, blueberry, and pretzel.
Also found at:
- MoKaBe’s Coffeehouse
- Bridge Bread at Soulard Farmer’s Market
- Sisters Sandwich Shoppe
- Espresso Yourself Coffee & Café
- Fresh Thyme at City Foundry
Companion Baking
9781 Clayton Rd
Ladue, MO 63124
314.218.2280
These bagels are unique in that they blend the traditional NY attitude with Companion’s knowledge of long-fermented European breads which creates a hybrid bagel that their customers really enjoy.
Flavors: Plain, sesame, everything, jalapeño cheddar, cinnamon crunch, asiago, multigrain
Also found at:
- Kaldi’s Coffee
- Meshuggah Café
- City Coffee
- Washington University (multiple sites),
- 6 North Café
- Shaw’s Coffee
Lefty’s Bagels
13359 Olive Blvd
Chesterfield, MO 63017
(314) 275- 0959
[email protected]
Made in the classic New York style, using certified kosher ingredients each bagel is boiled and then baked on traditional burlap-topped wooden bagel boards. Lefty’s is an artisan bagel with a wonderfully soft, ever-so-slightly chewy center, and a deliciously crunchy crust.
Regular Flavors: Plain, poppy, sesame, everything, tzitzel, onion, salt
Specialty Flavors: Cinnamon raisin, six cheese, chocolate Chip, whole wheat, blueberry, pumpernickel
Schnucks
Various Locations
The in-store bakery team completes the baking process of parbaked bagels in each store, every morning.
Flavors: Plain, Whole Wheat, Cinnamon Raisin, Blueberry, Everything, Sesame seed, Jalapeño Cheddar, Poppy Seed, French Toast, Asiago Cheese and Sundried Tomato.
The Daily Bread, Inc.
11719 Manchester Rd
Saint Louis, Missouri 63131
(314) (314) 909-0010
Over 20 years, The Daily Bread worked with many recipes and styles in order to perfect their bagel-making skills. Choose from traditional bagel flavors or try a Power Bagel, a multigrain style bagel made with dry cranberry, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
Flavors: Plain, Asiago, Everything, Blueberry, Cinnamon Chip, Cranberry Oat, Sesame, Poppy.
Of course, if we missed one, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected].
