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Montreal Bagels
From Dorothy McNett's recipes at www.dorothymcnett.com. Montreal style bagels differ from other bagels such as New York style, etc. in that the dough is made with both eggs and honey in it and then they are boiled in a honey sweetened water bath and then baked in a wood-burning stove. But they can also be baked in a regular oven if you do not have a wood-burning oven outside! This makes about 18 bagels!
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 1/2 teaspoons active yeast
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
5 cups (more or less) unbleached alll purpose flour
1/2 - 1 cup poppy seeds, or sesame seeds for coating
8 - 10 cups hot water
1/2 cup honey
Put the warm water (not hot!) into a batter bowl and then stir in the yeast and set aside about 5 minutes, then whisk in the egg, egg yolk, honey, oil and salt. Stir in 1 cup of flour at a time to make a stiff dough and then dump it out onto a work surface and hand knead for several minutes to develop a firm stiff but slightly elastic dough, working in more flour as needed to keep it from being "sticky". Cover with a clean dry towel and let sit until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour or more. In meantime, place the poppy or sesame seeds (or a combination) on a flat plate and set aside. Combine the water and 1/2 cup honey in a large stock pot. When the dough has doubled in bulk, punch it down and turn it onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into about 18 pieces. Let sit for about 15 minutes.
Heat the water and honey and bring to a boil. Roll out each dough piece to about 8 - 10 inches long. Bring the two ends of each piece together and pinch and twist them to make a circle. Place aside on a clean kitchen towel while making the remaining circles. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and set 2 baking sheets aside. When water is boiling, drop 3 - 4 bagels in and cook until they float to the surface and then cook about 1 more minute and then transfer to a plate and then coat each one in the seeds and place them on the baking sheets. Repeat, repeat, repeat until all are ready! Bake about 15 - 18 minutes or until they are well browned. Serve hot or room temperature.
Recipe created 2019-05-13.
