Product Review: Beigel’s Dinner Rolls

Although I enjoy eating most carbohydrates (I could happily eat cereal three meals a day), bread and rolls have never been on my “crave” list. I could easily do without the bread basket at restaurants and despite my love of bakeries, I don’t get excited about the breads and rolls. (Instead I head straight for the muffins, cookies, and cakes.)

The two exceptions to my lack of interest in most breads are bagels and challah. I have already mentioned my disappointment in Costco’s bagels (although I recently noticed that they are from Einstein’s Brothers Bagel Company now, so perhaps they are worth another try), so I am going to focus on challah. Challah is the traditional Jewish bread, typically formed into braided loaves and eaten on Jewish holidays. It has a chewy consistency and an eggy, lightly sweetened taste. Challah is delicious dipped in soup (usually chicken soup because, well, what else would Jews serve :-), eaten with sandwich fillings such as tuna or egg salad, or cream cheese and lox. In addition, the slightly stale leftovers make for delicious French toast.

Homemade challah definitely takes the “bread,” with store-produced

versions producing mixed results. I often find that challah made in grocery stores is too dry and crumbly.  In contrast, bakeries in New York often produce a very close substitution to homemade. Therefore, a few years ago, I was excited to find that Costco carried a challah made by Beigel’s, a Brooklyn-based company. My family has eaten the challah on several holidays and we enjoy it very much. However, I actually prefer the challah rolls.

These rolls come 18 to a pack and are about the size of a tennis ball. They are soft and chewy, with a golden, almost shiny (as though brushed in egg) crust. The subtle, slightly sweet taste provides a great base for sandwiches, as it complements the stronger taste of the fillings. I prefer them with tuna salad, cream cheese and lox, whitefish salad, or melted cheese. The rolls are satisfying but also light, not leaving a heavy feelings of having eaten a vey dense bread or roll. They are also a lighter alternative to bagels.

Once the bag is opened, the rolls stay fresh for several days. Fortunately, because 18 is a lot of rolls, they also freeze well. You can either let them defrost or microwave them for a few seconds (note: microwaving for too long will cause them to become hard and crunchy). I don’t recommend leaving them in the freezer for more than a few months. After that, they begin to dry out and crumble apart.

Have you tasted the challah or challah rolls? Any other versions you like from stores or groceries? Any suggestions for fillings or accompaniments?