The bagels

The ring-shaped sandwiches: the bagels

How to make the most famous ring sandwiches in the world at home

They are well known and, we can say, also a bit 'of fashion, but in fact they sink their story in the Ashkenazi Jewish culture: the bagels.

Carried around the world by Polish Jewish communities, the Balgels have managed to reach and conquer the palates of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Their particularity is certainly that of being boiled before going into the oven. This certainly denotes the origin from Eastern Europe, where other boiled breads are common.

The history of bagels

There are those who imagine that it has a distant relationship with the Apulian taralli, but this is not the case. The bagels are born perhaps before the year one thousand, always traveling with the Ashkenazi Jewish communities during their migrations. However, some more recent and precise dates can be established.
It was in 1610, meanwhile, when written mention of the bagels in the "Community Provisions" of the city of Krakow: these ring-shaped sandwiches were prepared and donated to mothers.
Their characteristic shape recalled the cycle of life, but also had the utility of being able to transport them comfortably, ringed on a ribbon, when there were no disposable bags and boxes.

The recent history of American bagels

The shiny crust sandwiches and the soggy inside crossed the ocean during migratory flows to the United States.
In 1910 three hundred bakers formed a company called Bagel backery Local 388, which began to make the culture of bagels an art that could only be passed down from father to son. However, the bread was made in a completely manual way; only mechanization in the mixing of the dough was introduced in the 1960s.

Easy ingredients

Once it was only flour, baking powder, water and salt; later malt, honey, sometimes even eggs and milk were introduced, but it is no longer a question of original bagels, but of imitations that have little to do with the ancient Ashkenazi bread.

The bagels

For 4 pieces

300 g of type 1 flour (my stone ground)
7 g of salt
14 g of honey
170 g of warm water
2 g of lyophilized brewer's yeast

For the cooking liquid

1.8 l of water
20 g of malt (it is optional)
9 g of bicarbonate
5 g of salt

Instructions

1.Dissolve the yeast with honey in a little water. Mix the flour with the salt and start kneading, first adding the water with the yeast and then the remaining.

2.Work for a long time until the dough is no longer sticky. Grease a bowl well and lay the dough for leavening.

3.To double it happened, deflate it and divide it into 4 parts (the classic bagel is about 113 g before cooking). Make balls rolling the portions of dough on the table, with the hand in a cup just greased with oil.

4.In each ball then make a wide hole with three fingers.

5.Put about 1.8-2 liters of water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Pour in the malt (facultative), salt and bicarbonate. Gently place a bagel in water (if it goes deep it's better!) And cook it for 3 minutes from when it comes to the surface. Then turn it over and cook it for another 2-3 minutes.

6.Meanwhile heat the oven to 250 ° C.

7.Place the boiled bagels on a well-oiled baking tray. Brush them with egg white and decorate them with the seeds or aromas you prefer.

8.Lower the oven to 200 ° C and cook for about 20 minutes, checking the browning.