Photography by Jane Kortright
Anyone who has ever had a bagel in New York City knows that it is difficult (albeit not impossible) to duplicate the science elsewhere in the world. A tedious process, it requires endless hours of practice to perfect.
Steve Boyd, a veteran originally from Columbus, Ohio, and wife Abbey, really love bagels. But when they moved to Augusta, they couldn’t find that unmatched authenticity of a New York-style bagel. After more than 400 hours of study, research, experimentation and hot days in the kitchen, they finally created a bagel that would compete with the best of them.
“We’re very excited to pour our hearts into providing the market with something that, up to now, was missing,” says Steve. Each bagel is made by hand. “We don’t believe that machines make a perfect bagel” he continues. “Ours are hand-rolled and made with all natural ingredients.” The mission to create the perfect bagel includes a 24-hour proof and baking on burlap, which yeilds that classic crunchy exterior.
“The number one question we get is if we import water from NYC.” But the water has nothing to do with it. “What’s important is how you treat the water,” says Abbey. Steve responds with equal conviction. “Augusta water works perfectly fine to make a New York bagel as long as you treat it the right way by watching the humidity and the temperature.”
“We are very big on recipe consistency and making bagels the traditional way. Methods are important and if you deviate, you won’t have a traditional New York bagel,” notes Steve.
Even though the team at Elemy’s Bagels currently consists solely of the couple, the hardworking pair have managed to create a quintessential product in a variety of flavors: plain, blueberry, everything, black sesame, onion, salt and jalapeño cheddar.
Abbey’s domain is the cream cheese. She makes spreads from scratch to complete the bagel sandwich standard. In addition to a fabulous plain cream cheese, there are blends such as roasted garlic, toasted honey walnut, veggie, spicy chipotle, bacon and chive, traditional lox, blueberry and lemon poppy, which is made with Abbey’s homemade lemon curd.
Elemy’s Bagels officially started selling bagels and Persian rolls (a deep-fried cinnamon roll with cream cheese icing — a classic in their home state) in February of this year, working out of a shared kitchen, through Augusta Locally Grown and at the farmers market in downtown. Their vision to fill a void in the Savannah River Region was confirmed when they repeatedly sold out by noon at the market every Saturday, no matter how many bagels they brought!
With the family putting down roots in Augusta, kids Eli and Emmy (who’s combined names create the name Elemy) in great schools, and a successful and growing business, the couple is officially opening a brick and mortar!
Beginning October 3, Elemy’s classic New York style, hand-rolled bagels and scratch-made cream cheese can be purchased in person at 3604 Verandah Drive, Ste. E, along with Persian rolls, bagels and lox and bagel sandwiches!
Seen in the October 2024 issue of Augusta magazine
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