montreal bagels

Soft, chewy and totally delicious, these Montreal bagels are made with a maple syrup-kissed dough and poached in honey water for a slight sweetness that pairs well with all the classic characteristics of a bagel you know and love. Top these with plenty o’ seeds, toast and slather in schmear and enjoy the best homemade bagel you’ve had yet.
Honestly, I cannot think of a more fitting way to enter 2021 than with a post about homemade bagels. Bagels are basically my love language. These Montreal bagels are just the lastest on my list of bagel masterpieces. You should also try my everything bagels, French toast bagels, New York deli-style bagels or, my favorite, pumpernickel bagels!

What are Montreal Bagels (aka Montreal-Style Bagels)?
Montreal bagels, sometimes called Montreal-Style Bagels, are most traditionally sweeter, thinner bagels with a bigger center hole that are baked in a wood-fired oven. They’re also poached in a honey-sweetened water bath before baking (which gives them their aforementioned hint of sweetness) and usually topped with sesame seeds or poppy seeds (though they can be topped with most traditional bagel toppings).
In the case of these bagels, we’re going for more inspiration than actual replication, since we’re making these at home and not in a professional bakery with a freakin’ wood-fired oven (though if you have one of those at your disposal, GOOD FOR YOU). These bagels still retain that classic hint of sweetness with a delightful chew that sets them apart from other types of bagel recipes you might be used to. Trust me when I say — these bagels are some of the best you’ll ever make from scratch. If you want to start 2021 off with a bang in the baking department, these bagels will not do you wrong.

The Best Ingredients for Montreal Bagels
We’re always in the business of keeping ingredient lists simple around these parts, and these bagels are no exception. Here’s what you’ll need to bring these bagel bbs to life in your home:
- Pure maple syrup (please, for the love of Pete, do not mess around with Hungry Jack here; let’s stick to the real deal)
- Active dry yeast OR instant yeast — yes, you can use either one for this recipe!
- Unbleached bread flour — I highly recommend King Arthur Baking bread flour. It’s my go-to bread flour and it always works superbly. No matter what, however, please use bread flour for this recipe — all-purpose flour will not offer the same level of protein/gluten to give the bagels their distinctive chew. Thankfully, you can find bread flour right next to all-purpose flour in most baking aisles!
- Salt
- Sesame seeds, poppy seeds and/or everything bagel seasoning, for topping (as you can see I could not decide, so I went with all three)
- Honey, for the honey water poaching bath
Once you’ve got everything listed above (+ water), you are ready to roll to Bagel Town! (ooo, sorry.)

How to Make Homemade Montreal-Style Bagels
I think a lot of bakers are intimidated by the homemade bagel — myself included, back in the day. I mean, there’s a “poaching bath” and, like, how do you even shape a bagel? I am here to tell you today, my friends, that bagels are actually really, really simple to make; and the taste of a homemade bagel is second to none. So! Let’s talk about how to make these bagels, step by step:
Time needed: 2 hours and 35 minutes
- Step One: Make the bagel dough.
In a large bowl, stir together water, maple syrup, yeast, flour and salt until a stiff dough forms. Continue to knead dough until soft, smooth, elastic and only slightly sticky. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl; cover and let rise until doubled.
- Step Two: Shape the bagels.
Punch down risen dough to deflate, then divide into 8 equal-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then poke the center of each hole with your fingers. Gently tug the dough to form a ring, like a bagel, with an approximate 2- to 3-inch hole in the center. (PS Here’s a video on How to Shape a Bagel, if you’re more of a visual learner!) Place bagels on an upside-down baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise while you prep the water bath.
- Step Three: Boil the bagels.
In a large saucepan filled with water about 3 inches high, add honey. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Use a slotted spoon to transfer 2 to 3 bagels at a time to the bath. Cook bagels 1 minute on each side, then transfer to a shallow bowl filled with seed topping of your choice. Turn to coat the tops of the bagels, then return the bagels to the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining bagels.
- Step Four: Bake the bagels.
Heat your oven to 475°F. Transfer bagels on parchment-lined baking sheet to oven. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until bagels are a deep golden brown. Cool bagels completely on a cooling rack before slicing.

