I love baking bread because it puts me into the zone almost immediately.
Bagels are among of my favorites.
I’ve loved eating them since I was a kid.
When I worked in Manhattan, I learned what a really great bagel tasted like.
After all, when you’ve got so many stores baking and selling their own bagels, you’ve got a lot to try.
Then, when I moved to the Boston area, I found myself in a barren bagel world.
That’s what started me down the path of baking my own bagels.
It turned out to be a rocky road filled with potholes.
I struggled to replicate the taste, look and texture of my favorite New York City bagels.
Even after years of trial and error, I didn’t give up though I did pull my hair at times (just look at my picture!).
It wasn’t until a neighbor gave me a New York Times article that I found myself on the path to Bagel perfection.
That article held the secrets that helped me to finally create my perfect bagel.
It was an adaptation of a recipe I had followed before from the great baker, Peter Reinhart. Dan Graf, An ex-New Yorker relocated to Northern California, took Reinhart’s recipe, tweaked it, and opened up a bagel store in Oakland, CA.
Most of the year (when it’s not snowing), I bake my bagels on my Big Green Egg . Its ability to become a great convection oven duplicates the cooking of a real bagel oven.
And, there’s just something special about the flavors imparted by baking in a charcoal-fired oven that makes these bagels extra special.
If you haven’t tried baking breads in your Egg, you’re really missing an extraordinary treat. Check out my post on baking pizzas… . I’ve even created a video and instructions on how I make my world-class New York-style pizza—watch my intro video here.
Here’s a short video I put together that shows you the steps to getting that ‘perfect’ bagel.
Please drop me your comments.
If you would like me to put together a step-by-step video that shows you how you too can make amazing bagels on your Green Egg, let me know.
If enough of you raise your hand, I may just do that.
GREAT video…always looking for new things/ways to add to the BGE experience. Would LOVE the recipe 🙂
Thanks for the feedback Len. Using the BGE as a baking oven is a great way to extend my love of just how versatile it is. If you enjoy baking artisan breads, pizzas, bagels, etc., this is a super convection oven.
Please, please, please share your bagel recipe for The Big Green Egg.
Hi Mary, I need to find the time, but I will do my best to help you and others learn how to make, what I think, are a top-notch bagel.
I truly enjoy your posts on using the Big Green Egg. I would love a more detailed post on making bagels. Thanks.
Hi Kurt, thank you for the feedback. I’ll try to circle back to give more details about making these bagels.
I cannot eat bagels outside of NY, which makes mornings in Seattle very difficult. You recipe looks amazing!
Thanks Todd! Once you learn how to make the bagel you really enjoy, it becomes easy to whip a batch whenever you want to. Nothing better than starting the process on a Saturday morning, then waking up early Sunday morning to bake them.
Bagels look delicious! Love to get your recipe.
Thank you in advance!
Froebel
Thanks for asking Froebel. I have a video and instructions you can get: https://greeneggchef.com/new-york-pizza/
To this day,this is the recipe I use after continuing to see if I can make it better. The only tweaks I sometimes make is to add a little bit of oil to the dough, substitute 1 cup of ’00’ flour for 1 cup of bread flour, and a little bit of my sourdough starter. None of these are necessary, but I’m always fiddling with the base recipe.