Bagels from Caputo Bagels. Photo: Max Flatow
When the 122-year-old Caputo’s Bake Shop closed this spring, it sent a thunderclap through Carroll Gardens and the New York food world. Loyal customers laid flowers outside, and many more mourned the loss of the bakery and its iconic lard-laced loaves with nuggets of pork and provolone. “Hurts knowing I’ll never taste their lard bread again,” one longtime fan posted on Reddit.
Now, that lard bread is rising once more, albeit in bagel form. James Caputo, the fifth-generation owner of Caputo’s Bake Shop, hadn’t planned to include it on the opening menu of Caputo Bagels — the new shop he’ll open in Park Slope in early October — until his business partner, Rafael “Rafi” Hasid, convinced him. “He drove me crazy,” Caputo says.
Caputo and Hasid, who owns the Israeli restaurant chainlet Miriam, have been friends for 20 years. They met when Hasid owned Hill Diner on Court Street a handful of blocks north of Caputo’s bakery. Hasid bought bread, and every week when Caputo dropped off the bill, they would chat. “Rafi was very demanding,” Caputo says. He would complain that “the sesame seeds are out of place or the bread’s not right.” They bonded over a shared love of food and started eating around the city with Caputo’s father, John.
When Hasid wanted to open Miriam in 2005, John loaned him money to help. As Hasid expanded with locations in Manhattan, James invested in his projects. “We always were talking about doing stuff together,” James says. “Always, always, always.”
More recently, Hasid had a space available that previously housed Miriam Street Food, and they debated opening a pizzeria before settling on a bagel shop. They named it after Caputo with his family’s blessing; his dad had always wanted him to open a bagel shop. The plans started a year or so ago, long before the bakery closed in late April. “This had nothing to do with me closing,” Caputo clarifies.
James Caputo, left, and Rafael Hasid have been friends for years. Photo: Max Flatow
At the airy, 26-seat counter-service bagel shop — with its brick walls and sunlit baking kitchen that guests can peer into — the partners have brought on staff who have worked with them for years. For Caputo, that’s Youssouf Katari, a baker from Côte d’Ivoire. Caputo says having a partner in the venture allows him to focus on the dough. (He previously sold bagels at his bakery, but they were never the focus and the recipe at the new shop is different.) He and Hasid were less concerned with matching or beating any competing bagels and more interested in creating their own Platonic ideal. For them, that meant a medium-size bagel, a somewhat crunchy crust, and a looser crumb so it’s not as dense as a typical New York bagel but still offers a nice chew.
A slight tang comes from a sourdough starter Caputo’s father began using for select “artisan breads” at Caputo Bake Shop at least 45 years ago. It’s cut with poolish — a mix of flour, water, and a small amount of yeast — and there’s a touch of honey in the dough so the sour bite doesn’t overwhelm the flavor profile.
The bagels — in addition to that lard-provolone number, they’re available as everything, sesame, or plain — were developed with sandwiches in mind. The open-face offerings include a classic with smoked salmon from Acme Smoked Fish in Greenpoint and less conventional pairings like a fiery harissa cream cheese and roasted eggplant doused with sharp white vinegar. There’s a BEC and a sandwich with Acme whitefish salad, cucumber, and mustard. The team is discussing a monthly bagel special for down the road, inspired by recipes Caputo made at his bakery, such as cranberry walnut.
If this shop is successful, is there a chance it will expand back to the original Carroll Gardens space? It’s unlikely. Hasid has nudged his friend to reopen the bakery, but Caputo is working with a broker and has had some interest in the building, which he co-owns with his brother. “I would love to see another bakery there,” he says, but he’s still vacillating on what’s next. “The only reason I was there was because my heart was there, and I loved baking — it’s an internal struggle.”
As classic as it gets. Photo: Max Flatow
