New York-style bagels with an overnight cold rest

A separate New York-style formula

Chef Eliot Swartz's Union for Reform Judaism recipe is identified as a classic New York-style water bagel. This record follows that six-piece formula: bread flour, a small amount of instant yeast, sugar, salt and two forms of barley malt. The dough is mixed with cool water, shaped before its overnight refrigerator rest, then poached below boiling and baked with steam.

This is a separate recipe from the published general Bagel entry. That page uses a King Arthur same-day batch with a longer gentle boil and a 425°F bake. Swartz's method uses a more compact six-bagel batch, an 8–14 hour cold rest, a 180–190°F bath and a 465°F oven. Those source differences define why both records are useful; the general page remains the broader entry.

The recipe is explicitly presented as New York-style, but the page does not establish a specific bakery lineage or a historical first. Its documented association is the named contemporary style, not an origin claim for bagels as a food.

New York bakery context is documented separately: Kossar's describes kettle-boiled bagels and connects its Lower East Side business to Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. That account supports the city's Jewish bakery setting, not a claim that this chef's measured formula descends from a particular bakery.

Firm dough and ring shaping

The formula uses 457 g bread flour and 275 g water, about 60 percent hydration. Aim for dough that is dense, smooth and elastic; do not add extra water. Knead it for 10–15 minutes after the initial mix. The six portions weigh about 120 g each.

Each portion is flattened, folded into a sealed cylinder, rolled to a 9–10-inch rope and joined around the hand with an overlapped seam. This rope method differs from the finger-poked rings in the general bagel formula. Keep the seam closed so the ring holds its shape during the cold rest and poach.

Overnight rest, poaching and baking

Cover the shaped rings and refrigerate them for 8–14 hours. Before baking, heat the oven to 465°F (240°C) for at least 45 minutes and place an empty pan on a lower rack to make steam. The source does not give a refrigerator temperature or a room-temperature proofing stage.

Warm one gallon of water to 180–190°F (82–88°C), below a boil, then stir in 40 g barley malt syrup. Poach each bagel for 30 seconds on each side. Lift with a slotted spoon, drain and add any topping while the outside is still wet. Bake on parchment for 16–20 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through, until deep golden. Cool at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Handling and limits

Raw flour can carry harmful bacteria. Do not taste the uncooked dough, and wash hands, bowls and counters after handling it. The poaching bath sits below boiling but is hot enough to burn; move bagels with a slotted spoon and take care with hot water, steam and oven trays.

The source gives appearance and bake-time cues but no validated internal-temperature endpoint or storage limit. This record does not add either. The listed 465°F oven setting and 180–190°F poaching bath remain the measured controls in the recipe.