Marble Bagel

Summary

Ingredients

• 90g cornmeal, for dusting (⅔ cup)
• 1 recipe New York Bagel, unproofed dough
• 1 recipe Pumpernickel Bagel, unproofed dough

Instructions

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and scatter half the cornmeal evenly over each one. Set aside.
2. Uncover and place the New York bagel dough on a clean, unfloured work surface. Divide the dough into twelve equal pieces, each about 55g. Shape each portion into a ball, tightening the exterior by rolling it under your palm against the work surface. Starting with the first ball of dough, roll it into a rope about 9 in long. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough. Cover and refrigerate the twelve ropes while repeating the process with the pumpernickel bagel dough.
3. Working with two ropes at a time, one New York and the other pumpernickel, twist them around each other three times. Pinch the two ropes together at the ends and then pinch those ends together to form a ring. Place the ring over four fingers on one hand and gently roll the seam along the counter to smooth the connection point. Place the thumb and forefinger of each hand in the bagel’s hole and stretch it out to make a generous center opening.”
4. As each bagel is shaped, place it on one of the prepared baking sheets and repeat with the remaining portions, placing six bagels on each baking sheet.
5. Cover the baking sheets tightly with plastic wrap that has been lightly coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate overnight, or for at least 8 hours and no more than 11 hours.
6. When ready to boil and bake, remove all twelve bagels from the refrigerator (you’ll be baking in two separate batches of six) and uncover, allowing them to come to room temperature while the oven heats and the water boils. Place a pizza stone, Baking Steel, or inverted baking sheet on the oven’s center rack and set the oven to its highest temperature, 500°F in most home appliances. Heat the oven for at least 30 minutes.
7. In the meantime, fill a 5 quart or larger pot with water and bring it to a hard boil (see Boiling, page 36). Place a 9 by 13 in piece of parchment on a pizza peel, large cutting board, or an inverted baking sheet. (You need to be able to easily slide the bagel-laden parchment paper from this surface into the oven.)
8. The bagels will be slightly puffed from their overnight rise. Gently lift one at a time, brush away any cornmeal, and drop it into the boiling water. Repeat with another one or two bagels only if they fit in the pot without crowding. Using a slotted spoon or spider, flip the bagels over and over in the water until very slightly puffed and shiny, about 60 seconds and no more than 90 seconds. Small blisters may appear on the surface.
9. Remove the bagels one by one and place cornmeal-side down on the parchment paper on the pizza peel. Sprinkle with any desired toppings while the bagels are still damp. Repeat with the remaining bagels; six bagels will fit snugly on the parchment paper without touching.
10. Lower the oven heat to 475°F. Slide the parchment paper with the bagels directly onto the hot surface in the oven and bake until deeply golden brown and shiny, 12 minutes. To remove the bagels from the oven, slide the parchment paper right onto the peel. Transfer on their paper to a wire rack to cool. Repeat the boiling, baking, and cooling with the remaining six bagels.