The Art of Bagel-Making: Boiled, Baked, and Better for the Planet — Eco-Amical (2024)

FAQs

Why is boiling the bagel first an important step when making bagels? ›

What you're trying to do, by boiling or steaming bagels before baking, is to kill the yeast, so the bagels won't rise in the oven and become puffy, rather than staying rather dense and chewy. You're also adding a very thin coating of sugar—malt, in this case—which gives bagels their distinctive shiny crust.

Unlike the traditional boiling method, Janelle says Einstein has steam injection ovens that simulate the boiling process. “They're steamed for, I'd say, about 30 seconds,” Janelle said.

Presumably, bagels are boiled so that more of the starch will gelatinise, thus producing a thicker crust. The tiny amount of sugar or malt added to the water may aid formation of the crust, but it is not solely or even principally responsible for it.

In order for the bagels to develop that well-browned exterior and slightly dense chewy texture, they must be boiled briefly before baking. This works because the boiling water sets the exterior crust before it hits the oven, preventing the bagels from rising very much, while further developing that browned exterior.

The boiling process gelatinizes the starches on the surface, creating a glossy, crackly crust during baking. Additionally, boiling gives the bagel its characteristic dense interior while maintaining a tender crumb.

Over proofed dough will lose its strength too early and cause the bagels to deflate either during the second rise or while cooking. To correct this, try to find a warm, — not hot — spot to rise your dough.

Customers have also been able to order the breakfast item meat-free or on its own, sans toppings. McDonald's removed its bagel sandwiches from nationwide menus in 2020 when it decided to pare down its offerings — and get rid of all-day breakfast — at the start of the pandemic.

As Jewish refugees from Poland and Eastern Europe began to arrive in New York City en masse in the 1800s, they brought their traditional foods with them such as challah, brisket, knishes, and bagels. For many decades, bagels were little known outside of the Jewish community, where their popularity was widespread.

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By 2014, the bagel brand, which now consisted of Einstein Brothers, Noah's New York Bagels, and Manhattan Bagel, was sold to JAB Holding Company for around $374 million. In 2021, Einstein Bros. merged with fellow JAB brands Panera Bread and Caribou Coffee to form Panera Brands.

Are bagels healthy? ›

You can enjoy practically any bagel in moderation, though whole-grain bagels provide more satiating fiber and protein. That said, bagels can be high in sodium, so make sure you're mindful of the other sources of sodium in your diet when you eat them. Be mindful of portion sizes, since bagels can be large.

The hole in the middle of the bagel allows it to have a larger surface area, making it easier to consistently cook the bagel all the way through. This is important because bagel dough can be incredibly thick, which would make it difficult to know if the center was cooked completely if the hole was not there.

Traditionally, bagels were boiled, but bakers who use the modern method skip this step.

Boiling. Now unlike most bread, bagels are unique because they are boiled before baked in the oven! Add honey and baking soda to the boiling water in a large pot. This will help give the bagels a nice sheen and golden brown color when out of the oven.

BOILING. Add honey and baking soda to boiling water in a large pot. This will help give the bagels a nice sheen and golden brown color when out of the oven. Add a few bagels at a time to the pot, making sure they're not crowded.

When you boil them, they will puff more, and if they are already rather puffy, they overproof in the water bath and then they collapse and get wrinkly. Make sure you bagels aren't proofed to the point where they pass the traditional bread poke test.

As chef Richard Coppedge of the Culinary Institute of America explains, superior bagels are made from shaped dough that's first left to sit in a refrigerator for a couple of days. This process is called retarding because the cooler temperatures slow down the activity of yeast in the dough as it rises.

Bagels taste best when they're warm, as their insides get hard and tough once they've cooled off. Unless you've purchased a fresh-baked bagel - meaning less than six hours old - you'll want to toast your bagel before eating it. Place your bagel in an oven set to 375 °F (191 °C) for 4-5 minutes.