I'm not even a little bit exaggerating when I say that. When I made these and tasted them, I almost couldn't believe it. They tasted just like the bagels I grew up on in New York. Then when I ate one the next day, just as good! I even did you all a huge favor and ate one lightly toasted, medium toasted, heavily toasted. I ate one fresh out of the oven un-toasted! I made breakfast sandwiches with them. I made lunch sandwiches with them.
I wanted to be appropriately thorough before declaring victory on the homemade bagel. It has been a thorn in my side ever since I moved out of NY when I was 18 and went to California. The bagels there are okay, the bagels here in Texas are less-okay. And trust me, we have plenty of "New York Style" bagel shops here. I have tried them all (I like to be thorough). It was disappointment after disappointment.
Chanel and I had even been making this recipe from The Sophisticated Gourmet for the last year, yielding pretty decent results. But something was always off. They were too light. The next day they got sticky. They were too dense. They were still better than Einsteins, but.. not quite right.
Then last week I was listening to NPR and heard a story on the water-bagel connection that has long been the stuff of legend. I knew the water was the perfect pH and softness (or hardness, whichever), but thought testing, filtering and treating my water might be pushing the limits of my dedication. I knew I should be using high-gluten flour. I knew I was supposed to boil them before baking to get the right crust.
Proofing. That was what we had been missing. I didn't know that bagel shops in NY proofed their bagels and then cold retarded them. It was the key. I am telling you. As soon as I heard that in the story, I got on the internet and started researching. I found the two missing keys: I needed to make a sponge then add it to a dough. THEN I needed to let the bagels rise the second time in the fridge (cold retarding).
Supposedly, the serious guys do this for 36 hours. I don't have that kind of patience. So I do it for like 4. I tried to even make it over night the first time, but I couldn't contain my excitement and I cooked them after 4 hours. I can only imagine the potential you could unlock by waiting overnight. I even used the wine fridge instead of the regular fridge so that the temperature would stay as consistent as possible and food smells wouldn't seep into the dough.
When they were done I was so glad I had made these adjustments. It was a total game changer. I highly recommend whipping up an everything bagel topping mix and using that (because its my favorite). I also think these have tasted the best toasted, and trust me on this, just do it, with butter then cream cheese. Just trust me, yes its decadent, but it's without a doubt, the best way to eat a bagel. Aaron takes it up a notch and grills the bagel face-down on the griddle in butter, then tops with cream cheese. Trust me, do it.
New York Bagels
Makes 12 medium or 8 large bagels
Ingredients:
- 2 packets of active dry yeast (4 1/2 tsp)
- 3 tbs. granulated sugar
- 4 cups warm water
- 6 cups bread flour (high-gluten flour)
- 3 tsp. salt
- 1 tbs. baking soda
- Corn meal
- 1 egg
- Everything Topping Mix: 1 tbs. each of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried minced onion, caraway seeds and 2 tsp. coarse salt
MAKE THE SPONGE
In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast and sugar. Stir together gently so they are evenly distributed. Pour 1 cup of warm water (100+ degrees, in my opinion, hot) over the yeast and sugar. Do not stir.
Let the mix sit for 5 minutes, it should be foamy and frothy. If its not, your yeast is bad. Stop and start over.
Stir in 1 cup of bread flour. Slowly add a second cup of flour, a little at a time, until it is the consistency of a thick batter, but not a dough. You may not need the whole second cup (I only needed about 2/3). Put the remaining flour into a separate, large mixing bowl.
MAKE THE DOUGH
In the bowl with the left over flour, add another 3 cups of bread flour and 3 tsp. salt. Mix together and make a well in the middle.
Pour 1 cup of water into the well, pour the sponge on top and mix it all together with your hands.
When its combined, make another well in the middle of the dough, Add the remaining cup of flour and top with half a cup of water.
Mix it well with your hands. You want your dough to be smooth and elastic without being sticky (a tad bit tacky is okay, but you don't want it clinging to your fingers and coming apart). You may need to add more flour if it's too sticky, or more water if its not elastic enough.
When smooth and elastic, form into a large ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let it rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes. This may take more or less time for you, depending on your room temperature and humidity. Make sure its doubled in size, don't worry about the time.
THE COLD RISE
Once the dough is doubled in size, punch it down and knead it for just a few minutes. Using a sharp knife, divide the dough into equal portions (8 or 12 depending on the desired size of bagels). I roll it into a log, then cut it in half, and cut the halves in half, etc.
One at a time, form each portion into a smooth round ball. Firmly push your finger down through the middle of the ball and then gently pull the dough into a ring with your ringers. Stretch the ring as wide as you can without tearing the dough. Place each shaped bagel onto a cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal (I needed two).
Cover the sheets lightly with plastic wrap (you don't want to apply pressure to the dough because it will still be rising, but you don't want it to dry out). Put the cookie sheets into the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
THE BOIL
Fill a large pot 3/4 of the way full with water. Add 1 tbs. salt and bring the water to a boil.
While you wait for the water to boil, preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and then dust with cornmeal. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with some water to make an egg wash. Assemble your desired bagel toppings. Set all aside, close to the stove if you can.
Once its boiling, add the 1 tbs. baking soda. Gently drop two or three bagels, one at a time, into the boiling water. Don't over crowd or they can stick together. Boil for 2 minutes, then using a spoon, flip them over and boil for another 2 minutes on that side.
Remove from the boiling water with a slotted spoon or strainer. Place onto a prepared baking sheet, brush with egg wash and top with your desired toppings. Repeat with remaining bagels.
THE FINISH
Bake for 10 minutes in the middle of the oven, or until golden. I rotated mine halfway to make sure they browned evenly, but every oven is different.
Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.
