Bagel Toppings = Floor Droppings

The Struggle:

As much as we would hate to admit it bagels are like doughnut’s sophisticated older sibling. Chewier, crispier, and able to jump the line between sweet and savory. As I got older bagels jumped ahead of donuts as a viable breakfast option. Let’s face it no one bats an eye if you’re eating a bagel, but If you’re slamming ½ a dozen Boston cream donuts someone might check on your well being. But one issue I had was taking a bite of an everything bagel ended in my plain white tee turning into an “everything” white tee. So how can we prevent all of our bagel toppings from falling off at first bite?

“how can we prevent all of our bagel toppings from falling off at first bite?” 

Toppings Must Become One With the Bagel

A technique was brought to our attention this week by a customer. This customer had heard of a way to prevent the toppings from falling off the bagels. This technique actually comes from Modernist Bread and it’s quite ingenious. If you haven’t heard of Modernist Bread it is the deepest dive into the science of bread making. And just as you would imagine, there is an entire section devoted to bagels. Ever wanted to know the difference between Montreal and New York bagels? How NYC water affects New York bagels? It’s all there along with dozens of tips, tricks, and recipes. 

The one thing that really blew our minds this week was how to keep the toppings from falling off the bagel. The basic Idea is to make a flavorless slurry that will dry quickly and be sticky enough to hold onto the toppings. The best result they came up with is a solution of Ultra-tex 3 and water. By making a 4% solution of water and Ultra-tex 3 you are able to coat the exterior of cooked (and cooled) bagels with a thin film that holds onto the toppings. Then the bagels will need to be baked once more for 5 minutes to dry the solution and keep the toppings stuck to the exterior. One of the best things about this is the ability to coat the entire bagel with a topping. This is great as the bottom of the bagels are usually neglected and have none of the goodness that is on top. We love this idea and definitely want to implement the next time we make our bagel recipe. And you can too, click the link below to our bagel recipe and show us what you come up with for toppings. 

Ready to get Cooking?

Give our Bagel On The Brain recipe a try! Bagels are easily one of our favorite breakfast foods. They’re satisfyingly tasty both plain and simple, or everything’d up until they’re ready for the Met Gala. We use a bit of diastatic malt powder to get our bagels red carpet ready with an even browning and perfect chew.