Cathy Barrow’s Montreal Bagels

“America’s neighbors to the north make a very different bagel,” writes Cathy Barrow in her recipe for Montreal bagels from her cookbook Bagels, Schmears, and a Nice Piece of Fish (Chronicle Books 2022).

“Montreal bagels are smaller and flatter, there is no tight exterior crust, and the interior crumb is more cakey than chewy. They tend to be craggy, uneven, and a little homely, and are most often thickly covered with sesame seeds on both the top and bottom. They do not require an overnight rise, so this is the bagel to make when you wake up craving a freshly baked bagel for brunch.