Ancient cookbooks suggest the bagel may have roots in the the Arabic world. Iambled down the cobblestone steps to the Damascus Gate in the Old City of Jerusalem countless times as a child, offering the boy driving the ka’ak cart two shekels for a sesame ka’ak and some za’atar wrapped in newspaper scraps. If I wanted to treat myself, I bought the ka’ak from the oldest bakery in the city along with some falafel and hay-roasted eggs.
It never occurred to me as a child that the delicious, if commonplace, treat, sometimes called a “Jerusalem sesame bagel,” might have a rich history, nor did it occur to me later in life that the ring-shaped bread might have anything to do with other, similarly shaped breads. But an examination of ancient Arabic cookbooks suggests that ka’ak may in fact be the precursor of the bagel.
There were several unique iterations of ka’ak in Kitab al Wusla ila al Habib, and excited as I was for this glimpse into the past of my preferred childhood bread, I was startled to find the variation for the boiled then baked rings, since that process is identical to the one for making bagels.
