Off the Eaten Path
We Found Out What Actually Makes New York Bagels So Superior
And it's not the tap water...
Photo by Ty Mecham
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7 Comments
Gammy
February 3, 2025
Make bagels from scratch a couple times a year using Stella Park's recipe, (https://www.seriouseats.com/homemade-bagels-recipe). The recipe uses a yukone to stay fresh longer and employs an overnight rise in the fridge. Downside is the recipe only makes 8 bagels in a batch, but the flavor and texture are wonderful and they sure beat most commercial bagels (NYC ones excluded, of course!).
Smaug
February 4, 2025
Looked up the recipe- seems like it could be increased fairly easily, though you might need to run it through the food processor in batches. Eight is generally a pretty good number for items like this to be used up in a reasonable amount of time, but of course it depends on how fast you go through bagels.
A yukone, in case anyone was wondering, is a Japanese thing; it is made by boiling flour to release its starch. Its addition in bread doughs makes for a hard, shiny crust and, according to Ms. Parks, allows the bagels to stay fresh much longer than your average bagel.
A yukone, in case anyone was wondering, is a Japanese thing; it is made by boiling flour to release its starch. Its addition in bread doughs makes for a hard, shiny crust and, according to Ms. Parks, allows the bagels to stay fresh much longer than your average bagel.
Gammy
February 4, 2025
These bagels do stay fresher longer and the yukone may help the crust although I also do the water + barley malt syrup quick boil pre-baking. The biggest drawback for me is the refrigerator space needed for that overnight slow rise. Eight bagels fit nicely on one baking sheet, wouldn't have room for two. (The fresh bagels also freeze very nicely!)
Smaug
February 4, 2025
I love the way recipe writers blithely have us putting trays of stuff in our refrigerators- must be nice having one of those giant commercial units. Could you possibly stack two trays with some spacers- cans, maybe, between them? I know when I do that sort of thing I'm usually piling the trays on top of a pile of assorted groceries, but if you can actually clear off a shelf that might work.
Gammy
February 4, 2025
TBH, I've never tried 2 trays at once. We have a French door fridge and there are split shelves inside. Even so, I usually end up balancing my tray as best I can on the stuff already on that shelf and pray for no earthquakes!
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