Printed at the current scale: 12 bagels · about 1.5 kg · Grams Only · A4 or Letter, one page where it fits

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New York Bagels

12 bagels · about 1.5 kg

Sponge

  • ≈ 4 ginstant yeast
  • ≈ 480 gunbleached high-gluten flour
  • ≈ 590 gwater, at room temperature

Dough

  • ≈ 2 ginstant yeast
  • ≈ 450 gunbleached high-gluten flour
  • ≈ 16 gsalt
  • ≈ 6 gmalt powder

Shaping and Overnight Retard

  • spray oil, to taste

Boiling and Baking

  • sesame seeds, to taste
  • poppy seeds, to taste
  • kosher salt, to taste
  • ≈ 14 gbaking soda
  • ≈ 42 to 63 gbarley malt syrup, for the water
  • cornmeal or semolina, for dusting, to taste
  1. Sponge Stir 4 g instant yeast into 480 g unbleached high-gluten flour in a large bowl. Add 590 g water, at room temperature and whisk or stir only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter, like pancake batter.
  2. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for about 2 h.
  3. Dough Stir 2 g instant yeast into the sponge. Add 360 g unbleached high-gluten flour with 16 g salt and 6 g malt powder, and stir, or mix on low speed with the dough hook, until it forms a ball. Work in 90 g unbleached high-gluten flour gradually to stiffen the dough. 5 min
  4. Knead on the counter for at least 10 min, or for 6 min in the mixer. If it tears and feels dry, add a few drops of water; if it is tacky, add a little flour. 26 °C
  5. Straight away, divide the dough into 12 pieces of about four and a half ounces each and form each into a smooth roll. Cover with a damp towel and rest for about 20 min.
  6. Shaping and Overnight Retard Line two sheet pans with parchment and mist them lightly with spray oil.
  7. Poke a hole through the middle of each ball and gently rotate your thumb inside it to widen the hole to about 6.5 cm (2 ½ in), stretching the ring as evenly as you can. Or roll each piece into a 20 cm (7 ¾ in) rope, wrap it around your hand with the ends overlapping in your palm, and roll the join on the counter to seal it. 10 min
  8. Set the bagels 5 cm (2 in) apart on the pans, mist them lightly with oil, slip each pan into a food-safe plastic bag or cover loosely, and leave at room temperature for about 20 min.
  9. Drop one bagel into a bowl of cool water. If it floats within about 10 s, pat it dry, return it to the pan and refrigerate the bagels overnight. If it sinks, keep proofing at room temperature and test again every 10 min to 20 min. 4 °C
  10. Boiling and Baking Heat the oven to 260 °C with two racks in the middle. Bring a large, wide pot of water to the boil and add 14 g baking soda and 42 to 63 g barley malt syrup, for the water, if using. 20 min to 30 min
  11. Take the bagels straight from the fridge and drop as many as fit comfortably into the boiling water. Boil for 1 min, flip and boil 1 min more, or 2 min a side for a chewier bagel. Lift them out with a skimmer. 100 °C
  12. Sprinkle the parchment with cornmeal or semolina, for dusting. Set the bagels back on the pans and top them straight away, while still wet, with sesame seeds, poppy seeds or kosher salt if you like.
  13. Bake for 5 min, then rotate the pans: swap shelves and turn each pan around. 260 °C
  14. Lower the oven to 232 °C and bake for about 5 min more, until light golden brown, or longer if you like them darker.
  15. Cool on a rack for at least 15 min before serving.