RECIPE: At home with egg bagels
Few foods are closer to a New Yorker’s heart than bagels. Like most regionally iconic foods, bagels inspire heated debate over what marks as truly excellent; is it the New York water? Is it generations of know-how? Some mixture of the two?
In future columns, we can iron out the nostalgia and folklore that inspire the water opinion, but for now, it will suffice to say you can make an excellent bagel in at home with whatever potable water you have on hand.
For inspiration, we’re adapting a recipe from Dale Donchey, the founder-owner of Spiller Park Coffee, who makes remarkably good bagels for his pop-up Dear Friend, Bagels. Inspired by both his Jewish heritage and a keen interest in quality sourcing, one of Dale’s most popular offerings, the egg bagel, blends the bagel traditions of Montreal and New York. Dale’s egg bagel belongs to neither city but offers the best of both: It is light and fluffy with a perfect chew.
The dough is simple to throw together, fun to shape, and the results are highly rewarding. Remember rolling play dough into logs as a kid? Same process here. Two notes: Don’t skip the boiling process and be sure to use high-protein bread flour to achieve the pleasant chew that marks a great bagel. Otherwise, you’ll just end up with a roll.
- 7 ¼ cups (903 grams) bread flour
- 4 large eggs (270 grams)
- 1 cup (250 grams) water
- ½ cup (99 grams) sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoon (27 grams) salt
- ½ packet (4 grams) instant yeast
- ¼ cup (85 grams) honey for boiling
- Sesame seeds, for topping
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook , combine bread flour, eggs and water on low speed just until the dough is combined and no dry bits of flour remain. Cover bowl with a clean tea towel and let rest 20 minutes.
- Add sugar, salt and yeast to the mixture and combine on medium-high speed 6 minutes, until dough is smooth, bouncy and pulls back if you give it a gentle tug. Cover dough with a tea towel and let rest 1 hour. The dough may rise a bit, but will not double in size.
- Line a sheet tray with parchment paper.
- Turn the dough out on a very lightly floured surface. Portion into 12 even pieces (120 grams). Use a firm hand to roll each piece into a 10-inch log. Wrap log around your hand so each end overlaps in your palm. Roll the ends together on the table to make something resembling the letter O. Place on sheet tray and repeat with the remaining pieces. Cover the bagels with a tea towel, and refrigerate at least 8 hours but preferably 15.
- Heat oven to 450 degrees. Line a sheet tray with parchment paper. Bring a 6-quart pot of water and ¼ cup honey to a boil.
- Working 2 at a time, boil each bagel 90 seconds on each side, gently turning with tongs or a slotted spoon, then place on a sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining bagels. Bagels will look shiny and will be a little slippery.
- If topping with sesame seeds, pour them into a shallow bowl. Dunk one side of bagel into the seeds to coat evenly. Return to sheet pan and repeat with remaining bagels.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. Makes 12 bagels.
Nutritional information
Per serving: Per bagel: 356 calories (percent of calories from fat, 8), 12 grams protein, 69 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 3 grams total fat (1 gram saturated), 62 milligrams cholesterol, 868 milligrams sodium.— Adapted from a recipe by Dale Donchey of Spiller Park Coffee and Dear Friend, Bagels.
Chris Wilkins has been a professional baker for 12 years. He is a two-time James Beard Award nominee and the founder and co-owner of Root Baking Co. and Pizza Jeans. Submit your baking questions to bakebetterajc@gmail.com.
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