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[a perfect poppy seed bagel
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4.57 from 327 reviews

Overnight Bagel Recipe

Eileen Gray
Chewy, crusty and properly dense, New York style bagels. They rise overnight so you can have fresh bagels for breakfast or brunch. All they need is a schmear of cream cheese.
Prep Time45 minutes
Bake Time25 minutes
Rising Time12 hours
Total Time13 hours 10 minutes
Servings:10 bagels

Ingredients

  • 16 oz warm water (2 cups (about 100°F))
  • ¼ oz instant yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
  • 25 oz bread flour (5 cups, divided, see note)
  • 1 ½ oz barley malt syrup ( 2 tablespoons, see note)
  • 1 tablespoon table salt
  • 2 oz granulated sugar (¼ cup (for boiling))
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda (for boiling)
  • 1 egg white (whisked lightly)
  • Topping (Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, caraway seeds or coarse sea salt)

Instructions

  • In a bowl for a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl combine16 oz warm water, ¼ oz instant yeast and 3 cups (15 oz) of the flour . Mix to form a thick batter. Cover the bowl and set aside for 30-60 minutes.
  • Add 1 ½ oz barley malt syrup and 1 tablespoon table salt. If using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook. Add the remaining flour and mix to combine. Knead 5 minutes on medium/low speed. If working by hand, stir in as much of the flour as you can, then turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in the remaining flour. Knead 5 minutes. Form the dough into a smooth ball.
  • Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, turning once to coat the dough. Cover the bowl and set aside to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  • Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper lightly sprinkled with flour or sprinkle the pan generously with cornmeal. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Divide the dough into 10 even pieces. Use a cupped hand to roll each piece into a smooth, tight ball.
  • To form a bagel, poke your finger all the way through the center of a ball to make a hole. Use two fingers to gently widen the hole. Continue gently stretching to form the bagel or twirl the dough around your fingers to widen the center hole (see photos). The hole should be 1 - 1 ½" wide.
  • Place the bagel on the prepared sheet pan and continue to form the remaining bagels. The dough will probably spring back a bit so you can go back and re-stretch them once you're done forming all the bagels. Cover the pan with lighly oiled plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 15 minutes then place the pan in the refrigerator overnight.
  • In the morning, take the pan out of the refrigerator. The bagels should be noticeably fuller. Leave the tray out until the bagels come to room temperature, about 1 - 1 ½ hours. The time will vary based on the temperature in the room and how much the dough rose in the refrigerator. Once the dough comes to room temperature the bagels are ready to boil.
  • Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 °F. In a large pot combine 1 gallon of water with 2 oz granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons baking soda and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to keep the water at a rolling simmer. Set a cooling rack over a clean sheet pan and place it next to the stove.
  • Lift a bagel off the sheet pan and lower it into the boiling water, bottom side down. Boil the bagels for 30-45 seconds on each side. Depending on the size of your pot, you can boil 3-4 bagels at a time. As you remove the boiled bagels from the water, set them on the cooling rack to drain.
  • Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and generously sprinkle with cornmeal (or flour). Place 5 of the boiled bagels on each sheet pan. You could fit them all on one pan but they may rise enough to stick together as they bake. I like all the sides to be crusty so I leave plenty of room between them.
  • Brush the bagels with egg white. You can leave the bagels plain or add the topping of your choice. To make "everything" bagels combine a tablespoon of each of the seeds & salt with a pinch each of garlic salt and onion powder. Adjust toppings to your taste.
  • Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Notes

If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.
You can use 1 tablespoon molasses plus 1 tablespoon of honey instead of barley syrup.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bagel | Calories: 292kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 923mg | Potassium: 79mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 0.002mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 1mg