Ring-shaped, boiled and baked Polish bread.
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When I think about New York’s Finest, I don’t think about the Men and Women in Blue first, I think of a bagel. A round little bread roll, with a hole. It looks like a doughnut but the taste is a bitter disappointment if you were expecting a ultra sweet, light little roll, and instead, you get a rich, bread-like bun. But bliss, if you aimed for one, and you dress it up ‘au classique’, with cream cheese, smoked salmon and onion.
This is New York bagel because of the addition of salt in the recipe. The Montreal-style version does not have salt, and the East Coast bagel has sour-dough as an addition. You guessed it: I have a recipe. You can make this at home. This is not the easiest thing to do, and it is pretty time consuming. But golly, it is so rewarding to have a cooling rack with 9 shiny bagels, all happy, waiting for you to eat them.
Non-Diastatic Malt Powder
Non-diastatic malt powder is used for the poaching, and gives the sticky surface and gorgeous shine. For bread and bagels, malt is the key. It is a sweet derivative of roasted barley. Non-diastatic malt is used primarily in yeast-leavened bakery products. It functions as food for the yeast, adding flavor, sweetness and crust color to loaves. But please mind: non-diastatic malt powder is not the same as the diastatic malt powder. Be careful which one you place in your basket.
This was the breakfast of choice during many of my American adventures. A hot bagel with American cream cheese and a gallon of piping hot, black coffee: the perfect way to get you started and prepared for another section of the road trip.
New York Bagels
Ingredients
- 500 grams All-purpose flour
- 300 milliliter Water
- 25 grams Butter
- 20 grams Sugar
- 10 grams Salt
- 10 grams Yeast
- 1 Egg
- 1 tbsp non-diastatic malt powder (If available, for poaching)
Instructions
Utensils
- Large bowl (3 liters)
- Measuring cup, scale, small bowls
- Dough scraper, dough cutter
- Clean film, towel or lid cover for bowl
- Baking sheet
- Pan, skimmer
- Baking parchment paper
Preparation
- We start off by adding the flour, water, and the salt and yeast (each on their side of the bowl), the malt powder, egg and sugar into the bowl. Mix until all is incorporated. Add the soft butter in little pieces. This dough will be sticky, because of the egg and butter. Don’t worry, it will all come together (literally and figuratively) in the end.
- If you don’t have non-diastatic malt powder, it doesn’t matter. As opposed to diastatic malt powder, non-diastatic malt is a sweetener, gives a delicate non-sugary sweetness to your bakes, and in this recipe, adding the 3 tablespoons to the cooking water (as noted further down) gives the bagels their distinctive gloss. Without, they will also work.
Kneading
- Knead for about 7 to 10 minutes, until the dough changes consistency: it will become smooth and soft. When you pinch and pull a corner of the dough, you should be able to form a thin window, without the dough ripping up. If it tears up easily, knead a bit longer.
First proofing
- Grease your bowl and place the dough in it; cover and let it rise for about an hour until it has doubled in size. This depends on the temperature of the water, your kitchen and your hands. It might be less, it might be more.
Shaping and poaching
- Dust your kitchen top with flour and carefully flick the dough out of the bowl. Using the dough cutter, cut it in 9 equal pieces of roughly 100 grams. If you want to be precise –like me– use a scale. Cover them with a towel and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
- Cupping the individual pieces between your hand and the kitchen counter, make circular movements with your hand. The dough will roll over the counter top and form a nice ball. Pick a clean and clear section of the counter top, as you need friction to do this. Flatten the balls and push a hole in the dough with one finger.
- Carefully stretch the dough with your finger, or use both your hands to widen the hole. Don’t be afraid the hole will be too big: in the proofing and cooking of the dough, it will expand considerably, so the hole will get a bit smaller. Place the bagels on a dusted part of your counter top, otherwise they will stick and lose their shape.
- The more careful and precise you are in this step, the better your bagels will look. Every little imperfection will be visible once you cook and bake the bagels. A smooth, perfectly round result is worth it.
- Repeat for the other 8 balls of dough, and proof for 30 minutes under a towel. Towards the end of the proofing period, put on a pan of water and if available, use the non-diastatic malt powder for the shine. Preheat the oven to 200°C or 400°F.
- One by one, lower the bagels in the boiling water with your skimmer. Poach for 1,5 minutes on one side and flick over, and leave for another 1,5 minutes. When done, leave to dry on a cooling rack. Repeat for the remaining 8.
- Whisk up the egg, and brush it on all of the donuts. Don’t be too rough, you will see the marks on the bagels if you do. If you want, you can dress with sesame seeds, poppy seeds or crushed seeds now
Baking
- Line a baking sheet with baking parchment paper.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until deep golden brown. Place them on a cooling rack immediately.