Montreal Bagels

In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine water, yeast, sugar and salt. Add whole egg, egg yolk, oil and honey, and mix well.

Add 5 cups of bread flour and slowly combine. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface or use a stand mixer, and knead until smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes). Add more flour as needed to prevent dough from getting too sticky (for me, I only needed another 1/2 cup). Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, and cover. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes (see note below).

To a large Dutch oven, add 3 quarts (12 cups) of water and malt syrup and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

Divide dough into 16-18 equal portions. Shape into bagels by elongating each portion into an 8 to 10 inch coil. Fold ends over each other, pressing with the palm of one hand and rolling back and forth gently to seal (Note: This step is important to lock the ends together and must be done properly so the bagels don’t open while being boiled.) Place bagels onto a towel-lined baking sheet and let rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450ºF degrees, and place one of the racks on the bottom. Bring the water to a boil.

Fill bowls with your seeds of choice (I had three bowls: one with sesame seeds, one with poppy seeds and one with everything bagel topping.) Place a tea towel on the counter beside the boiling water.

Once the water is boiling, using a slotted spoon, add 3 bagels to the water at a time. As they rise to the surface, turn them over, and let them boil an additional minute before removing them, placing them on a tea towel to remove excess water, and quickly dipping them into a bowl of the seeds (For poppyseed bagels, traditionally only one side is seeded). Place seeded bagels directly onto a baking sheet (do not use parchment paper unless it is oven safe at 450ºF) and set aside. Continue boiling the bagels in batches of three until all have been boiled and seeded.

Place baking sheets onto the lowest rack of oven and bake until they are medium brown, about 20–22 minutes.

Remove from the oven. Once cooled, bagels can be sliced and slathered with cream cheese. Leftover bagels can be placed in a plastic bag, sealed and frozen.

Notes: If not using the dough immediately, refrigerate it for up to 24 hours after it has been kneaded. When ready to use dough, allow it to return to room temperature for an hour before cutting and rolling into bagels.

Recipe adapted from The New York Times.