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I was born and raised in Brooklyn in a predominantly Russian Jewish neighborhood. This means I always had access to good delicious bagels. Sadly, I don't live in Brooklyn anymore. I live in Berlin now. While it is possible to get good bagels in Berlin, it's still a challenge and you do pay a premium for them.
One day, I decided that I would try to make them at home. After a lot of experimentation, this is the recipe I have come to rely on. There is lots of folk wisdom that a good bagel requires good water from Brooklyn. This is mostly an urban legend. You do need relatively soft water, but nothing a water filter can't fix. The true reason many people get a subpar quality bagel is because they try to cut corners. These are the main three
1. Not using high-protein bread flour
This is essential for getting the right texture for the interior of the bagel. The crumb pattern won't be right and it's hard to get the chewiness if you don't do this
2. Not boiling your bagels
If you want that crispy exterior and all the microblisters, if you have to boil your bagels. Skip this step and you will end up bagel-shaped bread.
3. Not letting the bagels ferment long enough
This is to me the most important one. If you do not let the bagels ferment for a long time they don't develop the signature flavor of bagels. You'll have something that looks like a bagel, is chewy like a bagel, but it won't taste like a bagel. We are talking here 18 hours, 20 hours, even 24 hours of letting the bagels proof in the fridge. If you skip this step, I believe you should trying another bread recipe instead.
This recipe is time-intensive and requires a good stand mixer. You can knead for 20-40 minutes by hand, but that's a something you should know going in.
Now if you are vegan, you might have noticed this recipe uses an egg. This is strictly optional. If you remove the egg, you just need to add a little bit of water to account for the moisture that the egg would have provided. This will be in ballpark of a tablespoon. You do not need an egg substitute.
Ingredients
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22 oz (625 g) high protein flour (at least 13-14% and if you can find higher go for it, we used type 1050)
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2 (5 g) teaspoons salt
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1 cup + a little extra (250ml) water warm (divided)
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1 (3 g) teaspoons instant yeast (subject to Berlin water))
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1 egg
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1.5 tablespoons barley malt syrup
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1 tbsp of natron
Everything bagel seasoning:
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2 parts coarse salt
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3 parts dried onion flakes (might be called dried chopped/minced)
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3 parts dried garlic flakes (might be called dried chopped/minced)
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3 parts poppy seeds
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3-4 parts sesame seeds (a mixture of black and white is nice
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, combine the 200 ml of warm water and 1 egg and as much flour as you can easily mix in — about 600g. Mix/knead until all the flour is wet, then cover and let sit (autolyse) at least 20 minutes, but an hour is better.
Form the dough into a nest shape — with a big valley in the center. Add the 1.5 tbsp malt syrup, drizzling most of it outside the hole in the center — only about a teaspoon should be in the hole. Put remained 50ml warm water in the hole and stir in the yeast. Let the yeast bloom for about 5 minutes, then put in the salt, another dusting of flour and start kneading.
Mix on low speed. The dough will take a long time to come together, a couple- three minutes at least, and will look very dry. But resist the temptation to add more water - you want a very stiff, dry dough.
Once everything comes together, increase the speed and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is very smooth, shiny, and stiff. If you’re kneading by hand, this’ll take at least 15 minutes, maybe more.
Rest dough for 15 minutes.
Knead moar for like 10 minutes until ball is smooth and passes windowpane test.
Divide the dough into 8 portions (each should be about 4oz / 100g) Note: There is maths- make them evenly weighted, but the final weight of your batch may vary. Roll each into a ball, then tuck them under a slightly damp towel until you’re ready for them.
Form bagels into a snake approximately 20 cm. Then seal ends by rolling the ring. See videos on YouTube for technique.
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for about a day (14 hours min). The long, cold rise tastes better.
On the next day, pull them out of the fridge. They should have some bubbles
Preheat the oven to 450 °F (230 °C).
Before bagels boil check that they float. If they don't after pulling them from the fridge, wait 15-20 minutes are try again.
Get your widest cooking vessel filled with water (leaving plenty of headroom) and bring it to a boil. Stir in enough malt syrup to make the water the color of caramel/dark iced tea. Add natron to boiling water. Boil the bagels 45 seconds per side.
While they're boiling, cover the sheet pans with parchment paper so the bagels won't get greasy when you return them to the pans. If you're topping your bagels, sprinkle on topping mixture.
Bake for 13-15 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow 30 minutes to cool
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