A fifth-generation Brooklyn baker is putting a new spin on an old favorite with the opening of Caputo Bagels in Park Slope next week.
Caputo Bagels, from longtime local baker James Caputo and restaurateur Rafael “Rafi” Hasid, opens Oct. 5 at 81 Fifth Ave., bringing hand-rolled sourdough bagels, cream cheeses, smoked fish, sandwiches, pastries and coffee to the neighborhood.
Caputo is no stranger to the Brooklyn baking scene. His family’s history dates back to 1904, when his Sicilian immigrant ancestor Giovanni Caputo opened the family bakery in South Brooklyn. Caputo’s Bake Shop in Carroll Gardens eventually became a Brooklyn institution known for its handmade breads, Sicilian-style loaves, Italian pastries and its cult-favorite lard bread.
The new shop also comes just months after Caputo’s Bake Shop closed its Carroll Gardens storefront in April after 124 years in business, ending the five-generation family bakery while Caputo carries its baking traditions into his new venture.
Caputo Bagels’ menu also includes Plain, Sesame and Everything bagels, cream cheeses, smoked salmon, whitefish, open-faced bagel and breakfast sandwiches, pastries and a full coffee program.Photo courtesy of Max Flatow
But Caputo said the new shop isn’t intended to recreate his family’s bakery or compete with the city’s traditional bagel shops.
“This isn’t going to be a traditional New York bagel,” Caputo said in a statement. “I didn’t go around trying other bagels because I didn’t want to compare ours to what was already out there. I wanted to make my own bagel based on my own flavor profile.”
The result is a small-batch, hand-rolled sourdough bagel developed by Caputo and Hasid, the founder of 6R Hospitality Group and owner of Miriam and 1803 NYC.
The two have known each other for more than two decades, first connecting when Hasid owned Hill Diner on Court Street and purchased bread wholesale from Caputo’s. Hasid would offer feedback on everything from bread styles to the placement of sesame seeds, while Caputo became a regular at the restaurant and a fan of Hasid’s cooking.
Their professional relationship eventually became a friendship, and the pair began talking about creating something together.
After Caputo stepped away from the family bakery, the idea gained momentum. Working with Hasid and his restaurant team allowed Caputo to focus on developing the product and returning to the hands-on baking work that had defined his career.
“I’ve spent my whole life baking — it’s part of who I am,” Caputo said in a statement. “Working with Rafi gives me the chance to focus on what I love most: working with dough, developing the product and being hands-on with the baking. I can take everything I’ve learned over the years and put it into something new.”
Rafi Hasid, owner of Miriam and 1803, is partnering with Caputo for the new Caputo Bagel spot.Photo courtesy of Max Flatow
The bagels take about two days to make, beginning with a sourdough starter that Caputo remembers his father using when he was a child. The starter is at least 45 years old.
Each batch undergoes an overnight cold fermentation before the bagels are rolled and shaped by hand, boiled and baked. Caputo said he wanted a bagel with a crisp exterior and chewy interior, while keeping the sourdough flavor subtle enough that it wouldn’t overwhelm the toppings.
“With bread, it has to be the right texture and the right crumb, but it should never overpower what you’re eating with it,” Caputo continued. “The balance is everything.”
The opening menu starts with Plain, Sesame and Everything bagels for $2.50 each. Customers can also order them by the half-dozen or dozen.
But the menu’s most distinctive offering may be the Lard Provolone Bagel, a $4 bagel inspired by the signature lard bread from Caputo’s Bake Shop.
The bagel folds salami, lard and provolone into the dough, bringing the flavors of the family bakery’s iconic bread into a different format.
“The taste of this bagel brought me right back to the lard bread,” he added. “We wanted it to still have that traditional flavor of Caputo’s lard bread, just in a bagel. I would probably eat this even more than I would the lard bread.”
Beyond the bagels, Caputo Bagels will offer plain and flavored cream cheeses, including scallion, za’atar, olive, harissa and tofu. Smoked salmon, whitefish and tuna salad will also be available.
The open-faced sandwich menu includes a breakfast sandwich with bacon or sausage, two eggs and cheddar, along with options such as smoked salmon with scallion cream cheese, capers and dill; whitefish with pickled cucumber, dill and mustard; and harissa cream cheese with pickled eggplant and micro parsley.
The pastry case will feature croissants, chocolate and almond croissants, cinnamon raisin rolls, banana bread and orange cake. The shop will also serve coffee and espresso drinks, tea and fresh-squeezed orange juice.
Caputo Bagels will open Oct. 5 in Park Slope.Photo courtesy of Max Flatow
The neighborhood shop will have approximately 25 seats in addition to grab-and-go service.
For Caputo, the opening represents a continuation of his family’s baking legacy — but not a return to the past.
“Caputo’s will always be part of me. That’s where I learned to be a baker,” he said. “But I didn’t want to rebuild the past. Rafi and I wanted to create something of our own. Everything my father taught me and everything I learned through my family comes with me — I’m just using it differently now. The Caputo name continues, but this gets to have an identity of its own.”
Caputo Bagels will be open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.