Jump to recipe

New York Style Bagels

New York Style Bagels

Unfortunately, there aren’t many places in Barcelona where you can buy a half-decent New York style bagel. In this Yankee’s opinion, there are few things in this world which are tastier than a properly toasted everything bagel slathered in cream cheese and topped smoked salmon, capers, scallions, and fresh black pepper.

While this recipe takes time, you can do a double batch and freeze them so that you can have delicious fresh bagels for breakfast for several weeks.

This recipe was adapted from this recipe which has MUCH MORE information about the process. -Will B.

  • 8 bagels
  • 120+ minutes
  • 25 minutes

Ingredients

Convert imperial/metric measurements

  • 2 tsp (6g) active dry yeast OR 15g of fresh yeast
  • 4 ½ tsp (19g) granulated white sugar
  • 1 ¼ cups (300ml) lukewarm water @ 40-46°C; you may need slightly more or less (± 60ml) due to environmental conditions like altitude and humidity
  • 3 ½ cups (440g) bread flour or other high gluten flour; you may an additional ½ cup (60g) for kneading
  • 1 ½ tsp (6g) fine grain sea salt
  • Optional toppings: Caraway seeds, cinnamon sugar, coarse salt, minced fresh garlic, egg, minced fresh onion, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning, or any mix of your favorite flavors

Directions

  1. PROOF THE YEAST FOR 5 MINUTES (If you are using fresh yeast or instant yeast, you can skip the proofing step, and simply combine everything directly) In ½ cup (120ml) of the warm water, pour in the sugar and yeast. Do not stir. Let it sit for 5 minutes, and then stir the yeast and sugar mixture until it all dissolves.
  2. MIX THE DRY INGREDIENTS Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle, then pour in the yeast and sugar mixture (~120ml).
  3. MIX THE DOUGH FOR 5 MINUTES Pour an additional ⅓ cup (80ml) of warm water into the well. Mix by hand, and then stir in the remaining ½ cup (100ml) of water, as needed. You want a homogeneous, moist, and slightly firm dough after you have mixed it. If feels too firm, you may need to add an additional 1-4 tablespoons (1tbs = 15ml) of water so that it does not become dry and flaky when you are kneading it.
  4. KNEAD THE DOUGH FOR 10 MINUTES On a floured counter top, knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic. Gradually work in some of the ½ cup (about 60g) of extra flour until you form a firm and stiff dough.
  5. LET THE DOUGH RISE Lightly brush a large bowl with oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel (or cling film). Let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size. Alternatively, let the dough rise overnight in a refrigerator, then allow it to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before working with it.
  6. PUNCH DOWN THE DOUGH Punch the dough down into the bowl, then let it rest for another 10 minutes.
  7. DIVIDE THE DOUGH INTO 8 ROUNDS Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round. Hold your hand in a “C” shape while cupping a portion of dough, then press the dough against the work surface (remember to avoid flouring it) and move your hand and the dough in a slow, circular motion. Allow the irregular edge of the dough to pull onto itself, while decreasing the pressure on top of the dough slightly until a perfectly smooth round ball forms.
  8. SHAPE THE BAGELS Cut a large sheet of baking parchment into 9 squares, which we will use to place the shaped bagels on. Coat a finger in flour, and gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring, making the hole big enough to fit an egg through, then gently place it on a square of parchment (smooth side up); the hole will shrink as the dough contracts and rises.
  9. REST AND RISE After shaping the bagels, allow to rest for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 220ºC and put a large pot of water on to boil.
  10. BOIL THE BAGELS Bring the water to a simmer. Optionally, you can add a couple of tablespoons (20-50ml) of brown sugar or honey to the water to get shinier and sweeter bagels. Keeping the bagels on the parchment squares, carefully transfer them into the water (the parchment will fall off after a minute and you can fish it out of the pot). Do not overcrowd the pot, boiling only 1-3 at a time. Boil for 1 minute, and then flip them over to boil for another minute. If you’d prefer a chewier bagel, extend the boiling times to 2 minutes on each side.
  11. ADD TOPPINGS If you want to add toppings to your bagels, do so right after you take them out of the water. Optionally, you can also use an egg wash to get the toppings to stick before baking the bagels. Popular toppings include poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coarse salt, onion flakes, garlic powder… or combine them all for an everything bagel. You can either sprinkle toppings on top, or press the boiled bagel onto a plate covered in toppings; the better they stick, the more flavor your bagels will have. Then transfer them to a parchment-lined baking sheet.
  12. BAKE THE BAGELS Bake for 20-25 minutes on a middle rack, or until uniformly golden brown. If you want to freeze them, you can par-bake them until they are a faint gold tinge (about 10-15 minutes), then cool them completely before storing them in a resealable bag to be stored in the freezer. Bake from frozen for an additional 10-15 minutes, until soft and golden brown.
  13. COOL AND EAT Cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, until cool enough to handle. They keep for ~2 days in a sealed bag at room temp. Slice open with a large serrated knife, toast, and serve with your favorite toppings. Some popular toppings are whipped cream cheese, smoked salmon, butter, avocado, fried egg, cheese, and deli meats.

Want to share this recipe?

Check out more recipes