Ingredients
Dough
- 700 gstrong white flour
- 250 mlwarm water
- 2eggs
- 60 mloil
- 60 ghoney
- 7 ginstant yeast
- 1 tspmalt syrup, optional
Note
- no salt in the dough
Boiling water
- 4 litreswater
- 150 ghoney
To finish
- 200 gsesame seeds, or poppy seeds
Equipment
- a very hot oven, ideally with a stone
- a wooden board
Directions
- Mix the flour, yeast, honey, eggs, oil and warm water into a firm dough. Knead it hard for 12 minutes. This is a stiff, low-hydration dough and it takes real work.
- Knead it properly and expect it to be tough going. A slack, easy dough gives a soft bagel rather than the dense chewy one you want.
- Prove for 1 hour 30 minutes until roughly doubled. Divide into 12 pieces of about 90 g each. Roll each piece into a rope about 25 cm long, tapering slightly at the ends. Wrap the rope around your palm, overlap the ends across your palm, and roll the join on the board to seal it.
- Seal the join firmly by rolling it, because a bagel that comes apart in the boiling water is unrecoverable. Make the hole much larger than looks right, at least 4 cm across.
- Rest the shaped bagels 20 minutes on a floured board. Bring the water to a rolling boil and stir in the honey. Boil the bagels 45 seconds to a minute a side, no longer. Keep the boil short. A long boil gives a thick gummy skin, and Montreal bagels have a thin crisp one.
- Lift them out and press each one, both sides, straight into a tray of sesame seeds. Coat them heavily and immediately, while the surface is still wet, or the seeds will not stick. Bake at 250°C (480°F) or as hot as your oven goes, on a stone, for 15 to 18 minutes.
- Turn them once during the bake so both sides colour, which is what the wood-oven bakers do with their long paddles. They should come out deep golden with dark blistered spots, not pale.
Technique
- They are noticeably sweeter and denser than New York bagels, and lighter and smaller too.
- They freeze well and are refreshed in a hot oven for a few minutes.
- The wood oven is genuinely part of the flavour and a home oven gets close but not all the way.
Substitutions
- Malt syrup or barley malt in place of some honey in the dough.
- Poppy seeds, which are the other standard coating.
Variations
- Poppy seed, which is the second classic.
- All-dressed, with several seed types.
- Eaten with cream cheese and smoked salmon, or plain and warm.
History
Hand-rolled, boiled in honey water and baked in wood ovens; Fairmount and St-Viateur bakeries were founded by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.
Frequently asked questions
What is Montreal-style bagel?
Montreal-style bagel is a bread & pastry from Canada: wood-fired, sweeter, denser bagel boiled in honey water. Hand-rolled, boiled in honey water and baked in wood ovens; Fairmount and St-Viateur bakeries were founded by Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe.
How long does Montreal-style bagel take to make?
Montreal-style bagel takes 40 min plus 2 hr rising of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 12 bagels. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Montreal-style bagel?
Yes, within limits. Malt syrup or barley malt in place of some honey in the dough. Poppy seeds, which are the other standard coating.
What is the most important thing to get right in Montreal-style bagel?
Knead it properly and expect it to be tough going. A slack, easy dough gives a soft bagel rather than the dense chewy one you want.
