The overnight ferment
Shaped bagels rest cold for 12–18 hours. That long, slow proof is what builds the faintly sour, wheaty depth you cannot rush with extra yeast.
Kettle-boiled bagels,
baked fresh every morning
Bagel Delight Bakery is a small-batch kitchen devoted to the old method: a slow overnight ferment, a rolling malt bath, then a hot deck oven. This is where we write down how it is done.
Read how bagels are madeWhat makes a proper bagel
Four things separate a real bagel from a bread roll with a hole in it. Get these right and the rest follows.
The kettle boil
Sixty to ninety seconds in boiling water with barley malt. The starch on the surface gelatinises, which is what sets the glossy skin and the dense chew.
High-gluten flour
Bagel dough is stiff and low-hydration. It needs a flour with the protein to take that punishment and still pull into a smooth, tight skin.
A properly hot oven
A deck oven at 240°C gives the fast initial spring that lifts the crumb before the crust sets hard.
Our standing range
The bagels we bake every day, and what each one is actually good for.
Plain
The control sample. Nothing to hide behind — if the ferment and boil were right, you can taste it here first.
classic
Sesame
Rolled in hulled sesame straight out of the kettle so the seeds toast into the crust rather than sitting on it.
classic
Poppy Seed
Faintly nutty, slightly bitter. The traditional partner for smoked fish and a scrape of butter.
classic
Everything
Sesame, poppy, dried garlic, dried onion and flaked salt. The bagel that fills the whole kitchen with smell.
house favourite
Cinnamon Raisin
Soaked raisins folded through at the final knead so they steam rather than scorch.
sweet
Salt Bagel
Coarse pretzel salt, nothing else. Best eaten within the hour.
classic
Written in the kitchen
Guides we keep for our own bakers, published in case they are useful to you.
How bagels are made
The full method start to finish — mixing, shaping, the cold retard, the malt bath and the bake. Read the guide.
Bagel varieties
What actually distinguishes New York, Montreal, and the sourdough style, beyond the marketing. Compare them.
Fillings and spreads
Cream cheese ratios, curing your own salmon, and why the order you build a bagel in matters. See the guide.