I’ve been hoarding this recipe for a while in hope to publish it in a book instead of a blog but, one thing this quarantine has taught me is: there’s no better time than the present. Plus, nothing stops me from publishing it later on, maybe with a few tweaks or technical adjustments.
So this is the perfect recipe if you have extra time on your hands (not looking at you stuck at home reading this) and, you miss the nice chew of a Montreal’s style bagel. Personally, I miss walking up tp the Mile-end, on a warm, sunny, summer day, to go buy fresh bagels on St-Viateur and then just walk around the streets and soak in the sun. At that point I’m already snacking on my purchase and the sound of the crunch from my teeth biting in to the lightly sweetened crust to is music to my ears.
Super easy to freeze, pretty much like bread. This recipe makes 12 everything bagels and you’ll need a stand mixer. If you’re not used to making bread, this might not be the best project to start with because you’re going to play with a VERY hydrated dough which makes it difficult to handle. If you feel up for the challenge, make sure to keep your work space floured but not too much. Both of you hands should be well floured at all time.
As you’re shaping your bagels, make sure to deflate the dough before shaping it.
BON APPÉTIT!
- For the dough:
- 10g of instant yeast (active dried yeast works too)
- 600g of all purpose flour
- 500g of lukewarm water
- 20g of honey
- For the syrup:
- 2L of water
- 160g of honey
- Everything bagel topping:
- 40g of white, unroasted sesame seeds
- 40g of black sesame seeds
- 15g of dried, minced onions
- 7g of dried minced garlic
- 30g of poppy seeds
- 10g of sea salt flakes (Maldon salt is perfect for this)
- Supplies:
- Stand mixer
- Two half sheets and a silpat
- - Make the sponge. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk manually together 300g of all purpose flour, 300g of lukewarm water and 5g of instant yeast.*
- - Cover it with a wet cloth or plastic wrap and place it in the oven (OFF) with just the light on, for 2 hours. If you cant use your oven, just leave it in a warm place.
- - Once you have your sponge, add all the other ingredients for the dough, inside the bowl of the stand mixer. While using the dough hook attachment, let it run on level 5 for 15minutes. At this point the stand mixer might get a little warm depending on which one you have, it's ok... I usually use a gel ice pack and leave it on top. Not sure if that's recommended but it's working for me.
- - In a medium size sauce pan, start boiling all the ingredients for the syrup.
- - Start preparing your topping! Mix in a bowl all the ingredients for the everything bagel seasoning and pour it in a plate.
- - Pre-heat oven at 450F. Line one of the baking sheet with the silpat, and place it on top of the other.
- - 15 minutes later.... Scrape all the dough from the bowl and let it drop on a very floured surface. Split the dough in 12 balls of about 90g each (this doesn't have to be an exact science, have fun with it and let loose).
- - Let the balls under a damp cloth or a plastic wrap so they don't dry. Working with very floured hands, shape one (or two) bagels at the time - by first deflating the air in the dough and making a big snake with you hand. At some point, using both hands, thin out the tips on each sides like if you were making a baguette. Take one end of the snake and place it on top of the other. Press with the palm of your hand to merge the two ends and shape your bagel. The bagel is basically wrapped around your hand.
- - Drop the uncooked bagel in the boiling syrup. Let it boil 1 minutes on each side.
- - From the syrup, drop your bagel on the plate where's the topping. Swirl it around and cover it up before putting it to rest on the silpat.
- - Repeat the last few steps until you're done with all your bagels. Don't waste too much time, making bagels has to be done decently fast so the dough doesn't puff too much. This is also better to make only one of two at the time so you can deflate the dough before shaping it and boiling it.
- - By the time you're done the last bagel, the first one had enough time to rest. I usually wait an extra 5 minutes and then put them in the oven.
- - Bake for a total time 40minutes... here's the breakdown: 10mins -> rotate the pan + 10mins -> rotate bagels and put the pan back in the same direction as before + 10mins -> rotate the pan + 10mins.
- - Cool down on a rack before cutting. Can be frozen for later and they are amazing toasted as well.
- * If you're using active dried yeast, proof the yeast first, in the lukewarm water 10-15 minutes before adding your flour.
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