Bagels are an iconic New York City food: boiled, then baked hand-shaped, round rolls with a hole in the middle. It is a small and dense bread with a malty flavour and a dark, shiny, and crunchy exterior that should snap when bitten into it. Originally, they were brought to the United States by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.
There is a theory that bagels were popular in the Jewish community because the dough needs to rest for twelve hours before being baked, so it was convenient for Jews to let it rise during the Sabbath when work is forbidden. New Yorkers claim that their bagels are the best due to the water's softness, as there are low levels of calcium and magnesium that could toughen the dough when combined with gluten.
In the past, bagels were made in four original varieties: plain, poppy, salt or sesame, but nowadays they are made with garlic, onion, cinnamon, and raisins, best enjoyed fresh out of the oven and paired with butter, scallions, lox, and cream cheese.
Authentic New York City Bagels recipe
MAIN INGREDIENTS
1.FLOUR
2.SLAT
3.SUGAR
4.YEAST
5.BARLEY MALT SYRUPS
Because they are made with firm dough, bagels are probably one of the easiest things to make, and not even New York tap water, alleged to have the necessary mythical properties, is required. Indeed, if you follow a few simple rules, you can make these wherever you are in the world, and they will turn out perfectly. The dough is made with bread or high-gluten flour (about 12-14%), water, barley malt syrup, yeast, and salt. It is shaped into rolls, which are then looped around three fingers and rolled to seal. When shaped, the bagels are placed on a greased baking tray and refrigerated anywhere from 24 to 36 hours. The following day, they are first poached in a boiling mixture of water and barley malt syrup then placed on a parchment-lined baking tray and baked. If adding any toppings, such as poppy seeds, sesame seeds, or salt, they should be sprinkled as soon as the bagels are out of the water. If done properly, a bagel should be a rich, caramel color, have a slightly crispy crust with chewy insides, and should have a distinct pull when bitten into or torn. Furthermore, it should taste like freshly baked bread, eventually complemented by the toppings if they are added. Bagels should be eaten within a few hours after they've been baked when they are the freshest.
Adapted from SeriousEats.com, this recipe gives instructions on how to prepare authentic NYC bagels. Because they are prepared using a Japanese technique of incorporating gelatinized starch into the dough called Yukon, these bagels fresh longer than regular ones.
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INGREDIENTS for 8 servings:
FOR THE YUKONE
170g cold water
100g bread flour
FOR THE DOUGH
355g bread flour
15g sugar
9g Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume or use the same weight
4g instant dry yeast
100g water
FOR THE POACHING LIQUID
30g barley malt syrup
water, 3 inches deep
Whisk flour and water over medium heat for two minutes, until you have a thick lumpy mass.
Transfer the mass to a large plate, then spread it into a 1-inch thick layer. Cover and wait about 30 minutes until it cools to 23°C.
Add flour, sugar, salt, and instant yeast in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Pulse to combine, then add the cooled yukone and water and process for 90 seconds until you get a silky dough.
Place the dough on a clean worktop, then divide it into eight pieces.
Round each piece of dough by rolling it with your palm until you have a smooth ball with almost no visible seams.
Once you've shaped all the pieces of dough, cover them with plastic, and let them rest for 15 minutes.
Make a hole in each ball of dough by piercing it with a damp finger. Then, stretch it into a ring 3 ¼ -inches in diameter. Handle the dough with damp hands to prevent sticking.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper, then grease the paper generously.
Arrange the bagels on a baking tray, cover with cling film, and store in the refrigerator for 24-36 hours.
Position the rack in the lower-middle of the oven, then set the oven to preheat to 218°C.
Fill a stainless pot with 3 inches of water, then add the malt. Place over high heat and bring to a boil.
In the meantime, line one baking tray with several layers of paper towels (the layer of paper towels should be thick) and the other baking tray with parchment paper.
Poach the bagels in batches, two to three at a time, for 30 seconds per side. Place the poached bagels first on paper towels, then on a baking tray.
Bake for 25 minutes; 18 if you’d like to use them as sandwich bread.
When baked, let them cool for 15 minutes, then cut in half lengthways with a serrated knife.
If serving later, leave them whole, stored in a paper bag or wrapped in parchment paper for up to 48 hours. When ready to serve, slice, and toast.
Prepare Time:25 Minutes.
Cooking tips:
method: The dough for bagels should always be made with bread or high gluten flour, as that will make the bagels chewier. Also, some recipes resort to employing a Japanese technique called yukone in which gelatinized starch is added to the dough which as a result helps make the bagels fresh for longer. As far as shaping goes, there are two ways to go about it; the traditional and the "less complicated" way. The traditional way of shaping bagels is to first, form the dough into rolls, second, loop each roll around your four fingers, and third, seal the ends together by hand-rolling them. However, with the traditional method, there is also the danger that the bagel will fall apart during poaching. The other, less complicated way is to simply poke a hole in the center of a piece of dough and then to stretch the hole out. When poaching bagels, use only barley malt syrup as neither sugar, honey, nor molasses can impart that sweet and malty flavor.
toppings & flavorings: Initially, bagels were plain or could have only three possible toppings, either sesame, poppy seed, or salt. Today, the topping repertoire has expanded to include minced garlic, minced onion, caraway seeds, cinnamon, and raisins, while a bagel with a mixture of various toppings is called an everything bagel. On the other hand, the number of extra ingredients that can go into the dough is not so big, only cinnamon, raisins, and rye flour if you're making pumpernickel bagels. Eggs, blueberries, and chocolate chips are also often added, though that is not something bagel purists would approve.
boiling: Although most bagel producers resort to steaming and many recipes instruct that bagels be only brushed with water before baking, there is no substitute for poaching, as that's what makes the bagels hard and chewy on the outside. An important thing to remember is that bagels will expand during poaching and during baking, so as a rule of thumb, poach the bagels until they expand about two-thirds the size you'd want them to be when they're baked.
serving: Bagels should be eaten within four or five hours after they've been baked when they are the freshest. When the bagels are fresh out of the oven, it is recommended to smear them with butter which will melt from the heat, as opposed to cream cheese which turns slimy and sticky at higher temperatures — only a cooled bagel should be spread with cream cheese. Also, avoid any flavored types of cream cheese unless the flavors are scallion or lox as these are often served with a bagel, and remember that, no fruit should come near.
how to spot a "fake" bagel: A proper bagel should not be steamed, but poached, so to spot an impostor, always look under the bagel. Because steam can't reach it, the bottom of a „fake“ bagel will be darker and harder than the top.
