I’ve enjoyed my share of various types of bagels over the years. This traditional bread has many styles. The Montreal version is dense and sweet and brings memories of road trips. In Montreal, we knew that we had to check out the famous Fairmont Bagels. We stopped in on our way home and watched the artisan magic that makes these bagels so amazing. We picked up some for the car ride home, they were still warm and oh so good.
The New York style bagel is quite different. It is big, soft chewy and reminds me of NYC getaway trips with my daughter Brittany. This was our breakfast before starting our days of adventure. It was also on one of these trips that we experienced the wonderful taste of pretzels. It made for a nice snack while we were exploring the city. Soft, chewy, sweet and salty. So here I am trying to combine the best of all worlds, introducing my Pretzel Bagel.
Ingredients
1 cup warm water
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
8 cups water
1/2 cup baking soda (yes this is correct)
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp water
coarse salt and/or sesame seeds (for sprinkling before baking)
Place first 5 ingredients in order in the bread machine pan. Select dough setting. Check the dough after 5 minutes of mixing, add 2-3 tablespoons of water if needed.
When the cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly greased surface. Divide dough into 8 balls. Roll each ball into a 20 inch rope; form each into a pretzel shape.
Preheat oven to 425 F. In a large saucepan bring water and baking soda to a boil. Drop pretzel bagel, 2 at a time for about 15 seconds. Remove and drain on paper towels.
Place pretzels on a parchment lined baking sheet. Egg wash (egg yolk & water) each bagel pretzel top and sprinkle with Kosher salt, sesame seeds or both.
Bake for about 8 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet and bake for another 5 minutes or until the pretzel bagels turn golden brown.
Tips:
If you don’t have a bread machine, mix first 5 ingredients as listed, in a stand mixer. Mix until the dough comes together in a soft ball. Remove the dough and knead for about 5 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for about 30-40 minutes. Continue with dividing, shaping, boiling and baking steps as listed above.
Grease your counter top quickly with a shot of Pam or other aerosol cooking spray. If the dough starts to stick give it another spritz.
I used a 20 inch piece of green masking take on the edge of the counter (see picture above) as a guide when rolling each strand of dough.
