What makes a good bagel? I think its a hard question to answer because it depends where you live, what style you prefer and even then it’s just personal taste, surely? Yet across the internet the debate rages on about what makes the perfect bagel, arbritary rules for the perfect chew, how  shiny the crust should be and even what PH level water should be used. When I asked online there were still people telling me that it would be impossible to make great bagels at home, here in London, because I didn't have access to New York water. Now look, I love bagels and I love New York but I refuse to believe that to make great bagels I have to jump on a plane and fill up a bottle with a couple litres of water somewhere in Manhattan or Brooklyn. That also seems to discount any bagels from literally any other city in the world. I think Montreal might have something to say about that.

So what do I think makes a good bagel, what is my personal preference. The crust should have a bit of a shine, be chewy with an almost crisp texture when you bite into it and the interior should be denser than regular sliced bread but not so much so that its impossible to eat. I also think the dough should have the teensiest hint of sweetness. This to me feels like it is also the idea of a New York bagel, which would make sense as its the place I’ve tried the most bagels.

My method is fairly simple using a low hydration dough made with a relatively low amount of yeast, flavoured with a touch of barley malt syrup (you can use honey or brown sugar too but as malt is traditionally used and as I have it in the cupboard I use that). The sweetness level is low because I don’t want a sweet dough and I don’t want a really strong barley flavour but a hint makes the dough taste right, almost like it was the seasoning. I use cold water for the dough which is kneaded as normal and then immediately portioned and formed into bagels. Once shaped the bagels go into the fridge for about 10 hours. At this point I boil and then bake them. Simple.

The eagle eyed bakers among you will notice there is no traditional second rise and the reason for this is simple. I tested the recipe like a regular bread dough, letting the dough rise before knocking it back and forming in bagels before resting them in the fridge, but when the bagels were boiled they were prone to deflating, looking like sad deflated rubber rings. This happened even when I reduced the period spent in the fridge.  The fridge is used to develop flavour as the dough rests for a long time, maturing and developing more complex flavours. With my final recipe because the bagels go in cold they can stay in there for a relatively long time. If the dough proves at room temperature before being formed into bagels the dough will have warmed up too much, the yeast will be excited and hungry and the formed bagels will rise in the fridge a lot quicker. By starting the dough cold it takes a lot longer before the dough can over proof.

Do you need New York water to make great bagels? No. Do I want to go to New York and see if my recipe is nicer in the states? Absolutely, but for now Ill have to stick to making bagels with boring old London tap water.

New York Bagel Recipe
Makes 8

500g strong white bread flour
10g fine sea salt
4g dried fast action yeast
300ml cold water
2 tsp barley malt syrup
Toppings of choice (sesame seeds, poppy seeds, everything seasoning etc)

To Boil
30g barley malt syrup
1 tbsp baking soda

To make the bagel dough place the flour, yeast and salt into the bowl of an electric stand mixer and with the dough hook attached, mix briefly to combine. Add the barley malt sryup to a jug with the cold water and mix together until dissolved. Pour this mixture into the mixer and on low-medium speed mix to form a shaggy dough. On the same speed continue to knead the dough for about 15-18 minutes or until the dough passes the windowpane test. This dough is a relatively low hydration and stiff dough, so be careful using this on lower quality stand mixers, you dont want to burn out the motor. You can knead this by hand but it will be a workout, it’ll take about 30 minutes of constant kneading. 

Tip the dough out onto the worksurface and divide into equal sized pieces (I weigh the dough for accuracy but you can eyeball this if you prefer). Form each piece of dough into a tight ball and cover with a kitchen towel to prevent the dough from drying out. Working with one piece of dough at a time use a flour dipped finger to poke a hole in the middle of the dough ball and then we need to extend this to between 2-3 inches (depending on the finished look of the bagels you’re going for). My preferred method is to spin it around your finger to start off with, to get the hole started and then, with the bagel ring around the fingers of one hand, I light rub my hands together, gently stretching out the bagel. Rotate the dough around your hand so the ring stays the same thickness all around. When the hole is the desired size place on onto parchment lined baking sheets. The sheets needs to be either coated with a thin layer of cornmeal or lightly sprayed with oil. Wrap the baking sheets with a couple layers of clingfilm and place into the fridge for 10-12 hours.

When I tested this recipe I tried a few different rest periods in the fridge and found 10-12 hours to be the sweet spot. A longer rest makes a lighter, more open, bagel and a shorter rest makes bagels that are a too dense, 10-12 hours gave me that characteristic texture I was looking for. 

When you are almost ready to bake preheat the oven to 200C(390F).

When the bagels are ready fill a large saucepan with water and add the barley malt syrup and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the baking soda and whisk to combine. Take one sheet of bagels out of the fridge and working in batches of 4 cook in the water for a minute per side. Use a large slotted spoon remove from the water, letting as much water drain off as possible, before coating in the topping of your choice, or leaving plain if you prefer. Place the bagels onto a parchment lined baking sheet and set aside until the sheet is full of bagels. 

When coating the bagels there is a couple ways you can do this. Firstly if you add the toppings when the bagels are fresh from the water nothing else is needed to make then stick, the surface of the bagels will be tacky enough. To add the toppings you can either place the different flavours in bowls and add the bagels tossing to coat, which makes a very generous coating. Because of the moisture present it can also make any leftover seeds wet, making them clump together, so this is best if you making a big batch of bagels. My preferred method is to place the bagels on a plate and sprinkle over the toppings, turning over to make sure both sides are coated. This method ensures you only use what you actually need and wastage is kept to a minimum.

Once all the bagels have been boiled bake them in the preheated oven for about 18-22 minutes or until the bagels are golden brown. The darker you take the bagels the firmer the crust will be so bare that in mind when you go to pull them from the oven. Remove the trays from the oven and carefully transfer the bagels to wire racks to cool completely.

Bagels are best served within a couple days but once cooled they freeze wonderfully so I often make a big batch and keep the freezer well stocked.

Everything Bagel Seasoning
2 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
1 tbsp garlic granules 
1 tbsp onion granules 
2 tsp flaked sea salt

Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix together, add to a jar and store until needed. Whilst this is great as a bagel seasoning you can add this to popcorn, sprinkle it over eggs, or just use it as a general seasoning.