Wild Yeast

Notes from my kitchen, in which I bake bread and raise a few other matters

Bagel Miter Review and Giveaway

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Cutting a bagel is dangerous business. According to the Wall Street Journal, in 2008 there were 1,979 bagel-related emergency room visits. This makes bagels the fifth most dangerous food (behind chicken, potatoes, apples, and onions). If you’re partial to your fingers, I suggest a bagel-cutting aid.

I’ve used a guillotine-style bagel cutter for a long time, but sometimes it doesn’t give the cleanest cut. A serrated knife does a better job, but the risk of accidents is high, especially when your bagel is the right kind (that is, shiny-slippery-firm, not squishy-soft-pudgy). The good people at BigKitchen sent me this Ironwood Acacia Bagel Miter, and I was anxious to see if it would cut it.

The device has a cradle for stabilizing the bagel while cutting, and the slot allows your knife to pass all the way through the bagel without counter interference. The cradle is 1 3/4″ inches wide, though, so it takes a big bagel to fill it enough so that the bagel doesn’t slide wildly around in the cutting process. I usually make my bagels 85 – 100 grams (prebaking weight), but found that a 150-gram one (in the photo above) was barely large enough for a snug fit. And even so, I had to hold the bagel with my my hand to get the cut started. Once it was started, though, and I could cut with a back-and-forth motion, I got a cleaner, less “shreddy” cut than I usually do with the guillotine.

If you like your bagels big, the bagel miter might make your kitchen a little safer. BigKitchen would like to send one to a lucky, randomly chosen one of you. Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win!

— Update: This giveaway is now over! —

The fine print:

  • Winner will be drawn randomly by me at approximately 5 P.M. PST on Saturday, December 10.
  • One comment per person, please.
  • Full disclosure: They gave me a bagel miter, and no monetary compensation.

And if you need a bagel recipe, try one of these:

CommentsLeave a comment

  1. I don’t think there’s a better way to start a day than with a bagel. I especially like cinnamon raisin bagels toasted and spread with peanut butter.

  6. We frequently make large batches of bagels for pop-up brunches. Whereas guillotines completely ruin the internal crumb structure, this miter looks great!

  12. This looks wonderful. I love starting the day with a bagel and with a possible new start coming up it would be nice to have a bagel slicer to help me get my breakfasts going.

  14. I used to specialize in leaving a bloody trail in the kitchen until I learned about sharp knives! However, bagels still get me and I would love a special bagel cutter. I’ll give it to my husband so he doesn’t have to see red in the kitchen!
    Thank you for the opportunity.

  16. I love the idea! It will make perfect mornings together with sourdough bagels (your recipe)! =)
    Hope, you make deliveries to Sweden 😉

  23. Coming from Montreal (which is often competing with the New York Bagel) I have been around a lot of bagels! My mom would always be screaming”Watch your fingers!” when we were slicing them.
    I think I need one of these…

  24. Now that looks like a fine invention – aesthetically pleasing, too! I’ll have to fire up some sourdough for bagels.

  26. Over the past couple of months, I’ve been working on perfecting homemade bagels, but definitely haven’t mastered cutting them 😉 Great giveaway.

  27. I have been making homemade bagels for my husband since we got married 8 years ago. I simply could not stand buying a dozen of them, knowing they were full of “less than wholesome” ingredients. This kitchen gadget would be a wonderful, since both he and I have managed to cut ourselves preparing our bagels for the toaster!

  28. Just what I need for my bagels. I make them all the time and that would, indeed come in handy.

    Dick

  29. Anything that will make the kitchen at my school safer sound like a great gift to me.

  31. What a gorgeous piece of wood… I’d leave it out on the counter all the time, just to be able to look at it!

  36. I would love to have this……haven’t been to the ER yet but I should have purchased Bandaid stock before getting hooked on bagels!!!!!

  37. I love bagels I just made your bagel recipe over the past few days and baked them this morning topped with onions and poppy seed what a treat like them so much had one for lunch as well. Thanks for the recipe share.
    Lury

  38. love bagels and made your recipe over the past few days they turned out great this morning. Thanks for the recipe. Lury

  39. Isn’t it strange? Even though we try to kill bagels by cooking and baking them, we are not able to make them harmless. 🙂

  42. OH! I totally need this bagel miter. I’ve been a bagel making demon lately and this sure would come in handy.

  44. My son loves bagels but has such a difficult time cutting them. This bagel miter will make a perfect Christmas gift.

  47. We use bagels everyday…our little grandson can not eat most breads because they have egg in them, but bagels are safe and there are so many flavors to choose from…and bonus…if we don’t have time to make them there are great shops that carry his favorites!
    This would be a nice gift for his Mom and Dad to have in their kitchen.

  48. I love to bake big bagels .. the bigger the better .. so I can load lots of cream cheese on them. This gadget would come in real handy for us.

  52. I like that it has a handle, it looks like a much safer option than aiming the knife at my palm as I cut my bagel. My fingers and hands would be grateful for a bagel miter!

  53. I’m in love with the latest bagel innovation, Flagels 😉 The best part of the bagels…even harder to cut

  57. Great giveaway, Susan! I’m known for my skills of cutting my fingers every now and then, so please, save me! Give me this miter and my boyfriend will be the first to thank you 🙂
    codruta

  63. I like bagels and fingers come in pretty handy. (Moving the bagels from the counter to my mouth.) Would be nice to have a bagel miter and intact fingers.

  65. Was it Woody Allen who said that anyone who cuts a bagel on edge has a death wish? Put me in the contest, please!

  67. Query: if bagels are the fifth most dangerous food, does this include food poisoning?

  68. Was baking the Sourdough Bagels a lot for awhile, biut now I am reminded to make some more. Would be great to have an aid to Bagel slicing which is always a dicey operation!

  69. I love bagels. My favorite way to eat them is to toast them in the oven until they are golden brown. My favorite topping is cream cheese with chopped olives and walnut pieces. Would love to have this Ironwood Acacia Bagel Miter.

  70. Why not have one of those? And who doesn’t like a nice big bagel!

    I can’t think of a good answer!

    cheers
    Chris

  74. Big Bagels? , who doesn’t love a big bagel?! I especially love them to make bagel sandwiches, so a Miter would definitely come in handy 🙂

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