The 3 AM Batch
The shop is closed. The chairs are up. But the bagels you'll eat tomorrow morning? They start right now. Come on in — we'll leave the lights low.
Scroll to step insideWhen the last customer heads home, the bakery doesn't sleep for long. Preparation for tomorrow's bagels can begin as soon as the doors close — the way it's been done since Anna and Eddie opened BB's in 2007.
At the long wooden bench, the dough is divided into individual pieces — one for every single bagel. No forming machine ever touches it.
Each piece is rolled, wrapped around the hand, and sealed into a ring. It's slower this way — and it's why no two BB's bagels look exactly alike.
That little bit of unevenness? That's not a flaw. That's a person.
Press and hold to roll one yourselfThe rolled bagels rest in neat rows, ready for the morning bake. The bakery goes quiet again — but not for long.
While the rest of Alpharetta sleeps, the baking crew arrives. Kettle on. Oven warming. The morning's fresh bagels start here — every day, at three in the morning.
This is the step that separates a real bagel from bread with a hole in it. Batch by batch, the bagels go into the big stainless kettle — floating, bobbing, and rolling in the boil.
The boil is what builds that chewy interior and glossy crust. Steam-baked shortcuts can't fake it.
Tap the water to flip a bagelStraight out of the kettle, while the surface is still glistening, the toppings go on — sesame, poppy, onion, garlic, salt, everything. That's how they stay put through the bake.
Tap to pick a toppingThe boiled, topped bagels are loaded into BB's rotating commercial oven — the heart of the bakery. Tray after tray revolves through the heat so every bagel bakes evenly.
Through the long glass window you can watch the trays carousel past, the bagels turning from pale to golden brown with every pass. It's hypnotic. Ask anyone who's stood in front of it.
Drag to peek — tap the glass to step inside the ovenOut of the oven, into the baskets, onto the counter — warm, golden, and slightly different from one another, the way hand-rolled bagels should be. The doors open at 7:00 AM and the batch you just followed is waiting.
Hand-rolling doesn't stop at sunrise. More bagels are rolled and fresh batches are baked in the morning and throughout the day, whenever they're needed — so a fresh bagel isn't a lucky timing thing. It's just how BB's works.
The batch you just followed is on the counter by 7 AM. Come get one warm.
Big order for the office? Those extra afternoon batches are how we handle catering days.
Every BB's bagel is hand-rolled at our wooden bench — preparation can begin as soon as the shop closes. Our baking crew arrives at 3:00 AM to kettle-boil each batch, apply the toppings, and bake them golden in our rotating commercial oven before the doors open at 7:00 AM. More bagels are rolled and baked throughout the day whenever they're needed, so they're fresh whenever you walk in. That's what "hand-rolled, kettle-boiled, baked fresh" actually means — and it's why a BB's bagel doesn't taste like a grocery store bagel.
Want the taste test? Visit us at 6835 Shiloh Rd E, Alpharetta — open Mon & Wed–Sun, 7:00 AM–2:00 PM (closed Tuesday). Or see the full menu, plan catering, and read our story.