One of thing things I miss most about living in New York is! waking up in the morning and ordering a fresh bagel for my train ride into the Manhattan from Long Island. 

Since moving out on New York, no bagel can compare. I've tasted mediocre imitations, but nothing comes close to the real thing. 

That was until one day, when my 3 year old son Sammy asked for bagels, and when a he requests any food other than chicken nuggets, I jump for joy!

Sadly, it turned out we were fresh out of bagels, but his request got me hankering for a taste of a true NY bagel. So I decided to find a New York bagel recipe and make a morning activity out of it. 

I scoured the internet and somehow stumbled upon the holly grail of NY bagel recipes. I didn't have much hope for them as I thought nothing could come close to original.

1.5 hours later, my kitchen smelled like heaven and we were devouring the most perfect bagels I have ever tasted!

This recipe embodied the true taste, texture and smell of an authentic, true New York bagel. 

AND it was the best toddler activity! Sammy especially loved shaping the bagels into balls and pushing his cute little fingers in the middle to make the holes. Now he requests fresh bagel every morning! 

I made a few minor modifications to the original recipe and have also linked the original recipe at the bottom of this post. 

My main secret is high quality bread flour. I use Honeyville Alta High Quality Bread Flour. It sometimes is available on Amazon, or you can buy it directly on their website. I can not stress how important it is to use high quality bread flour. I am linking some of my favorites below.

Honeyville Alta High Quality Bread Flour

All Trumps Enriched Flour

Bob's Red Mill Artisan Flour

You can follow along with my recipe modifications or go to the original link (scroll down to the bottom of the page). Either way, you are sure to impress even the most stark NY'er among your friends with these chewy, soft New York Bagels.

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Authentic NY Style Bagel Recipe (and Toddler Activity)
(Adapted from SophisticatedGourmet.com)

PREP TIME 20 minute

COOK TIME 20 minutes

ADDITIONAL TIME1 hour 20 minutes

TOTAL TIME 2 hours

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons / 6-7g active dry yeast
• 4 ½ teaspoons  granulated sugar
• 1 ¼ cups warm water (you may need ± ¼ cup more)
• 3 ½ cups bread flour OR high gluten flour (set aside 1/2 cup for kneading/dusting countertop)
• 1 ½ teaspoons 
• Corn meal for dusting cookies sheets
• Parchment paper
• Oil or oil spray
• Optional: 1 egg for egg wash
• Optional Toppings: (sea salt/ "Everything But the Bagel"/ sesame seeds/ poppy seeds, etc)

Instructions

1. Place sugar and yeast in ½ cup of the warm water (do not stir). Let it sit for five minutes, then stir the yeast and sugar mixture until it all dissolves.
2. In a separate large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture.
3. Pour 1/3 cup of warm water into the well. Mix.
4. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of warm water. Depending on the humidity, temperature and elevation of where you live, you may need an additional couple tablespoons of water. 
5. On a floured countertop, work in all of the flour, kneading for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and forms a firm ball of dough. The dough should feel moist and firm.
6. Spray or lightly brush a large bowl and the top of the dough with oil, place dough in the bowl, smooth side up. 
7. Cover the bowl with cling wrap or a damp dish towel. 
8. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour or so, until the dough has doubled in size. 
9. Punch the dough down, and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425ºF and prepare cookie sheets dusted with corn meal and set aside.
11. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer (optional; add a tablespoon of salt to the water).
12. Divide the dough into 8 pieces (or 16 pieces for mini kids sized bagels). Shape each piece into a round. Take a dough ball, and press it gently against the countertop, moving your hand and the ball in a circular motion pulling the dough into itself while reducing the pressure on top of the dough slightly until a perfect dough ball forms.
13. Gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring of the bagel and place on a cookie sheet or a sheet of plain parchment paper. 
14. After shaping the bagels, cover them & allow them to rest for 10 minutes. 
15. Lower the bagels into the water carefully by hand or with a slotted spoon. TIP: Do not put too many bagels in the pot - they will expand and not keep their shape if the pot is crowded!
16. After a few seconds, the bagels will float to the top. Let them gently boil in the water for 2 minutes on each side.
17. Bush bagels with beaten egg (optional - topping will stick to bagels without this step).
18. Once all the bagels have boiled and have been topped with your choice of toppings, transfer them to an oiled or parchment-lined, cornmeal dusted baking sheet.
19. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown (max 25 minutes).
20. Cool on a wire rack.
21. Enjoy!
    
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Notes

- Click Here for the original recipe
- Bagels are best when eaten within 6 hours of being made. If you want to eat them the next day or later in the week, I suggest to freeze them overnight and defrost in microwave (30 seconds or so).
- Do not leave overnight. Being that they have no preservative, they be a poor shadow of a bagel the next day!
- You can make the dough the night before, just cover, put in refrigerator and let rise in the morning in a warm place for 1-1.5hrs. Just make sure the dough is warm and somewhat doubled in size before shaping into bagels.