Tips for the Best Montreal-Style Bagels
As far as homemade breakfast foods go, these bagels top the list for easiest to make. That said, there are still a few tips we should cover, as always:
- As mentioned above, please use bread flour. For many recipes, bread flour and all-purpose flour can be interchangeable — but in the case of a few recipes, bagels included, the extra protein content yields a chewy, dense bagel. You can find bread flour right next to the all-purpose flour in most baking aisles!
- Need a warm place to let your dough rise? My favorite location is the microwave. I simply cover my dough bowl and place it in there for the entire rise time — it’s a warmer, draft-free location in your kitchen that will help the dough do its best rising. You can also use your oven with the light on (oven OFF, obviously).
- Don’t sweat it if you shape imperfect-looking bagels. I don’t know the science behind this, but even the ugliest bagels tend to bake up pretty in the oven. Even if you shape them pretty as a picture, they tend to get a little shriveled after the water bath, but they’ll bake right back up into a beautiful bagel.
- Homemade bagels tend to keep best for up to 1 day at room temperature, stored in a paper bag. After that, I highly recommend slicing each bagel, then freezing them in a freezer-safe resealable bag, and toasting them as needed.
Of course, if you have any more questions about this recipe, please leave a note in the comments or shoot me a note via email or social media! I will forever and always love to chat about bagels. Otherwise, if you’re already looking on the bright side of 2021, bring these Montreal bagels along with you. It’ll be the best decision you’ve made all year.
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Montreal Bagels
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: 8 bagels 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Canadian
Description
These Montreal-style-inspired bagels are chewy and soft, with a slight sweetness paired with a crunchy topping, such as sesame seeds or poppy seeds. Toast them up, slather on the cream cheese and enjoy these delicious homemade bagels!
Ingredients
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast OR instant yeast
- 3 1/4 cups unbleached bread flour, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup sesame seeds, poppy seeds and/or everything bagel seasoning
- 1/3 cup honey
Instructions
- First, make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment or in a large bowl using a wooden spoon, stir together water, maple syrup, yeast, flour and salt until a firm dough forms. Continue to knead dough in stand mixer on medium speed 6-8 minutes, OR knead by hand on a clean surface 8-10 minutes, until dough is soft, smooth, elastic and only slightly sticky. If necessary, you can knead in up to 1/4 cup more flour if dough seems too sticky.
- Shape dough into a ball; transfer to a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Meanwhile, place a large sheet of parchment paper on an upside-down baking sheet. Place sesame/poppy/everything bagel seeds into shallow bowls.
- Next, shape the bagels: Punch down risen dough to deflate. Divide dough into 8 equal-sized pieces. Roll each piece into a ball; poke a hole in the center of each ball and gently tug to form a rough bagel shape with a 2-inch circle in the center (see Post above for a link to a video tutorial on how to shape bagels!). Place bagels on parchment; cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until slightly puffy, about 20 minutes. In the meantime, heat oven to 475°F.
- Next, boil the bagels: In a large saucepan, bring honey and roughly 3 quarts of water (enough to fill the pan by about 3 inches) to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer 2 to 3 bagels at a time to simmering water; cook on one side for about 1 minute, then flip and cook for another minute. Use slotted spoon to transfer each bagel to one of the bowls with seeds; dip and turn the bagels to coat in the seeds, then return, seed side-up, to parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining bagels.
- Finally, bake the bagels: With bagels still placed on parchment-lined upside-down baking sheet, carefully transfer to oven. Bake bagels 15 to 20 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking, until bagels are a deep golden brown. Cool bagels completely on a cooling rack before slicing.
- Store fresh-baked bagels in a paper bag for up to 1 day; after that, slice each bagel in half and freeze for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from King Arthur Baking.
- Swap the honey used in the boiling liquid for 1/4 cup barley malt syrup, if desired.
