My sister (and Sis & Tell Podcast co-host) Alison turned 50 this year and all she wanted was for me to make her a half-baked egg bagel from Browdy’s, a family-owned deli based out of Birmingham, Alabama that closed about 11 years ago. The Goldstein fam has nicknamed this delicacy the Birmingham Bagel and every week, my dad would take Alison to pick up a dozen Birmingham Bagels and then they’d share the bonus 13th bagel on the way home.
In the Sis & Tell Podcast episode “It’s a Chagel,” we go in depth into the search for the original recipe from Browdy’s and my attempt to recreate it by modifying other recipes. I had the revelation that perhaps the bagel wasn’t a bagel at all, but actually made out of challah dough. We will share Alison’s very easy and delicious challah recipe in another blog post, but in the mean time I wanted to share another recipe I found in the Cook & Tell Cookbook for egg bagels. Cook & Tell (no relation to our podcast) was a cookbook created by the Sisterhood organization of Temple Beth-el in Birmingham and is probably my most used collection of recipes. Bagels are much easier to cook than you’d think.
Check out the recipe below and while things are cooking you can listen to the Sis & Tell Podcast episode “It’s a Chagel.”
Cook & Tell’s Egg Bagel Recipe
Ingredients
4-4 1/4 cups flour (I used King Arthur Bread Flour)
1 evelope of active dry yeast
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS oil
2 TBS sugar
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups very warm water (120 to 130 degrees)
1 TBS barley malt syrup (I use Eden) — also I added this step
1 egg white beaten with 1 TBS water
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375
In a large bowl of electric mixer, stir together 1 1/2 cups of King Arthur’s bread flour, sugar, yeast and salt
Gradually beat in water, then eggs and oil
Beat at a medium speed for 2 minutes
Add 1/2 cup of King Arthur’s bread flour at high speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
Stir in 2 or 2 1/4 cups of King Arthur’s bread flour
Turn out on lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic for about 10 minutes (dough should be firm). Alternatively, I used my Kitchen Aid mixer dough attachment to do this and you may need to alter time as it’s quicker.
Place in uncreased bowl and let stand in warm place away from draft for 20 minutes or until dough begins to rise.
Punch down, divide in half and let stand 10 minutes.
Roll each half in 8” squares
Cut each in eight 1-inch strips and pinch ends together to form rings. Alternatively, I instead of strips I made a ball and then poked a hole in the middle with my thumb.
DO NOT LET RISE
In large kettle or deep skillet bring 2” to 4” of water to boil. This is where I added in the tablespoon of Eden barley malt syrup because my friend and incredible chef Joel Silverman told me to.
Simmer 3-4 bagels at a time two minutes on each side (4 minutes total). DO NOT over simmer, so if you want to play it safe just do 90 seconds on each side
Drain well on a clean towel
Remove and place on a lined cookie sheet (you can use parchment paper or a Silpat but would do not grease).
Brush tops of bagels with egg white mixture
Bake 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until well browned and crisp.
This recipe yields about 8 egg bagels.
Once you' try out the egg bagel recipe, we’d love to know what you think! AND if you’re looking for a funny podcast don’t forget to subscribe to the Sis & Tell Podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pandora, iHeart Radio and by visiting SisandTell.com