New York Bagels
Description:
The history of bagels originated well before their arrival in the United States. Originally, bagels were created in 17th century Poland as a response to anti-semetic laws against Jews baking bread. Since bagels are boiled before baking, Polish Jews of the time were able to circumvent these laws. Bagels are believed to have arrived in New York City in the late 19th century, along with Jewish immigrants to the city. Bagels grew in popularity in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood, which was populated primarily by Jewish immigrants from Poland, who brought their bagel-making traditions along with them to America. By the 1960’s, bagels began to move outside of New York City to the American mainstream, with some of the more iconic variations being plain, blueberry, cinnamon-raisin, poppy seed and everything bagel. Bagels are most commonly eaten smeared with cream cheese, and occasionally butter, or are utilized as the bread component of a breakfast sandwich. Today, it is nearly impossible to find an American city that does not have at least one bagel shop or grocery store without bagels on the shelf.
Ingredients:
(Makes 8 bagels)
5 cups bread flour (625 g)
1.5 cups water (362 ml)
3.5 tsp salt (12.5 g)
1.25 tbsp sugar (19 g)
1.5 tsp active dry yeast (5g)
To Boil
2 tbsp malted barley syrup, molasses or honey (60 g)
6 cups of water (1,420 ml)
Cinnamon Raisin Bagel Variation
1/2 cup raisins (100 g) soaked in water for 30 minutes
2 tsp ground cinnamon (5 g)
Swap the sugar from the original dough recipe with equal parts brown sugar (optional)
Optional Toppings for Plain Bagels
Sesame seeds
Poppy seeds
Everything bagel:
Equal parts granulated garlic, granulated onion, flaky salt, poppy seeds and sesame seeds
Preparation:
Mix all of the dough ingredients in a large bowl until combined and there are no dry spots. Cover and let rest 30 minutes. Using a wet hand, stretch and fold the dough over itself and let rest 30 minutes. Repeat this process one more time - the dough should be smooth and strong after the last stretch and fold. Let the dough rest another 30 minutes.
After this step, if you are making the cinnamon raisin bagels, flatten the dough into a rough rectangle and evenly distribute half of the drained raisins and cinnamon. Fold the dough over itself, flatten and repeat with the remaining raisins and cinnamon. Let rest for 15 minutes, then shape into a ball and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
For both plain and cinnamon raisin dough, after letting the dough rest at room temperature for 1 hour, divide into 8 even dough balls. Each ball should way roughly 125 g each. Cover and allow them to rest for 30 minutes.
To form the bagels, there are two methods you can use. The first method is to poke a hole through the dough ball and use your hands to open it up through the center. The other method is to fold the ball over itself 3 times to form a log, and then join the ends and use your palm to roll out the bagel through the center. The first method is the easiest, while the second takes a little more work that results in a slightly better end result. Place the formed bagels on a sheet tray and cover with plastic wrap. For best results, refrigerate for 24-36 hours to develop the most flavor.
Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Combine the water and honey in a wide pot and bring to a boil. Add the bagels a few at a time and boil for 30 seconds on each side. Transfer to a wire rack. If you choose to add toppings to the plain bagels, at this point dip the top half of the bagel in the topping mixture of choice to coat evenly. Transfer bagels to a parchment-lined baking tray and bake for around 20 minutes or until the tops of the bagels are golden brown.
Enjoy bagels toasted or un-toasted with cream cheese or butter.
Notes:
For the most precise measurements, use a scale to measure ingredients instead of volumetric measurements.