Rated 5 although not made yet,,,however, this is the easiest bagel recipe I have come across and now will attempt to make bagels. Stephanie, I love your site, you’re my “go to” site for breads. Thank you
Lynn, Thank you so much! 🙂 I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!
These look amazing, I can’t wait to make! Have you ever tried making them with non-savory toppings or fillings? I’m thinking cinnamon sugar, blueberries, etc. Curious how versatile they might be!
Kenleigh, I have not, but I can safely assume they would be AMAZING with any non-savory toppings/fillings.
OMG what an amazing recipe, absolutely delicious!! Thanks so much for the shaping technique as well, much easier way of doing.
Will definitely be making them again. five star recipe for sure?
Lori, Thank you so much! 🙂
Made these for the first time today. Thanks for the easy to follow directions. The bagels came out delicious.
Question: why is the baking sheet upside down? Just wondering.
I ventured into bread thanks to your no knead bread recipe. Thanks from my family too!
Ann, Thank you for your comment! The baking sheet is upside-down to act as a baking stone of sorts, so the rim on the baking sheet doesn’t interfere with the bake of the bagels. You can also use a rimless baking sheet (aka a cookie sheet) or a baking stone.
Salt in a Montreal bagel? A shonda!
Mitchell, As I mentioned in the post, this is just an inspired variation, so there will be some adjustments to the traditional recipe!
Can I make this dough recipe a day ahead of baking them?
Louise, I have not tested this method so I don’t know if it could work. If you try it, I’d recommend refrigerating the dough after the first rise, then bringing it back to room temp the next day to shape. Hope that helps!
My wife simply love it!! we’re living in Charlevoix and now we eat the real St-Viateur or Fairmount bagel bakery right out from my wood oven.
I’ve made triple batch and frozen them!! They have the same taste and density of the real one!!
Merci beaucoup pour cette merveilleuse recette!!
Thanks a lot
Martin, Thank you so much! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Could I make the dough in a bread maker?
These don’t look like Montreal bagels at all. It’s just bread shaped like a donut, just like the imposter NY bagel.. Look up st-viateur or Fairmont bagels, you will see the difference.
Calm down. She explained this is an inspired variation of original style. It’s an easy to follow, delicious bagel recipe for even the most inexperienced baker to try.
Idiot. ??
Dude, you seem like a jerk. Just shut up ok? Being aggressive with the ladies will nooot get you popular. I’m speaking from experience bruh
So sad this ranks #1 on Google. The Montréal bagel comes from Europe, it has nothing to do with maple syrup.. For the real thing check out
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/6795-montreal-bagels
Or
https://www.cbc.ca/life/greatcanadianbakingshow/recipe-montreal-bagels-1.5051491
Calm down. She said they are a variation , in other words, her take on the a recipe. And they are an easy to follow delicious recipe for people to try.
Yeah!
Nuh uh. Go somewhere else if you’re gonna put on an idiot jerk face show
Haha! I am the new owner, so I have zero skin in the game here but I have eaten the bagels at St-Viateur Bagel in Montreal and Bartek isn’t wrong, but he is rude. 🙂 And we’ll have none of that!
This recipe was great and I can’t wait to try it again. And I don’t want to get on sides, but Bartek, you’re rude (but maybe right), Tennille, you’re right (that this is an variation and it isn’t supposed to be what Bartek is talking about), and Lindsay, this recipe is great! I don’t know if you’re in charge, but you should post more!
Hi Cara! We’re glad you love the recipe! Chef Lindsey took over the blog about a year ago, and we’ve got a ton more posts in the queue! 🙂 ~gvd team
My very first attempt at making bagels and they were perfect! I don’t claim to be an expert nor am I from Montreal, but these have that authentic chewy texture instead of the bread-like texture in so many commercial bagels sold in supermarkets. Given the price of bagels at specialty shops in Vancouver, and how easy these are to make, I’ll DEFINITELY be making them again.
Jill, Thank you so much!!
I live in Montreal and made this recipe for Mother’s Day instead of buying. Came out almost like the real thing. Maybe would need a bit more salt. Made some mods: baked at 550F, rolled them out Montreal style. If you follow this recipe exactly you get what we call Toronto bagels. Lol.
Made them and they turned out great. I used a lower temperature (425F) for 25 nin snd they browned perfectly. 475F seemed quite high?.
Oh and Lindsay , recipe is good, and I was talking to barteck
Haha, copy that! ~gvd team