Montreal-style bagel
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Montreal bagel is one of the best-known varieties of bagel. The originators are the Fairmount[1] and St-Viateur[2] bakeries, located on streets of the same name in the Mile End neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. St-Viateur Bagel has been open since 1957 and has also opened 2 bagel cafes located on Mont-Royal and Monkland Avenues in Montreal. Both bakeries also sell their bagels online.
Many other Montreal-style bagel shops have opened in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and other Canadian cities. In contrast with the New York-style bagel, the Montreal bagel is smaller, sweeter and denser, with a larger hole, and is always baked in a wood-fired oven.
The Montreal bagel contains malt, egg, and no salt, and it is boiled in honey-sweetened water before being baked in a wood-fired oven. There are two predominant varieties: black-seed (poppyseed), or white-seed (sesame seed). Some purists object to any variation on this theme, though most bagel bakeries now offer many additional varieties.
[edit] Bagel making
The bagels are made with a flour rich in glutenin and gliadin, two long, coiled, tangled protein molecules which unfold and line up in long strands when they are kneaded. The glutenin and the gliadin also make links with each other, building gluten, a web of proteins which gives the dough the elasticity it needs to rise as the yeast gives off carbon dioxide at a crucial stage later on.
A small amount of sugar is added to the dough to feed the yeast. A little bit of egg is put in for colour and flavour. Correct kneading creates air pockets into which the above mentioned carbon dioxide expands. The pockets are largely responsible for the final texture of the bagel.
Oxygen, present in the air, is also introduced during kneading. It strengthens the gluten by ensuring a chemical reaction that forms sulfur, which makes links between adjacent protein molecules.
The rings of dough are immersed in a boiling water-and-honey solution prior to baking. Starch molecules in the flour are coiled together in tiny granules. The hot water penetrates the granules and causes them to swell, which strengthens the molecular web created by the gluten proteins.
In the oven, the sugars in the honey combine with the proteins in the dough to build up the shiny brown crust of the bagel. The smoke of the wood adds to the flavour. During baking, the gluten coagulates and the starch finishes gelatinizing.
There is a popular rivalry between supporters of the Montreal and New York style bagels.
