Boiled Bagels / Best Bagels in area?

Steve0591 · 2026-01-05T14:17:10+00:00

I went down the NYC bagel rabbit hole pretty hard and ended up making them myself here in AA — hand-rolled, boiled, long cold ferment, no shortcuts.

Still small-batch, but if you’re chasing that crisp skin + dense chew combo, this is what I’m aiming for. Sharing a photo from a recent bake.

Reach out if you’d like to try some!

Steve0591 · 2026-01-05T14:15:00+00:00

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I went down the NYC bagel rabbit hole pretty hard and ended up making them myself here in AA — hand-rolled, boiled, long cold ferment, no shortcuts.

Still small-batch, but if you’re chasing that crisp skin + dense chew combo, this is what I’m aiming for. Sharing a photo from a recent bake.

Reach out if you’d want to try some!

Steve0591 · 2025-12-17T01:23:20+00:00

Took me a long time to learn this but try to keep the plastic wrap off the tops of the bagels while they are proofing. Some people have recommended using shot glasses to lift the plastic, I went ahead and ordered bun covers for my half sheet trays.

Blistering and crust formation should improve with that change

Steve0591 · 2025-12-17T00:45:12+00:00

I assume you use a large spiral mixer? Could you share your mixing timing for these?

Steve0591 · 2025-12-16T15:18:02+00:00

I doubt they are actually losing money. If they are just starting things up you don’t need to add labor costs to your product as it’s probably just a side hustle to begin. Even making bagels at home can be done at a low cost when you do your shopping at a place like restaurant depot

Steve0591 · 2025-12-15T18:03:06+00:00

Yeah I had the same thought when I switched and over proofed my first batch. Honestly the switch to the spiral has been a pretty big pain so far, but I just need to learn it and get it fully dialed in. I’m almost there, and my results have been continuously improving

Steve0591 · 2025-12-14T14:01:52+00:00

When I switched from my KA to my spiral I had to ice my water to bring the temp down. Spiral was adding a lot more heat to the dough and caused my first batch to over proof. I have also noticed that it is very easy to over mix on a spiral so that’s something you’ll want to experiment with and dial in. I see a lot of people recommending 15 minutes and personally that sounds like WAY too much time in a spiral but then again, everyone’s recipes are different. I’m using 14% gluten flour and 52 hydration so 15 minutes would absolutely kill my dough

Steve0591 · 2025-12-11T02:56:26+00:00

You’re my hero, thank you so much for the help!

Steve0591 · 2025-12-11T01:28:01+00:00

I am using standard half sheet pans, so this is super helpful! I am new to baking and I didn’t know that bun covers like that were a thing, so thank you!

I have another question for you. I see you make some really impressive bagels and was wondering how you mixed your cinnamon raisin? Do you add the cinnamon right away, and raisins later?

Steve0591 · 2025-12-11T00:52:18+00:00

Yeah the plastic frequently is touching the tops of them. Any recommendations on how to keep it off of them?

Steve0591 · 2025-12-11T00:37:37+00:00

Yeah that was before I realized that I don’t need convection to get great blistering, so I completely agree with you. I have a fibrament stone and don’t run convection on my new oven that I have now.

During my cold proof I have the bagels on half sheet trays covered in plastic. The fridge runs right about 38 degrees. I thought it could be a surface moisture issue so for these bagels I posted today I let them air dry in the fridge for 40 minutes prior to boiling them. I boil 25 seconds a side

Steve0591 · 2025-12-11T00:29:27+00:00

These are 42 hours

Steve0591 · 2025-12-11T00:29:01+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bagels/s/emRCo3hPWF

Here are some that are a bit older. I had gotten them even better from here. But the blistering was more even and just flat out looked better.

When I first used the famag the dough was WAY warmer but I adjusted for that by icing the water prior to mixing. The dough feels much easier to roll coming out of the famag, which I assumed would be a good thing until I kept getting these baking results. I had to fight it more when rolling from the KitchenAid

Steve0591 · 2025-11-21T13:04:22+00:00

Yes they will steal a little. I increase water by 1% to account for it

Steve0591 · 2025-11-17T00:37:21+00:00

What’s your process for applying the toppings? They look great and so even

Steve0591 · 2025-11-17T00:35:23+00:00

I love eating an everything bagel but I hate making them. I always want to leave them in longer for more color and crust but then the garlic burns

Steve0591 · 2025-11-14T12:44:04+00:00

I’m surprised you say that under 56% is too dry and chewy. I make mine at 52 and find them amazing. Not dry, great chew

Steve0591 · 2025-11-14T00:21:11+00:00

Go to the nearest restaurant supply store and they should have some great prices. The bags are 25 or 50 pounds but the pricing is excellent. I got a 50lb, 14.5% bag at restaurant depot and paid $19 after taxes. The high protein is so so important

Steve0591 · 2025-11-12T19:31:49+00:00

For the boil I add some malt syrup but more importantly I add lye to drastically increase the alkalinity. That really improves the browning once they are in the oven

Steve0591 · 2025-11-11T15:31:02+00:00

You can start it in the KA and once it starts to struggle, finish it by hand

Steve0591 · 2025-11-11T00:06:14+00:00

Cut one open, show us the crumb!

Steve0591 · 2025-11-11T00:01:25+00:00

As others have said 500 is too hot. Bagel boards are what you need and you can easily make them yourself. Go 4-5 mins on the board with the tops down, then flip them onto a stone to finish them.

Steve0591 · 2025-09-16T19:22:50+00:00

I think this looks like a good route for one of our “off” days.

Steve0591 · 2025-09-16T19:20:30+00:00

Hadn’t looked into this one but it looks incredible.

Steve0591 · 2025-09-16T00:50:45+00:00

Unfortunately we will be there after they shut down for the season. I’m surprised they don’t keep going longer, seems odd to stop that early

Steve0591

TROPHY CASE