Bye gulls!

The title of this post might seem a little odd, but it stems from a discussion I had recently about the correct spelling and pronunciation of bagels. If you live in east London, it’s likely that they’ll be referred to as “beigels”, pronounced ‘bye-gulls’, which is said by locals to be the authentic spelling. “Bagel” (pronounced ‘bay-gull’) is purported, by east Londoners and others, to be an Americanised spelling. However, I have been told by plenty of people in various parts of the UK that they have only ever known this latter spelling. As the original Yiddish word is “beygl”, I reckon that either spelling is fair game. Whatever you call them, bagels have been a bread success story of the 20th century.

Thought to have their origins in Poland in the 1600s, bagels were taken across Europe, to the UK and to the USA by Polish migrants in the late 19th century. Now they are widely available in plain and flavoured varieties – raisin, cinnamon, sesame, poppy seed and onion are probably the most common –­ but all share the dense texture and smooth, chewy crust. Supermarkets give over notable shelf space to them, and a host of outlets have sprung up that toast and fill bagels to order with a wide choice of fillings. The Beigel Bake shop in London’s Brick Lane is a must-do on the tourist attraction lists. People have even gone to the trouble of designing dedicated kitchen gadgetry.

I really enjoy bagels for breakfast and am generally happy to buy the supermarket ones. Having improved my bread-making skills over the past year, however, I thought I would have a go at making them. They hold some mystery because they are boiled before baking, which seems a strange thing to do to bread. This step is, though, remarkably simple and helps to give the exterior it’s slightly leathery finish and beautiful golden colour. I looked around for recipes, which seem to vary quite a lot. Some were rich, including eggs, butter, malt syrup or honey, but some seemed more like straightforward bread recipes. I gather the recipes fall into two main categories in North America: Montreal-style bagels are made from sweet, rich dough and are often flavoured with sesame or poppy seeds, whereas for New York-style bagels the dough is less rich and they have no added flavourings or toppings.

After looking in my store cupboard, I opted for fewer ingredients, thinking that would be simpler. The first couple of attempts, though, were real flops ­– literally! I had the balance of yeast to flour wrong and the dough over-proved, meaning that the bagels completely collapsed during baking. With a bit of tweaking, I came up with a formula that yields consistently good results. I have provided this recipe below along with a tutorial.

You will see that I’ve mentioned the bagels may be kept uncooked in the fridge overnight. The science suggests that this process enables development of long, strongly cross-linked gluten strands without letting the dough over-prove. This is said to improve the texture and flavour of the finished bagels. I have, however, tried my recipe with and without refrigeration, and I didn’t notice much difference, so I would employ this approach for convenience as much as anything else. Convenience is certainly the reason behind the other frequently cited reason for refrigeration, which is that Jews could prepare the bagels before the Sabbath began, avoid partaking in prohibited cooking activities during it, and the bagels would be ready to cook when it was finished. Either way, refrigeration does mean that baking bagels can fit into even tight time schedules, so that makes them a winner for me.

Give them a go.