Well, it wasn’t gonna be fair to do Montreal style bagels and not compare it with its archenemy from NY. So what’s different? Well, I’d like to say EVERYTHING. Ingredient-wise, the Montreal bagel has barley malt and it doesn’t contain any salt. Also, it’s parboiled in water with a sweetener ( honey). The NY bagel is puffier versus its denser friend from Montreal.So which one is better? Personally, I like both. While they are both called bagels, they are a world apart so it really depends on what I’m looking for on that particular day 😉
You need
- 6g active dry yeast
- 500gr bread flour
- 6g salt
- 16g sugar or 8g dry malt
- 300ml warm water ( ~100F )
- 1tbsp baking soda
- 1 egg
Instructions
**If you have a baking steel pre-heat it after the first rise
In a stand mixer bowl, combine the yeast, salt, sugar, and flour, give it a little stir. Over medium-low speed gradually add 90% of the water in. Keep the rest of the water to add if the dough is too dry. The dough texture should moist but firm. If it’s too dry, add some more water. I had about 2 tbsp of water remaining. Let it mix for 2 minutes, basically just to get everything mixed then dump it on a surface and knead it by hand for 7-8 minutes.- It’s time to let the dough take a nap for 75-90 minutes. Either put the dough in an airtight container ( lightly oil the surface before else it will stick) or put the stand mixer bowl on top of the dough.
- After it has rested you need to “punch the dough down”, as the name implies, punch it down but gently, this will release the gasses in the dough.
- Divide the dough into 8 pieces and make a ball with each piece of dough. Use your finger and press in the center of each ball and stretch the hole until it’s a bit over 1″. Cover them with plastic film or a dishcloth and let them take a quick power nap ( 10-20 minutes).
- Pre-heat your oven if not already done to 425F.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the baking soda, and parboil 1 or 2 bagels at a time, about 60 seconds. Flip them halfway and you can also push them back in the water every now and then.
- After you are doing parboiling all the bagels, it’s now time to give them a coating with the eggwash. Simply whisk the egg add a little bit of water (~1 tbsp water) and over the top and side of each bagel. Cover with your favorite seasoning. Lay them on a baking tray covered with parchment paper. I prefer to bake them 4 at a time, for some reason I find they cook better this way.
- Bake them for 15-17 minutes until golden brown. If you use baking steel put the baking tray right on TOP of the steel.
- Let them cool on a wire rack and eat within 3 days. You can freeze those up for about 2 months.
Tip: If you will freeze them, do yourself a favor and pre-cut them before freezing. I personally prefer to not cut them entirely and leave them hanging together by a thread,
