Scratch Baking Company, South Portland, Maine

Nancy and I were introduced to the bagels at Scratch Baking Company for our first breakfast in Maine, and I went back for more every day but one while we were there. These are exceptional bagels.

We were staying at an VRBO in South Portland, just down Preble Street from Scratch, close to our Senior South Portland Correspondents, Jon and Nancy Breul. They gave us Scratch bagels and some cream cheese on our arrival, and I was hooked.

Scratch currently is take-out only. You call ahead or walk up to the window and look at the menu to see some of what has already sold out. I never was able to get a sea salt bagel.

I like the shorts. You order, pay, and wait a short time for your good coffee, your bagel(s), and perhaps some of their good cream cheese with herbs.

I said the bagels are exceptional. Usually, bagels are dense with a fairly chewy exterior. Scratch bagels have a very chewy exterior, as you can see.

Of course, you can’t see chewiness. All you can see are sesame seeds, but take my word for it. It’s chewy. You can, however, see that the interior is far less dense than other bagels.

It works. It really works. This is a great bagel with a great flavor. Scratch also bakes lots of other things. I tested a shortbread cookie, which was very good, and I suppose everything else is tasty. The Breuls are big fans of their muffins. I see on facebook that they have started making Detroit style pizzas.

Scratch has one eccentricity. Their breakfast sandwiches contain hard boiled eggs rather than scrambled or fried eggs. That makes no sense to me, but this is America and I’m happy that there’s a place that serves people who want such sandwiches. Make that two eccentricities. Their Everything bagel includes fennel seeds. Some people dislike that flavor, which can evoke childhood memories of black licorice. Personally, I’m a big fan of fennel, but the seeds have so pronounced a flavor that they overwhelm everything else.

Scratch is a treasure. If you’re in the Portland area, you really need to try a bagel at Scratch.

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