Breaking Up with $10 Bagels: Learning to let go of bougie habits, one overpriced bagel at a time

 

There’s a market just a short walk from me — the kind of place with high-end groceries and prices that gently remind you you’re shopping in downtown Toronto. It’s been one of my go-to spots, especially back when I had the luxury of not thinking too hard about grocery budgets.

So when I spotted frozen Montreal bagels from one of the well-known bakeries — six for $9.99 — I flinched... but still bought them. That chewy, dense, slightly sweet dough? That’s what a real bagel should be. Not those sad, bready circles that pass for bagels at most grocery stores.

So yes, I bought them. And yes, they were as good as I remembered. But somewhere between bagel two and three, it hit me: I can’t keep doing this.

I’m about to be laid off. The market I love isn’t going to love me back once the paycheques stop rolling in. This was my one last bagel fling. I made a quiet commitment to learn how to make my own Montreal-style bagels. Because if I can’t afford the real thing weekly, I can at least try to recreate it at home. And maybe — just maybe — it’ll be even more satisfying because I made it myself, with a bit of frugal defiance.

To kick off this frugal-but-flavourful chapter, I tried a recipe from Feast: Recipes & Stories from a Canadian Road Trip by Lindsay Anderson and Dana VanVeller. It promised sweet, chewy, Montreal-style bagels — and it delivered. I followed the recipe exactly and, honestly? It was easier than I expected and tasted amazing. Better than most store-bought options (and definitely better than paying $9.99 for six frozen ones).

Even better? The ingredients for my batch came to about $3 per six bagels — that’s less than a third the price. The whole process took under two hours, broken up with lots of waiting time. Once cooled, I sliced each bagel in half, sealed them in freezer-safe bags with the air removed, and tucked them away. For two weeks, I had a stash of fresh, homemade bagels — ready to go straight from freezer to toaster.

If you want to try it too, here’s the recipe, shared via the Toronto Star:
👉 Sweet and chewy Montreal-style bagels

This might be the first of many things I stop buying and start making. And so far? The trade-off tastes pretty great.

Photo: My homemade sesame bagels, fresh out of the oven. Taken by me.