Montreal-Style BagelsRecipe

1. 1.Combine flour, warm water (~80°F / 27°C), egg, oil, honey, yeast, and salt in a stand-mixer bowl. The dough is stiff (~55% hydration) and surprisingly lean despite the egg and oil — almost no salt is part of what makes the texture distinctively chewy and sweet.
2. 2.Mix on low with a dough hook for 5 minutes, then medium for 8 minutes. Weaker mixers may stall; give it breaks. By hand: knead 12 minutes firmly on a lightly oiled counter.
3. 3.The dough should be very firm, smooth, slightly glossy from the oil, and only barely tacky.

1. 1.Cover and let rest in a warm spot until visibly puffed and risen by about 1.5x. Stiff sweet doughs ferment slower than lean ones; the egg and honey are doing flavor work even if the visual rise is modest.

1. 1.Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (~90g each). Smaller than NY bagels — Montreal style is leaner and more snack-sized.
2. 2.Roll each piece into a 9-inch rope.
3. 3.Wrap the rope around your hand so the ends overlap on your palm; roll your palm on the counter to seal the seam. Stretch the center hole open to roughly the diameter of a quarter — Montreal bagels have noticeably bigger center holes than NY-style.
4. 4.Place rings on a parchment-lined sheet pan with space between them.

The wider center hole is signature — the holes close partially during baking, so start them bigger than feels right.

1. 1.Cover loosely while the boil pot heats up. The bagels need only a brief rest, not a full proof — they should look slightly puffed but still firm.
2. 2.Float test: drop one in cool water. If it floats within 10 seconds, the batch is ready.

1. 1.In a wide pot, bring water to a gentle simmer and add ⅓ cup of honey per quart of water. The honey-water boil is the defining technique — it sweetens the crust and gives Montreal bagels their characteristic mahogany color and slight stickiness.
2. 2.Lower 2–3 bagels at a time into the bath. Simmer 45–60 seconds total (shorter than NY style for a thinner, crispier crust). Flip once during the boil.
3. 3.Lift out with a slotted spoon, drain briefly, then immediately roll each boiled bagel in poppy or sesame seeds spread on a plate. The wet honeyed surface grabs the seeds without an egg wash.

Traditional Montreal bagels are coated heavily — really roll them in the seeds. The sweet boil + heavy coating + hot oven are what make the style.

1. 1.Preheat the oven to 500°F / 260°C with a baking stone or steel on the middle rack for at least 45 minutes. Higher than NY-style bagels — Montreal bagels are baked nearly as hot as pizza to get the signature crispy-chewy bite.
2. 2.Slide coated bagels (still on parchment) onto the preheated stone. Bake 14–18 minutes total.
3. 3.Rotate the pan at the 8-minute mark for even browning. The bagels should come out deeply golden, with the seed coating slightly toasted but not burnt.
4. 4.Cool on a rack at least 10 minutes before slicing. Best eaten same-day, ideally still slightly warm — Montreal bagels stale faster than NY-style because they lack the cold-retard development.