Montreal Bagels

Preparation

If you want to start an argument, ask a few Montrealers which is their favorite bagel place. In the city, it’s not hard to find 24-hour bagel shops within a few blocks of each other, their wood-fired ovens churning out hot bagels by the thousands. For this recipe, inspired by a salmon and cream cheese bagel sandwich at Beauty’s Luncheonette, supple rings of lightly sweetened dough are poached in a solution of hot water and barley malt syrup. They’re dipped in your seedy topping of choice and baked, then turned into delicious sandwiches.

*This recipe originally ran in Canada on HexClad.ca.

1. Make the bagels: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, mix warm water, egg yolks, oil, honey, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of the barley malt syrup. Add flour and salt and mix on low speed until dough is smooth and shiny and comes together in a ball, 7 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a large oiled bowl, cover, and let rise 45 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°F. Line a HexClad Hybrid Pizza Steel with parchment paper. In a HexClad 5.5QT Hybrid Deep Sauté Pan, bring the water and the remaining ½ cup/125 milliliters of barley malt syrup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; cover and keep at a low simmer.

3. Meanwhile, divide dough into 10 equal pieces (about 2¾ ounces/80 grams each). Roll each piece into a long (8-inch/20-centimeter) cylinder; overlap its ends and roll to seal them, making a ring. Transfer to the baking steel, spacing about ½ inch/2 centimeters apart. Cover with a damp kitchen towel; let rise 15 minutes. Pour desired topping onto a large plate.

4. Working in batches of 3 or 4, carefully drop bagels into simmering liquid. Poach 1 minute per side, then remove with a slotted spoon or spider. Dip one side of each bagel in the topping and return bagels to baking steel, topped side up.

5. Bake bagels until tops and bottoms are golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes, tenting with foil during the last 10 minutes if needed to prevent topping from overbrowning.

6. To make sandwiches, optional: Slice 4 cooled bagels in half. Spread each bagel bottom with 2 tablespoons of cream cheese and drape with smoked salmon. Add tomato and red onion slices and season with salt and pepper. Add bagel tops and serve immediately. Any leftover bagels can be cut in half and frozen, to be toasted as needed

Note: To make your own everything (aka “all dressed”) bagel seasoning, combine 4 tablespoons each of garlic flakes, onion flakes, poppy seeds and sesame seeds with 2 teaspoons caraway seeds and 1 teaspoon coarse salt.