Montreal Bagels, An Authentic Homemade Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes a Montreal bagel different? ›

The Montreal bagel is different from the New York bagel in several ways. Montreal bagels are smaller and more dense. They have a larger hole, and the dough is made with egg and honey. Another big difference between New York bagels and true Montreal-style bagels is that Montreal bagels contain no salt!

Eastern Europeans who settled in Montréal brought their culinary customs, the biggest contribution to the city's gastronomic identity being smoked meat and bagels. The bagel was brought to North America by Jewish immigrants from Poland and other Eastern European countries.

Its very small bagels are made in a wood-burning oven and sweetened with honey. They do not need to be toasted if they are eaten within four hours of being purchased (why anyone would wait that long is beyond me). After four hours, Montreal bagels join the ranks of need-to-be-toasted bagels.

It's a long-standing rivalry that has resurfaced for debate thanks to this new, already extremely popular bagel shop. New York-style bagels are soft, chewy and doughy. Montreal-style bagels, on the other hand, are smaller, denser and sweeter.

Whereas, the standard size of a Montreal bagel is thinner, smaller and has a larger hole as compared to the New York one. The Montreal bagel has a calorie range of 120-220. This means it is definitely healthier than other versions of a bagel.

Montreal bakeries typically stick to simple flavors like plain, sesame, poppyseed and everything (or "fully dressed" as they call it). Montrealers prefer to eat their bagels plain and warm from the oven, though shops do sell Philadelphia cream cheese for dipping if you prefer.

Montreal style bagels are boiled in honey and water, resulting in a sweeter taste. They are, however, cooked in wood-fired ovens giving them a deeper and crunchier crust. They are thinner and smaller than a New York style bagel while being doughy and dense.

Also known as “the everything” bagel, a mix of sesame, poppy, garlic, and onion for a burst of bold texture and flavor.

A New York bagel is first boiled before being baked in a traditional oven. A Montreal bagel on the other hand is boiled in water that contains added sugar and honey before being baked in a wood-fired oven.

Montreal bagels tend to be smaller, thinner, sweeter and less salty than their New York City counterparts. Both are boiled, but Montreal employs wood-burning ovens for baking, while New York utilizes burlap planks. Many NYC loyalists tout the local tap water as the secret ingredient.

Do New Yorkers not toast their bagels? ›

Fresh New York bagels are also traditionally never toasted, and they're fatter than a mass-produced bagel or wood-fired Montreal-style bagel. They've even grown larger over the decades — from 3 oz. in 1915 to 6 oz.

Bagels taste best when they're warm, as their insides get hard and tough once they've cooled off. Unless you've purchased a fresh-baked bagel - meaning less than six hours old - you'll want to toast your bagel before eating it.

In contrast to the New York–style bagel, the Montreal bagel is smaller, thinner, sweeter and denser, with a larger hole, and is always baked in a wood-fired oven. It contains malt, egg, and no salt, and is boiled in honey-sweetened water before being baked.

Montreal bagels are also boiled before being baked, just like New York style bagels. However, Montreal bagels are boiled in honey water, giving them a slightly sweeter taste than bagels that are made in New York.

The Montreal bagel is different from the New York bagel in several ways. Montreal bagels are smaller and more dense. They have a larger hole, and the dough is made with egg and honey. Another big difference between New York bagels and true Montreal-style bagels is that Montreal bagels contain no salt!

A Montreal bagel is just slightly sweet. There is usually not much (or not any salt) in the hand-made dough, but there is the all-important honey; and there is also often honey in the water in which the bagels are gently poached.

A New York–style bagel is always boiled in water that has had barley malt added, which gives a bagel its signature taste, texture, and leathery skin.

These ingredients are mixed with Jersey water. Why is the water in New Jersey so important to the end product? Jersey has soft water that contains a low concentration of minerals. This allows for the perfect baking chemistry when mixed with the flour's high concentration of proteins.

The main difference between typical bread loaves and bagels is the baking method. Most bread types are baked in an oven after the dough has risen, whereas bagels are boiled before being baked in an oven. Compared to other bread types, bagels typically have a chewier inner texture with a crunchy outer layer.