Hase Bakery ハセベーカリー

Brioche-y Bagels

Tried four different types of bagels: double chocolate, brown rice flour (essentially a wheat bagel), cranberry coffee and caramel (CCC), and green tea azuki bean and rice flour dumpling. The best part of the bagels was how the bakery fuses quintessentially Japanese tastes into bagels. The brown rice flower was mild, chewy, and delicious. The CCC bagel had an excellent balance of each flavor in every bite, and it was superb after toasting, the caramel bits getting all melty and even more delicious. The double chocolate sounds super decadent, but it was actually quite light when compared to chocolate bagels in America. The green tea bagel was by far and away the most Japanese of all the bagels, the dumplings being super sticky, melty, and ultra chewy after about a minute in the toaster oven. Each of them was an excellent pair with black tea or a cup of coffee. The only concern I have is for those that are used to the heartiness and dense texture of western style bagels. When eating Hase Bakery bagels, the crust was crispy and had the luster of traditional bagels, but the body had the texture and weight of a brioche. I’m curious to try more and see what some of the more adventurous bagel flavors are like.