Overnight New York Style Bagel Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Overnight New York Style Bagel Recipe

The best overnight New York style bagel recipe - buttery, chewy, and so fluffy on the inside! Adapted from Sophisticated Gourmet.

Servings bagels

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 35

Proofing Time 12 30

Total Time 13 20

Equipment

Ingredients

290 grams warm water about 105 degrees F
7 grams active dry yeast
19 grams granulated sugar
440 grams bread flour
15 grams fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter melted
Optional toppings: sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning, asiago cheese, etc.

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Making Bagel Dough

First, add 120 grams of the warm water to a bowl. Then, add the sugar and yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes - don’t stir it yet.
While the yeast activates, add the bread flour and sea salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk by hand to combine, then make a well in the center.
Next, gently stir the yeast and sugar until it fully dissolves in the water. Pour this into the well with the flour and salt. Then, add another 70 grams of warm water.
Using the dough hook attachment, turn the stand mixer on low speed. Add the rest of the water (about 100 grams more) to the dough as needed, until a moist but firm dough has formed. You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to help incorporate the flour.
Continue kneading the dough on low speed for 15 minutes until it’s smooth and elastic. This will form the gluten, which yields the signature chewy texture of New York style bagels.
Finally, lightly brush a large bowl with vegetable oil and transfer the dough to the bowl. Roll the dough around to coat it in the oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Proofing

The next morning, take the bagel dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature by setting it on the counter for about 30 minutes. The dough should have doubled in size after about 11 to 12 hours in the fridge.
After about 30 minutes, punch the dough down and let it rest for another 10 minutes. This will remove some of the air bubbles from the dough, yielding a finer grain and a more flavorful dough.

Shaping

Transfer the dough to a clean work surface. Then, use a bench knife to divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Don’t worry about being too gentle with the dough as it’s pretty resilient!
Roll each dough piece into a rough ball. Resize if necessary, transferring dough from larger balls to smaller ones, until they’re all roughly the same size.
Then, working with one dough ball at a time, shape them into smooth, round balls. Cup one of your hands into a C-shape, place it on top of the dough ball, and roll the dough in a circular motion against the countertop with gentle pressure. Once it’s smooth on all sides, set it to the side and repeat with the remaining dough balls.
Next, coat your thumb lightly in flour and poke a hole through the center of each dough ball. Gently coax the hole to about 1 to 2 inches in diameter, but don’t worry if it springs back and becomes smaller when you set the bagel down. The best New York style bagels barely have a hole in the center!
Once all the bagels have been shaped, lay them flat on a sheet of parchment paper and cover them with a warm, damp kitchen towel. Rest for 10 minutes.

Boiling

While the bagels rest, bring a large pot of water to a boil and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Additionally, line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside, somewhere near the pot of water.
Prepare the melted butter and put any bagel toppings in shallow dishes near the baking sheet. You’ll want all of these ingredients handy once you start to boil the bagels.
Once the bagels have rested, uncover them and gently transfer them to the boiling water in small batches (we like to do 3 at a time). Boil for 2 minutes, flip them over, then boil for another 2 minutes.
Using a large spider strainer or slotted spoon, drain each bagel and transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Boil the remaining bagels the same way, then transfer them to the baking sheet.

Topping and Baking

Now, top the bagels (if desired). The exact method depends on the type of toppings:
For plain bagels - Brush generously with melted butter.
For sesame, everything, poppyseed, or other dry seasonings - Add a nice pile of the seasonings to a shallow dish. Press the bagel into the dry seasonings, move it around a bit, then flip and repeat to coat both sides. Place the bagel back on the baking sheet and then brush generously with melted butter.
For asiago, jalapeno cheddar, or similar toppings - Brush generously with melted butter, then carefully place the toppings on the bagel, gently pressing them into the dough.
Finally, bake the bagels for about 25 to 30 minutes on the middle rack of the oven. Rotate the pan halfway through baking to ensure even browning. The bagels should be a deep golden-brown when they’re done.
Transfer bagels to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

Original recipe: Our bagel recipe is adapted from Sophisticated Gourmet (you can view the original recipe here). We changed this recipe to yield more flavor, more chew, and slightly larger bagels - all important qualities of our favorite New York style bagels! To learn more about the changes we made, read our blog post above.

Recipe timing and suggested schedule: You'll want to plan ahead when making these overnight bagels! You’ll need about 25 to 30 minutes for prep the night before you want to eat bagels. Then you’ll refrigerate the dough overnight to proof. The next day, you’ll shape, boil, top, and bake the bagels - all of which takes just over an hour. Finally, you’ll want to give the bagels at least 10 minutes to cool before eating them.

If you want to eat bagels at 10AM, here's a recommended schedule to follow:

8:00 PM (the night before): Begin making the dough
8:30 PM (the night before): Refrigerate the dough
8:10 AM: Take the dough out of the fridge
8:40 AM: Punch down the dough and rest
8:50 AM: Divide, shape, and rest
9:10 AM: Boil and add toppings
9:20 AM: Bake
9:50 AM: Cool
10 AM: Slice and enjoy!

Equipment: All of the equipment listed in this recipe is crucial to making these bagels! If you don't already own some of this stuff, we've linked our recommendations to help you choose the right tools.

Mixing the dough: When mixing the dough, look for it to start pulling away from the walls of the bowl. This is how you’ll know it’s getting close to the right texture. If it looks too dry, add a small splash of warm water.

Then, when kneading the dough, keep an eye on the texture and adjust water and/or flour as needed. If the dough seems too moist, add a small amount of bread flour - a tablespoon or less at a time.

Note that you won’t necessarily need to add any extra water or flour to the dough. This will depend on outside factors like the humidity in the air and the ambient temperature. Use your intuition and visual cues to tell if the dough is too dry or too wet, and adjust accordingly.

Boiling: Boiling bagels effectively sets the crust before they bake, which gives them the crunchy New York style bagel exterior. Make sure they don't stick to the bottom of the pot when boiling - use a spoon to gently nudge them so they float up to the top. If the pot looks like it might boil over, lower the heat slightly but keep the water at a boil.

Adding toppings: We like to top the first batch of bagels while the second batch is boiling. The sooner you add toppings after boiling, the better they’ll stick to the bagels. Use a plastic glove to handle the bagels that you’re pressing into dry seasonings. It’ll help protect your hands from some of the heat coming off the bagels, plus ensure that most of the toppings end up on the bagels - and not on your hands!

Serving suggestions: These bagels are so good when they’re fresh, you don’t even need to toast them! But if you choose to, note that they’ll toast more quickly than room-temperature bagels since they’ll still be quite hot after being in the oven.

Serve homemade bagels with flavored cream cheese, butter, or turn them into breakfast sandwiches for the ultimate Sunday brunch!

Storing: Let the bagels cool completely before storing them in a zip-top bag. Keep them at room temperature for up to 5 days.

You can also freeze your bagels if you’d like to make a bigger batch and save some of them for later! Follow the tips in this guide for the best results.

Author: Nicole Langdon

Calories: 338kcal

Course: Breakfast, Brunch

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bread flour, breakfast, brunch, butter, fine sea salt, granulated sugar, holiday brunch, new york style, Sunday brunch, vegetable oil, yeast

Nutrition