Portland isn’t exactly known for its bagels. Rick and Raf Spielman of Spielman Bagels are looking to change that.
After 18 years in the trenches of coffee roasting, father and son duo Rick and Raf Spielman were ready to offer a new product to their devoted coffeeheads on SE Division Street, Portland. The two had been working on a unique bagel, something that had a foundation in New York technique but with a Portland flair. After a little experimentation, their recipe combined tart natural sourdough leavening, milk, honey, and a careful attention to the dough when it was kettle-boiled.
Their first batch of bagels with quite literally boiled atop a hot plate and went out on their counters in 2011. At first their coffee business kept pace with these doughy-meets-crusty creations, but as word spread, bagels soon, ahem, rose ahead. Requests started to stream in from vendors in both Portland and Salem, and wholesale clients were chomping at the chance to get in on the deal. Only two years later, they took over a 1,700 square-foot bagel factory, and daily production was at 2,500 a day.
Due to their dedication to freshness, Rick and Raf do not sell the bagels far from Portland, but a partnership with our friends at Jacobsen Salt Co. created their toasted bagel chips. Now, we can get a taste of their bagel magic... even in New York.