The NY Style Bagel is the original bagel found in the United States, originating from the Jewish community of New York City, and its roots can be traced back to the bagels made by Ashkenazi Jews of Poland.
Although various cities around the world have their own distinct styles of baking and serving bagels, the concept of the bagel was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York.
A NY Style bagel is typically larger and thicker than an industrial bagel or a Montreal-style wood-fired bagel.
When Jewish refugees from Poland and Eastern Europe arrived en masse in New York City in the 1800s, they brought with them traditional foods such as challah, brisket, knishes and bagels.
Bagels became so popular within New York’s Jewish community that unions were formed to represent the city’s bagel bakers, such as “Bagel Bakers Local 338“, which in the early 1910s represented over 300 bagel craftsmen in Manhattan.
Starting in the 1960s, the popularity of the New York-style bagel began to grow among the non-Jewish population of New York City and beyond.
A New York-style bagel is always boiled in water and has malt syrup added to give it the characteristic flavor, texture and chewy crust.
It is never toasted.
Bagels are traditionally topped with: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried onion or garlic, or left plain or brushed with a beaten egg.
My version is gluten-free using a mix of rice and corn flour and filled with smoked salmon and schmear.
New York City’s Jewish community created the bagel with smoked salmon and schmear in the 1930s as a kosher adaptation of eggs Benedict, which Jews could not eat because it includes pork and dairy together.
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 25 Minutes
- Cooking methods: Oven, Boiling
- Cuisine: American
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 cups rice flour
- 3/4 cup corn flour
- 1 packet (≈2 tsp / 6 g) active dry yeast
- 4 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp malt syrup (or maple syrup)
- to taste sesame seeds (white and black)
- to taste smoked salmon
- to taste schmear (cream cheese (spreadable))
Steps
Combine the yeast with the sugar and 1/2 cup warm water.
Mix the flours, add the salt and the yeast mixture. Finally add 3/4 cup hot water and 2 tablespoons malt syrup.
Let rise in an oiled bowl for 1 hour.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces, shape each piece by rolling it like a sausage and joining the two ends to form a ring.
Place on a baking sheet.
When the water is boiling, add 2 tablespoons malt syrup and place the bagels in groups of three into the boiling water.
Wait 10 minutes, until they rise to the surface, then use a slotted spoon to transfer them to an oiled baking tray.
Top with sesame seeds or other toppings of your choice.
Bake in the oven at 428°F for 25 minutes.
Once cooled, slice in half and fill with cream cheese and smoked salmon.
