Photo Via Ruby's Bagels - Facebook
Ruby's Bagels
Ruby's Bagels at Zocalo Food Truck Park
During a visit to Cleveland in 2017, Daniela Ruby Varela had visited a bagel shop and was intrigued by the quality of the bagels and the bagel-making process. That experience sparked the idea for Ruby’s Bagels, which Varela operates from Zocalo Food Truck Park (636 S. Sixth St.). She offers several varieties of traditional and specialty bagels and spreads. She also does pop-ups and catering.
Although Varela had never made bagels prior to 2017, she’s no stranger to the kitchen. As a teen, she had baked with her mom and was in charge of Thanksgiving dinners. But store-bought bagels were part of her childhood. Her mother had worked at Patrick Cudahy, and they’d use their products, along with purchased bagels, to make quick and easy breakfasts.
It took Varela a full year to perfect her bagel-making process. She studied bread making books, watched YouTube how-to videos, and experimented during her free time. Varela had studied microbiology in college, so her inner scientist was intrigued by processes such as dough proofing and precise boiling times.
“They chemistry of the water has to be correct because of the way you’re working with the yeast. The environment and the air moisture also matter. Our winter recipe changes from our summer recipe because of humidity.”
Once Varela achieved her desired results, she took the steps necessary to establish a business. Orders trickled in from family and friends, but a surprise order from the City of Milwaukee helped propel Ruby’s Bagels to the next level.
Varela did pop-ups at Pilcrow Coffee and in Walker’s Point. She was approached by Jesús González and Sean Phelan, who were establishing Zocalo Food Truck Park and wanted her to sell her bagels there. “At that point, I was working three jobs and in college, but I thought, well, let’s say bye to everything and go full-on with this bagel thing!”
Making a Great Bagel
Varela recruited her mom and an aunt to help, and she learned to scale up recipes and hire staff. As her bagel team grew, she learned by trial and error about hiring, and navigating unforeseen obstacles such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The community and my customers were so supportive, and it made me realize that I was doing the right thing,” she expresses. It was also advantageous to offer a unique product such as fresh, scratch-made bagels from a local business. “People were buying bagels for their whole block and buying bagels for nurses and hospitals. They kept us very busy during the whole pandemic.”
Ruby’s Bagels features several flavors such as Rosemary and Sea Salt, one of her first creations. Other varieties include Plain, Sesame, Poppy, and the Everything Bagel, with a mix of toppings and seasonings. The Cinnamon Sugar Bagel has been revamped to the new Cinnamon Cranberry. “It’s now less sticky to eat,” Varela notes.
She had also experimented with flavors such as Pumpkin Spice and Vegan Chocolate Chip while working from a commercial kitchen at Common Cookhouse, in Oak Creek. After a fire destroyed that building last year, Varela and her team use a commercial kitchen in St. Francis.
For Varela, a great bagel is not too dense, with an airier, fluffier crumb and a blistered crust. It should not be too filling. Varela shares that she uses baking soda to alkalize the boiling water, rather than barley malt, to achieve that just-right crust. She proofs the bagels for 24 hours so they have time to ferment. “If we made them the same day, they would be doughier,” she says.
Ruby’s Bagels makes their own spreads such as jalapeno or green onion and cheddar. They’re taking Christmas pre-orders and have a pop-up planned with Egg & Flour at their Bay View location on January 21 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Varela hopes to open her own shop at some point.
In addition to Zocalo, Ruby’s Bagels are on menus at Small Pie, Lafayette Place, The National, Joy Ice Cream, in Wauwatosa, and Avenue Coffee, in South Milwaukee.
For more information, visit rubysbagels.com.
