Bagels fresh out of the wood-fired oven at Rover Bagels in Biddeford. Photo by Bob Keyes

If you’re one of those people who think they only make good bagels in New York, you’d be wrong – or so says Food & Wine magazine, which has included three Maine bakeries on its list of “The Best Bagels in America.”

Forage, which has locations in Lewiston and Portland, is on the list, as are Scratch Baking Co. in South Portland and Rover Bagel, which returned to Biddeford in late January after being closed for about a year.

The list of 39 bagel shops includes spots in New York, of course, but also places in Ohio, Texas, and even North Dakota. But the magazine said Mainers are “absolutely spoiled” with good bagels, adding that there “probably should have been more” Maine bakeries on its list.

Scratch Baking was hailed for its stone oven-baked bagels “with a distinct sourdough tang and a rustic, pleasing exterior.” As for Rover Bagel, the magazine cited its wood-fired Anadama bagels, made with cornmeal and molasses and dotted with cranberries.

The magazine reserved its highest praise for the wood-fired bagels at Forage, calling them “Maine’s best bagel right now, gorgeously light and beautifully structured, with an exterior that snaps and crackles like popcorn.”

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