Best-of Bagels
This recipe represents a collaborative effort by Post staffers and hobby bakers Alex Baldinger and Becky Krystal, who streamlined and combined methods and ingredients to come up with a bagel-making process that works even for novice home bakers. The result? A chewy bagel with a gorgeously burnished thin and crackly crust.
We recommend using King Arthur Bread Flour, widely available at grocery stores, or King Arthur High-Gluten Flour, which has a bit more protein and is available at kingarthurbaking.com. Using a kitchen scale will yield the best results for measuring the flour.
You'll need a stand mixer (we don't recommend trying to knead this stiff dough by hand) and ideally a pizza stone, though a baking sheet will give you pretty good results. A kitchen scale is useful for portioning the dough. Do not skip the boiling step; if it's not boiled, it's not a bagel.
Make ahead: The rolled and shaped bagels need to rest in the refrigerator for 12 to 18 hours.
Storage: Store tightly wrapped or in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Wrapped in plastic wrap and foil, the bagels can be frozen for up to 1 month. To reheat, place in a 450-degree oven for 6 to 8 minutes. If bagels have been frozen, unwrap and defrost before reheating.
Where to buy: Barley malt syrup can be found in well-stocked supermarkets, natural food markets and online. It's also often sold at brewing supply stores.
Ingredients
For the bagels
- 623 grams (22 ounces; scant 5 cups) bread flour (may substitute high-gluten flour see headnote)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon barley malt syrup (see headnote)
- 2 teaspoons fine salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise active dry yeast, preferably SAF brand
- 337 grams (scant 1 1/2 cups) warm water (80 degrees)
- 3 tablespoons cornmeal, for dusting
For the optional toppings
- Sesame seeds
- Poppy seeds
- Caraway seed
- Dehydrated onion flakes
- Dehydrated garlic flakes
- Flaky sea or kosher salt
Directions
Step 1
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, combine the flour, barley malt syrup and salt. Add the yeast and water and mix on the lowest speed until the dough starts to come together around the dough hook, about 4 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is cohesive, smooth and stiff, 7 to 10 minutes.
Step 2
Dust a large rimmed baking sheet with the cornmeal. Turn the dough out onto a work surface, then divide it into 8 to 9 equal portions (about 4 ounces/115 grams each). Roll the pieces into smooth balls and cover with plastic wrap to rest at room temperature for 5 minutes.
Step 3
Form each dough ball into an 11-inch-long rope by rolling it under your palms. Try to avoid tapering the ends of the rope.
Step 4
Shape each rope into a circle with a diameter of about 4 inches, overlapping the ends by about 1 1/2 inches. Pinch the overlapped areas firmly together, moistening them lightly with water if the ends won't stick. Working with one at a time, place your fingers through each ring of dough; with the pinched-together seam facing down, roll the rope several times, applying firm pressure to seal the seam to form a bagel. Each ring should be about the same thickness all around; if it's not, you can roll it in other places around the ring to even it out.
Step 5
Place the dough rings on the cornmeal-covered baking sheet as you work, spaced 1 to 2 inches apart. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (12 to 18 hours). The rings will have puffed and spread slightly.
Step 6
When you're ready to boil and bake the bagels, place a pizza stone or baking stone, if using, on the middle oven rack. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. (The longer you can preheat, the better; up to 1 hour is great.)
Step 7
Fill a large, wide pot with 3 inches of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Set a wire rack near your work space.
Step 8
Gently slide 3 to 4 dough rings into the boiling water, stirring and briefly submerging them with a metal skimmer or slotted spoon, until very slightly puffed, 30 to 35 seconds. Transfer the dough rings to the wire rack, bottom (flatter) sides down, to drain. Repeat with the remaining rings.
Step 9
If you are using any of the optional toppings, dip the bagels in them while the dough is still wet (see VARIATIONS).
Step 10
If you're baking with the stone, transfer the rings, cornmeal side down, to a sheet of parchment paper on top of a pizza peel or overturned baking sheet. You'll then just slide the parchment with the bagels directly onto the stone. (Depending on the size of the stone or your comfort in sliding off 8 or 9 bagels at a time, you might choose to bake in two batches, which will also help space the bagels out, for better browning on the crust.) If you're not using a stone, transfer the bagels to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Step 11
Bake for 12 to 18 minutes, or until the bagels are a deep golden brown and crisp, rotating the parchment paper or baking sheet halfway through; the baking time will depend on whether you're using a stone and, perhaps, the heat distribution of your oven.
Step 12
Using tongs, transfer the bagels to a wire rack to cool. If you've split the bagels into two batches, slide the second one in and bake.
Step 13
Wait for a few minutes before splitting open the hot bagels.
Variations
For topped bagels, dunk the boiled and drained dough rings (both sides) into 1/2 cup of your favorite toppings (sesame, poppy or caraway seeds; dehydrated onion or garlic flakes; sea or kosher salt, etc.). For an "everything" bagel, combine 2 tablespoons each of sesame and poppy seeds and 1 tablespoon each caraway seeds, sea or kosher salt, dehydrated onion flakes and dehydrated garlic flakes. A glass pie dish is perfect for this task.
