Thomas'
Encyclopedia
Thomas' is a brand of English muffins and bagel
Bagel
A bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior...
s in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. It is owned by Bimbo Bakeries USA
Bimbo Bakeries USA
Bimbo Bakeries USA is the American corporate arm of Mexico's Grupo Bimbo. It is the largest bakery company in the United States, owning six of the top twelve fresh bread brands in the United States. The name means baby in Italian and does not mean anything in Spanish. The pronunciation is given on...
, which also owns Entenmann's
Entenmann's
Entenmann's is a company that manufactures and delivers sweet baked goods. The company offers dessert cakes, donuts, ultimates, cookies, loaf breads, pies, club packs, singles, cereal bars, little bites, Enten-mini’s products, as well as Danish, crumb cakes, and buns...
, Boboli, Stroehmann, and Arnold bread companies. It advertises as having "nooks and crannies" in the muffins, making it less dense than competitive brands. The company also produces toasting/swirl breads, pitas, and wraps.
The company was founded by Samuel Bath Thomas (1855–1919). In 1874, he emigrated from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and began working in a bakery. By 1880, he had purchased his own bakery at 163 Ninth Avenue, where he featured his namesake muffins. Samuel expanded to 377 West 20th Street where today a plaque designates the building as "The Muffin House."
The company, S.B. Thomas, Inc., was incorporated by his family after his death in 1919.
Thomas' introduced a bagel variation called Bagelbread. A package contains six pre-sliced bagel
Bagel
A bagel is a bread product, traditionally shaped by hand into the form of a ring from yeasted wheat dough, roughly hand-sized, which is first boiled for a short time in water and then baked. The result is a dense, chewy, doughy interior with a browned and sometimes crisp exterior...
squares.