With Julia Bagel Recipe

Making Julia Bagels at Home

Julia bagels are just braided bagels. The name comes from the braiding technique that gives them their twisted, pretzel-like shape. You start with a standard enriched bagel dough, roll it into a long log, cut it into strips without separating them completely at the base, braid those strips together, then join the ends into a ring. That's basically it. The rest is your normal bagel process: proof, boil, bake. I made my first batch last winter because my local bakery stopped carrying them and I'd become annoying about it. The dough was sticky as hell at first because I hadn't accounted for the humidity in my kitchen that week. I added about 30 grams more flour and it came together fine. Not a big deal but worth noting if you're baking in winter when your kitchen's dry versus summer when it's not.

With Julia Bagel Recipe

Here's the dough I use. It's a standard enriched dough, nothing fancy: 500g bread flour (around 12-13% protein)
350g water (70% hydration)
10g salt
7g instant yeast
50g sugar
50g unsalted butter, softened
Cornmeal for dusting Mix everything except the butter until it shags into a rough ball. Add the butter and mix until fully incorporated. The dough will be sticky but should pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it's still sticking to your fingers excessively, add flour 10 grams at a time. Don't go overboard because you don't want a stiff dough. You want something soft but manageable.

Bulk ferment at room temperature for about 60 to 90 minutes. You're looking for roughly a 50% increase in size, not a doubling. Over-proof here makes the dough too slack to braid cleanly later.

Shaping the Julia Bagel

This is the part that actually requires attention. Divide the dough into 8 portions, each around 100 to 110 grams. Roll each one into a log about 14 to 16 inches long. Use a bench scraper and a light dusting of cornmeal so the dough doesn't stick to your surface. Take a sharp blade and make three lengthwise cuts down the center of the log. Start about half an inch from one end and stop about half an inch from the other end. Leave those halves connected at both ends. Think of it like a flat tr braided loaf before it's lifted and joined. Pick up one end of the dough. Braid the three strands over each other, working toward the other end. Keep tension even. If one strand is looser than the others, the braid will look sloppy and it might unravel during boiling. Pinch the ends together and form into a ring by tucking one end under the other. Seal well. A poorly sealed Julia bagel will open up in the boil and you'll be picking dough out of your pot.

Place them on a cornmeal-dusted tray, seam side down. Cover loosely and let them proof for 30 to 45 minutes at room temperature. They should feel somewhat puffy when you press them lightly. Not firm like raw bread dough, but not collapsing either. That's your window.

Boiling and Baking

Bring a large pot of water to a gentle simmer. Add 60 grams of baking soda. This gives you the classic bagel alkaline bath that creates the gelatinized crust and that characteristic chew. Some people use barley malt syrup instead. Both work. Baking soda is cheaper and easier to find at 11pm on a Saturday. Drop in two or three bagels at a time. Boil for 30 seconds per side. That's it. 30 seconds. Do not over-boil or you'll get a thick, gummy crust that doesn't brown properly in the oven. The goal is surface gelatinization, not cooking the interior. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain for a few seconds, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Right after they come out of the water, you can add toppings if you want. Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, everything bagel seasoning, flaky salt. They'll stick because the surface is still wet.

Bake at 425°F (220°C) for 18 to 22 minutes until deeply golden brown. Rotate the pan halfway through. Under-baked Julia bagels are dense in the center because the braid traps steam. Make sure the internal temperature reaches at least 205°F (96°C) before pulling them out. I use an instant-read thermometer. It takes 10 seconds and prevents half-baked centers every time. Let them cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Cutting into a warm bagel releases the steam and makes the crumb gummy. I know this seems unnecessary but you'll notice the difference immediately if you skip it. The whole process from mixed dough to cooled bagels takes about 3 hours, most of which is hands-off fermenting and proofing. Active work time is maybe 40 minutes total, split between mixing, shaping, boiling, and baking. Shaping is the bottleneck. The first 6 or 8 bagels will take you 5 minutes each. By the 20th one you'll be doing them in under 2 minutes. Muscle memory kicks in fast with this one.

Storage is straightforward. Whole bagels keep at room temperature in a paper bag for two days. For longer storage, freeze them sealed in a bag. Reheat straight from frozen in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes. Toasting works too but the center stays a bit denser that way. One thing I learned the hard way: don't try to make these with low-protein flour. The braid structure depends on gluten strength to hold the shape during boiling. If you use all-purpose flour around 10% protein, the bagels will spread and the braid will lose definition. Bread flour is non-negotiable here. It's not a suggestion.