This Montreal bagels recipe is surprisingly easy to make. These sweet, chewy bagels are as authentic as you can get without a wood fire oven!
As you may have noticed by now, I enjoy making bagels!
The very first bagel recipe I posted here was my Jalapeno Cheddar Bagels.
Eventually, I wrote a basic guide on How to Make Bagels - covering a lot of the hows, whys, and options.
From there, we got into Marble Rye Bagels, Pumpernickel Everything Bagels, Seeded Whole Wheat Flax Bagels, Smoky Cheese Bagels... even some Maple Pumpkin Spice Bagels!
I frequently make a batch of bagels on the weekend, taking care of my husband’s breakfasts for almost the whole week. (He’ll usually make breakfast sandwiches from them).
Today’s bagel recipe is a bit of a departure from those other recipes - Montreal style bagels!
This was a popular request when I was developing my Canadian foods cookbook, More Than Poutine: Favourite Foods from my Home and Native Land.
The book was definitely geared to expat Canadians, and this style of bagel is a HUGE craving for those who have moved away!
What Are Montreal Bagels?
Jump to RecipeThe first bagels came to Montreal with Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century.
Montreal’s mile end neighborhood was a main settling point for eastern European immigrants, becoming a predominantly Jewish community for several decades.
While the St-Viateur bagel may be the most well known Montreal bagel bakery (To the rest of Canada, anyway!), there are many well-respected places to get a great bagel in Montreal - many of them peppered along St-Laurent Boulevard and Fairmount street, specifically.
Some of the best bagel places in the neighbourhood include Fairmount Bagel Bakery, St Viateur, and Hinnawi Bros Bagel - all iconic places.
So, if you’re ever in the area, you should definitely do a quick tour, and load up on fresh bagels!
Montreal-style bagels are more rustic looking, sweeter, and chewier than their non-Montreal counterparts, with a crunchier crust. The sweeter taste comes both from the malt extract in the dough, and from being boiled in a honeyed water solution.
Oh, and a matter of fun trivia... Montreal bagels were the first bagels in space!
Canadian astronaut Gregory Chamitoff brought some Montreal bagels - from Fairmount Bakery - to the International Space Station with him in 2008.
New York Bagels vs Montréal Bagel
In North America, there’s a big bagel rivalry between New York City and Montreal, with New Yorkers and Montrealers (well, Many Canadians in general!) Fiercely defending their own bagels as the BEST bagels.
I actually tagged a NY friend of mine in an early share of this post, and was treated to a mini rant about how New York-style bagels are clearly superior.
Aftera quick back and forth, he decided that maybe he should try them again - using my recipe - and judge them on their own merits, as a completely different food item... rather than based on what a New York style bagel was.
Probably for the best - they are QUITE different, both from ingredient and technique standpoints - and that goes well beyond the Montreal bagels’ smaller size!
NY bagels are bigger, but they are also softer and chewier, both from the lack of eggs and longer, lower-temp baking time in a traditional commercial oven. Some claim that NYC water itself contributes to the bagel’s makeup.
Montreal bagels are smaller, sweeter - from the inclusion of malt extract* in the dough, and a boil in honey-sweetened water - and more dense, partially due to the egg in the dough.
Visually, they are less plump, have a larger hole in the middle, and tend to be topped in either poppy seeds or sesame seeds - not with an endless variety of toppings.
The bagel shape can be pretty irregular - ovals or random squashed circles.
They’re baked in wood ovens, at a higher temperature for a shorter time, resulting in a crunchier outer surface.
* When it comes to homemade versions, some use maple syrup or honey. I’m using malt extract for authenticity.
My Montreal-Style Bagel Recipe
Unlike most of my bagel recipes, Montreal style bagels have egg - a whole and an egg yolk - in the dough... but NOT as a pre-baking wash!
Technically, they have to be baked in a wood fire oven in order to be considered legit, but for the purposes of satisfying cravings... well, I won’t tell anyone if you don’t!
* I developed this recipe using malt extract powder. Do NOT substitute liquid malt extract in this recipe!
Montreal Bagel Tips
Ingredients
- Malt Extract Powder ("Dry Malt Extract", or DME) is readily available from most home brewing stores, and on Amazon.
- While I usually just use all-purpose flour for this (I have limited space for wheat flour!), you’ll get an even better result with bread flour.
- If you don’t have honey on hand, you can use ⅓ cup of malt extract powder in the boil. Still tastes great (and your house will smell like a brewery!), but the bagels won’t have quite the shine as honey boil imparts. Brown sugar also works.
- Like the source material, I use a LOT of sesame seeds and poppy seeds for this - about ½ cup of each. I know it sounds bougie, but they’re really not that expensive when you buy bulk bags - I keep them in the freezer!
Techniques
- I use a stand mixer with a dough hook - low to medium speed - whenever I make bagels, it’s so much easier on my hands and wrists. That said, you can definitely knead the dough by hand if you prefer. Just be sure to knead until it’s very smooth and elastic!
- I like to keep my house COLD, so I have to cheat on the proofing. I’ll turn the oven on, and let it heat up for just a few minutes - warm, not hot! Then I turn it off and put the dough in there to rise.
- Dividing the dough into 15 pieces makes authentically sized bagels. Alternately, making a dozen bagels yields bigger bagels, more like a standard breakfast bagel size.
- For rolling the boiled bagels in the seeds, I like to use wide, shallow bowls. The ones I use here are from IKEA - super handy!
- After I coat a few bagels each in sesame and poppy seeds (separately), I like to mix the two bowls together and finish the batch off with combination bagels.
The majority of the photos in this post were made from a batch of 12 (larger). This photo is from an older batch, where we made 15.
