Everything Bagel - Modernist Cuisine

Everything Bagel

Recipe • September 16, 2024

 

While ring-shaped wheat breads have long existed in many parts of the world, the bagel has two main distinctions: it’s traditionally boiled and then baked, and it’s often associated with Jewish culture. Bagels have been around for centuries, their origins tracing back to Poland over 400 years ago. What began as a local specialty in Europe became a New York City staple by the 1950s and has since spread around the world.

The secret to the perfect bagel is a subject of heated discourse. After trying bagels from New York City to Seattle, we can tell you one thing: it’s not the water source; it’s the baker. One of our biggest breakthroughs was a starch slurry, which not only helps toppings stick but also makes it possible to use larger items, such as sunflower seeds or chopped nuts, that otherwise wouldn’t cling well.


Recipe


Tips & Substitutions

 

  • Why are bagels first boiled or steamed? Because either method of applying heat pregelatinizes the starch on the crust; this is why bagels are so shiny after they bake.
  • If using a 4.5 qt or 8 qt stand mixer, sometimes the dough hook doesn’t mix the ingredients well enough; use a paddle attachment initially to uniformly mix all the ingredients. Once you have a shaggy mass (the dough is sticky and wet, but there are no visible clumps of flour or unincorporated water in the bowl), switch to a hook attachment.
  • Because bagel dough is stiff, mixing it in a stand mixer can cause the machine to struggle and possibly burn out. If your stand mixer is dancing on the table, it either has too much dough or too stiff of a dough (or both) for it to handle.
  • For a 4.5 qt bowl, you can mix on the lowest possible speed, which will double the mixing time. You can also mix the dough to a shaggy mass, divide the dough in half, and mix it to full gluten development in two batches.
  • The final mix time at higher speeds may vary from machine to machine. The goal is to achieve full gluten development. Consider our suggested times as guidelines only. Let your visual assessment and the windowpane test determine the dough’s stage of gluten development.
  • To make the dough easier to handle, add 0.05% fresh pineapple juice or 0.8% fresh kiwi juice.
  • Keep the dough covered as you weigh out the pieces; this dough dries out easily because of its low hydration.
  • Make sure that the hole in the middle of the bagel is centered, or it will proof and bake unevenly.
  • Although bagels are proofed and baked on a half sheet pan, we recommend placing the half sheet pan on a baking stone on the middle shelf of the oven. This will provide the dough with good oven spring and will reduce baking time. Alternatively, you can slide the parchment paper the bagels are on directly onto the baking stone.
  • If you aren’t going to eat the bagels the same day, let them cool, and then immediately slice them in half, wrap each half, and freeze them. Frozen bagels can be dropped into the toaster without thawing.

Learn more about bagels here.

 

Previous Recipe

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Comment