Homemade bagels

[GregR]

so I was sitting around today nursing a slight hangover from the toots and the maytals concert last night and was watching "how it's made" when they had a segment on bagels. I was watching and thinking to myself I can do that and a bagel would be mighty tasty right about now.

I was surprised on how easy it actually was and how tasty they were. it was just a plain style recipe and next time I make then I'll be sure to tweak it a little to my liking but man, they were just fun and easy to make. if you like bagels you should really give it a try!

 

[fineexampl]

Awesome to know Toots is still touring! I got to see him about 8-9yrs ago at The Stone Pony here in Jersey and he killed it.

However, i worked for a couple bagel joints back in the day and i'll give you a couple pointers of what i remember. Fresh yeast seemed to be better than dry. After you mix the dough together, let it rest several hours covered with a damp cloth in a warm area. When you roll them out, toss them on a board sprinkled with corn meal and let them proof about 24hrs or overnight before you boil them. Cook them halfway and than flip em for a little while just to finish them off. Even baking is important, so maybe a convection oven? As long as they rest a long time before boiling you should be good. You just want the gluten to relax and it'll give you light fluffy HUGE bagels like here in Jersey or New York. You west coasters just don't get good bagels ...or pork roll.

peace man!

 

[samc]

Awesome to know Toots is still touring! I got to see him about 8-9yrs ago at The Stone Pony here in Jersey and he killed it.

However, i worked for a couple bagel joints back in the day and i'll give you a couple pointers of what i remember. Fresh yeast seemed to be better than dry. After you mix the dough together, let it rest several hours covered with a damp cloth in a warm area. When you roll them out, toss them on a board sprinkled with corn meal and let them proof about 24hrs or overnight before you boil them. Cook them halfway and than flip em for a little while just to finish them off. Even baking is important, so maybe a convection oven? As long as they rest a long time before boiling you should be good. You just want the gluten to relax and it'll give you light fluffy HUGE bagels like here in Jersey or New York. You west coasters just don't get good bagels ...or pork roll.

peace man!

Huge, fluffy, light describes modern crappy bagels. The real old style bagels were small, dense and chewy. There are a few bagels on the west coast that are pretty good. House of Bagels in San Francisco makes a great bagel, the commute for me however is killer. Most modern bagels are stuck in a steam closet or room instead of boiling, it's becoming a lost art.

As I recall there was a good bagel place in Clark, NJ - is that still going?

I make them at home and it's tougher than brewing beer to get a great bagel.

 

[fineexampl]

Huge, fluffy, light describes modern crappy bagels. The real old style bagels were small, dense and chewy. There are a few bagels on the west coast that are pretty good. House of Bagels in San Francisco makes a great bagel, the commute for me however is killer. Most modern bagels are stuck in a steam closet or room instead of boiling, it's becoming a lost art.

As I recall there was a good bagel place in Clark, NJ - is that still going?

I make them at home and it's tougher than brewing beer to get a great bagel.

by big/fluffy i just mean they aren't little hockey pucks. you're right on the chewy though. i've been around the block a time or two with bagels. we get authentic Brooklyn bagels here with imported NYC municipal water. Just like Burton salts make English ales proper outside of England, NYC water makes a bagel cook proper.

and i'm just blabbing along...off to the couch with me.

 

[Beernik]

I keep mine small and chewy. Don't overdue the boil time or they are bulletproof.

 

[bmsteele]

Love me some homemade bagels, thanks for the great pointers fineexampl.

Any tips on forming the bagels? Mine always come out... kind of off? I always have a lopsided form. One side is always way thicker than the other and my "seam" is never pretty. Sometimes it likes to come apart when boiling, hah.

 

[JOHN51277]

Awesome to know Toots is still touring! I got to see him about 8-9yrs ago at The Stone Pony here in Jersey and he killed it.

...or pork roll.

peace man!