How to Eat a Montreal Bagel
Generally speaking, locals eat the bagels fresh from the bag - without accompaniment.
They are served hot and generally eaten more like a soft pretzel, than how most eat bagels. They’re usually eaten as-is or torn apart, rather than being sliced open.
That said, you can definitely use a schmear of cream cheese on cut open bagel, or soft cream cheese as a dip. Sandwiches are another option.
Anyway, when the bagels aren’t fresh from the oven, they REALLY benefit from being toasted, to bring back a “freshly baked” taste.
How to Store Montreal Bagels
Any bagels that aren’t eaten right away can be stored in plastic zip lock baggies - after they’ve completely cooled. They’ll last out on a counter for a few days, or about a week in the fridge.
If you’re looking to freeze them, allow them to cool all the way to room temperature before wrapping tightly in plastic and storing in freezer bags. They’re good for a few months in the freezer.
How to Make Montreal Bagels
My full Montreal bagel recipe is at the end of this post, here's the pictorial overview!
Bagel Dough
Stir yeast and sugar into warm water, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
In a large bowl - or bowl of an electric mixer - combine flour and malt powder. Pour in yeast mixture, 1 egg, yolk, and vegetable oil, stir well to combine.
Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.
Once dough is fully kneaded, place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
Assembly:
Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C), line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Measure water and honey into a large pot, stir well and bring to a boil while you form the bagels.
Once dough has doubled, punch it down, and divide it out into 12-15 equal sized balls. 12 will get you larger bagels that can be sliced/used as normal bagels, 15 gets more authentically sized bagels.
Roll each lump of dough into a 10-inch rope and secure the ends together. I'll usually hold the wrong of dough join-side-down and roll it back and forth a few times.
Once you have all of your bagels formed, stir honey water and turn the heat down, allowing water to simmer rather than boil.
2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then use a slotted spoon or tongs to flip each and allow to cook for another minute.
Drain well, dip both sides of the hot bagels in either poppy or sesame seeds, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
More Canadian Comfort Food!
Whether you’re a Canadian in the US or not, we could all use some comfort food these days. Here are some Canadian Favourites!
Back Bacon / Canadian Bacon
Beep
Canadian Popcorn Seasoning Recipes
Clodhoppers
Confetti Bars
Dill Pickle Cream Cheese Dip
Doughnut Holes - Timbits!
French Canadian Pea Soup
Halifax Meat Paste Egg Rolls
Homemade Deep N Delicious Cake
Homemade Wunderbars
How to Make Peameal Bacon and Back Bacon
Maple Butter Tarts
Persians Recipe
Poutine, My Way!
Puffed Wheat Squares
Replica Swiss Chalet Sauce
Tiger Tail Ice Cream
Looking for even more Canadian recipes? Check out our full Canadian Recipes list!
Love Canadian food? Check out my cookbook, "More Than Poutine: Favourite Foods from My Home and Native Land”. "More than Poutine" is a Canadian cookbook like no other - written by a Canadian living away, it includes both traditional home cooking recipes, as well as accurate homemade versions of many of the snacks, sauces, convenience foods, and other food items that are hard to come by outside of Canada! Order your copy here on this site, through Amazon, or through any major bookseller!
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Montreal Style Bagels
Equipment
Ingredients
Bagel Dough
- 1 ⅔ cups Warm - not hot - water
- 4 teaspoon Active dry yeast
- ¼ cup Sugar
- 4 ½ cups All purpose flour
- ¼ cup Malt extract powder
- 1.5 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Large egg
- 1 Large egg yolk
- ¼ cup Vegetable oil
Assembly
- 1 Gallon Water
- ⅓ cup Liquid honey
- Poppy seeds and/or sesame seeds
Instructions
Bagel Dough
- Stir yeast and sugar into warm water, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and malt powder. Pour in yeast mixture, 1 egg, yolk, and vegetable oil, stir well to combine.
- Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.
- Once dough is fully kneaded, place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
- Once dough has doubled, punch it down, and divide it out into 12-15 equal sized balls. 12 will get you larger bagels that can be sliced/used as normal bagels, 15 gets more authentically sized bagels.
Assembly:
- Preheat oven to 425 F (220 C), line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Measure water and honey into a large pot, stir well and bring to a boil while you form the bagels.
- Roll each lump of dough into a thick “snake” and secure the ends together.
- Once you have all of your bagels formed, stir honey water and turn the heat down, allowing water to simmer rather than boil.
- 2 or 3 at a time, drop your bagels into the simmering water, allow to cook for 1 minute, then flip each and allow to cook for another minute.
- Drain well, place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Generously coat bagels in sesame seeds or poppy seeds. I like to do some of each.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition
I haven't had a Montreal style bagel in SO LONG! These definitely hit the spot for that craving!
these montreal style bagels are delicious!! Love all the variations
ooh, this MTL bagel recipe is legit! I've always wanted to give them a try and I had no idea the dough had an egg in it. Thanks for the warning about the malt extract powder as I usually use the liquid form when I make pretzels. My husband brews beer so it's the most available to me.
I had no idea that New York bagels were different than Montreal bagels so I learned something new here. We love Montreal bagels and I've never tried to make them. I will now thanks to your excellent tips and detailed instructions. Thank you!
I bow to you, Bagel Queen! You clearly know what you're doing when it comes to bagels and I cannot wait to try this recipe!!
I really enjoyed these bagels! Was not hard to make, but in the past I always thought good bagels were complicated. Thank you! I have liquid malt extract, I noticed you said "don't use liquid malt extract", what happens if you do? Could i just decrease the amount of water?
It's a matter of it being more moisture, and a different concentration of sweetness, etc. The recipe could be adapted for it, but it would take some significant tweaking.