This Is TASTE 706: The Secret History of the Bagel with Laurel Kratochvila
Dec 24, 2025
Laurel Kratochvila, an American baker and writer based in Berlin, shares her expertise in Polish baking and her new book, Dobre Dobre. She delves into the intertwined history of Jewish and Polish baking traditions and highlights her adventures capturing regional bakes. Laurel discusses unique pastries like bialys and charlotka, and contrasts the evolution of Polish bakeries in America versus Poland. She also reflects on running her Fine Bagels bakery in Berlin, revealing the hand-shaping techniques that keep customers coming back.
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Baking As Cultural Archaeology
- Laurel Kratochvila frames Polish baking by connecting past Jewish and present Polish practices to explain why foods exist as they do today.
- She believes understanding a food's journey reveals ingredients, techniques, and cultural meaning beyond isolated recipes.
Research Grew Out Of Everyday Travel
- Laurel recounts living near the Polish border for 20 years and unknowingly researching Polish baking by visiting bakeries and finding Jewish-American pastries "in the wild."
- That long habit of travel and curiosity seeded the idea for her book Dobre Dobre.
American 'Jewish' Pastries Are Polish Too
- Foods Americans label as "Jewish" like bagels and babka are deeply rooted in Polish baking traditions prior to the Holocaust.
- Shared Polish-Jewish bakery culture was entwined and later partly forgotten after 20th-century disruptions.