MMMMMMM, with some ketchup on that sucker! Hell yeah. Taylor Ham, egg and cheese!!! FTW

 

[RIBeer]

Holy crap - Taylor Ham was a breakfast staple growing up in NY, but was impossible to find here in RI. Local family owned grocery store just started carrying it - gonna do a number on my cholesterol levels, I'm sure! My girls love it too, but SWMBO just doesn't get it. Poor girl.

 

[pnj]

I love me some bagels.

These things don't last more then 24 hours...

 

[drez77]

This thread has inspired me to try and make these!

 

[GregR]

This thread has inspired me to try and make these!

do it! it's a lot of fun and my batch only lasted until today with only me eating them.

 

[k47k]

a few tips ive come up with

1. age the dough... the longer you keep it in the fridge the better it taste (imo). mix ingredients and yeast cold and store in the fridge at least 24 hours.

2. use king arthur "sir lancelot" flour or other high protein flour. Ive used the regular king arthur bread flour with good success too.

 

[Freezeblade]

I've also found that aging the dough is great, but I do it post-shaping. A long overnight rise in the fridge post-shaping, then in the morning they get pulled out at room temp when the boiling water first goes on the stove.

Also, +1 to high-gluten flour

 

[Dwain]

OK, I'm in. PNJ, those look great. Did I miss the recipe somewhere? - Dwain

 

[juvinious]

Here is a very easy recipe.

I use it in a pinch every once and a while now since it's sooo easy and quick. I prefer doing sourdough bagels like this, but it does take time and a sourdough culture.

Here is a pic of my recent ones I did tuesday:

 

[brewmonk]

yes, shape THEN age (but not in the fridge, real NYC bagels are proofed in a slightly humid 'warm room' [basically a cool-ish oven] at about 100F? 3-4 hours maybe?). yeah,yeah, i worked for a place.

if'n the west coasters want a hockey puck, then make whole wheat pucks.

and YES they DO last longer than 24 hrs!!! if you don't eat them all, they last, um, like a really long, um - well I *THINK* they would last longer than that!

hint= out of the oven, cut, cheeze, sit 1 minute, houdini in 10 seconds.

RANT: and where the *H3LL* is the kosher salt on these things? doesn't ANYONE remember hot pretzels? (done).


====

edit: p.s. J. those sourdough look Phem-in-im-e-NOM-inal!

 

[Freezeblade]

yes, shape THEN age (but not in the fridge, real NYC bagels are proofed in a slightly humid 'warm room' [basically a cool-ish oven] at about 100F? 3-4 hours maybe?). yeah,yeah, i worked for a place.

When I'm doing sourdough bagels (which really is most of the time) I tend to actually stick them in the oven with an ice pack on a rack above them to proof overnight. the super-long rise really helps bring out some awesome flavors. I don't think I ever do dough recipes that are start to finish less than 12 hours, even sweet breads.

 

[brewmonk]

huh, maybe, then, the oven proofing is just to speed up the process and make some money on it.

 

[Steelers77]

This is a great thread. I've been dabbling in bread baking for about 5 years now. If you want nice step-by-step instructions check out this site: http://www.artisanbreadbaking.com/breads/bagels/bagels.htm
I've spoken to Barry many times via email and he is extremely helpful and knowledgeable when it comes to making bread. Also, check out any of Peter Reinhart's books, they are the best of the best IMO when it comes to learning how to bake.
Cheers!

 

[brewt00l]

This is a great thread. I've been dabbling in bread baking for about 5 years now. If you want nice step-by-step instructions check out this site: http://www.artisanbreadbaking.com/breads/bagels/bagels.htm
I've spoken to Barry many times via email and he is extremely helpful and knowledgeable when it comes to making bread. Also, check out any of Peter Reinhart's books, they are the best of the best IMO when it comes to learning how to bake.
Cheers!

I use the recipe and technique from Reinhart's book....they come out phenomenal. People have actually asked me to sell them a batch of bagles after trying them