New York-Style Bagels
Bagels are easy to make. Try this user-friendly recipe, doubled and slightly adapted from the Sophisticated Gourmet. If you prefer Montreal-style to New York bagels, read no further!
Boiling the formed bagels before baking (1- 2 minutes on each side) produces that iconic New York chewy texture and a delicious taste. Try experimenting with the baking time and temperature (I use 500 degrees) and depending on your oven, put a pan on the top rack to prevent browning too quickly or cover them with foil or brown paper.
More bread recipes: Challah, No-Knead Artisan French Bread, No-Knead Artisan Rye or Whole Wheat, No-Knead Irish Brown Bread (with Stout), Crusty Baguettes, Soft Baguettes, Whole Wheat Cinnamon Buns, Classic Sticky Cinnamon Buns, Foccaccia, Classic White Bread, Pillowy Buttermilk Buns, Flax and Honey Bread, Portuguese Cornmeal Bread, Olive Bread, One-Rise Buttermilk Bread, Chocolate Babka, Pumpernickel Bread, Italian Bread (Pani di Terni)
Makes: 16 medium-sized bagels
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes (including baking)
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons active dry yeast or 1/10 lb. cake yeast
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 - 3 cups / 600 - 700 ml warm water, depending on the flour)
7 cups (1000 grams) unbleached flour OR bread flour OR high gluten flour (will need extra for kneading). Divide the flour into two sections: 5 cups and 2 cups.
4 teaspoons salt
1 egg +1 teaspoon of cold water (optional)
Optional Toppings:
Caraway seeds, coarse salt, minced fresh garlic, minced fresh onion, poppy seeds, or sesame seeds.
Method
In 1/2 cup /120ml of the warm water, pour in the sugar and yeast. Do not stir. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then stir the yeast and sugar mixture, until it all dissolves in the water.
Mix 5 cups of flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture.
Pour 2/3 cup / 180ml of the remaining warm water into the well. Mix and stir in the rest of the water as needed. Depending on the atmospheric conditions, you may need to add a couple tablespoons of water at a time. You want a moist and firm dough after you have mixed it.
Pour the remaining 2 cups of flour onto a work surface. Knead the dough in the flour for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Try working in as much flour as possible to form a firm and stiff dough.
Lightly brush a large bowl with oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
Carefully divide the dough into 16 pieces (you can use a scale to be perfectly precise, but it's not necessary). Shape each piece into a round. Press each ball gently against the work surface, moving your hand and the ball in a circular motion, pulling the dough into itself while reducing the pressure on top of the dough slightly until a perfect dough ball forms (as pictured below). Repeat with the other dough rounds.
Coat a finger in flour, and gently press your finger into the centre of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring to about 1/3 the diameter of the bagel and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Repeat the same step with the remaining dough.
After shaping the dough rounds and placing them on the cookie sheet, cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 500ºF / 260ºC.
Bring a wide frying pan full of water to a boil. This kind of pan will make it easier to slip the bagels in and out of the water.
Reduce the heat. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to lower the bagels into the water. Boil as many as you are comfortable with boiling. Once the bagels are in, it shouldn’t take too long for them to float to the top (a couple seconds). Let them sit there for 1-2 minutes, and them flip them over to boil for another 1-2 minutes. (I keep my boiling times at 1 minute per side to produce a chewy New York-style bagel).
Remove them from the hot water and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
If desired, whisk the egg and cold water together and brush over the tops of the bagels to obtain a shiny surface. At this point you can sprinkle your bagels with any of the optional toppings (listed above).
Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack. Eat with softened butter, cream cheese and/or jam.
Bagels are easy to make. Try this user-friendly recipe, doubled and slightly adapted from the Sophisticated Gourmet. If you prefer Montreal-style to New York bagels, read no further!
Boiling the formed bagels before baking (1- 2 minutes on each side) produces that iconic New York chewy texture and a delicious taste. Try experimenting with the baking time and temperature (I use 500 degrees) and depending on your oven, put a pan on the top rack to prevent browning too quickly or cover them with foil or brown paper.
More bread recipes: Challah, No-Knead Artisan French Bread, No-Knead Artisan Rye or Whole Wheat, No-Knead Irish Brown Bread (with Stout), Crusty Baguettes, Soft Baguettes, Whole Wheat Cinnamon Buns, Classic Sticky Cinnamon Buns, Foccaccia, Classic White Bread, Pillowy Buttermilk Buns, Flax and Honey Bread, Portuguese Cornmeal Bread, Olive Bread, One-Rise Buttermilk Bread, Chocolate Babka, Pumpernickel Bread, Italian Bread (Pani di Terni)
Makes: 16 medium-sized bagels
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes (including baking)
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons active dry yeast or 1/10 lb. cake yeast
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 - 3 cups / 600 - 700 ml warm water, depending on the flour)
7 cups (1000 grams) unbleached flour OR bread flour OR high gluten flour (will need extra for kneading). Divide the flour into two sections: 5 cups and 2 cups.
4 teaspoons salt
1 egg +1 teaspoon of cold water (optional)
Optional Toppings:
Caraway seeds, coarse salt, minced fresh garlic, minced fresh onion, poppy seeds, or sesame seeds.
Method
In 1/2 cup /120ml of the warm water, pour in the sugar and yeast. Do not stir. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes, then stir the yeast and sugar mixture, until it all dissolves in the water.
Mix 5 cups of flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture.
Pour 2/3 cup / 180ml of the remaining warm water into the well. Mix and stir in the rest of the water as needed. Depending on the atmospheric conditions, you may need to add a couple tablespoons of water at a time. You want a moist and firm dough after you have mixed it.
Pour the remaining 2 cups of flour onto a work surface. Knead the dough in the flour for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Try working in as much flour as possible to form a firm and stiff dough.
Lightly brush a large bowl with oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
Carefully divide the dough into 16 pieces (you can use a scale to be perfectly precise, but it's not necessary). Shape each piece into a round. Press each ball gently against the work surface, moving your hand and the ball in a circular motion, pulling the dough into itself while reducing the pressure on top of the dough slightly until a perfect dough ball forms (as pictured below). Repeat with the other dough rounds.
Coat a finger in flour, and gently press your finger into the centre of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring to about 1/3 the diameter of the bagel and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Repeat the same step with the remaining dough.
After shaping the dough rounds and placing them on the cookie sheet, cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 500ºF / 260ºC.
Bring a wide frying pan full of water to a boil. This kind of pan will make it easier to slip the bagels in and out of the water.
Reduce the heat. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to lower the bagels into the water. Boil as many as you are comfortable with boiling. Once the bagels are in, it shouldn’t take too long for them to float to the top (a couple seconds). Let them sit there for 1-2 minutes, and them flip them over to boil for another 1-2 minutes. (I keep my boiling times at 1 minute per side to produce a chewy New York-style bagel).
Remove them from the hot water and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
If desired, whisk the egg and cold water together and brush over the tops of the bagels to obtain a shiny surface. At this point you can sprinkle your bagels with any of the optional toppings (listed above).
Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack. Eat with softened butter, cream cheese and/or jam.