Black Russian Bagels {Pumpernickel Everything Bagels} are the favourite-in-perpetuity around our house. We love buying them at Wegman’s, but we love making them at home just as much… Visit our Bread Recipes page for more fantastic homemade breads!
To say that I love bagels might be the understatement of the century. They are on a very short list foods against which I am utterly powerless at all times with no exceptions. All bagels are not created equal, though… Sweet bagels are better than a kick in the pants, but my preference is for a pumpernickel or a salty, seedy, garlicky, oniony, popping with flavour Everything Bagel. And even better than either of those are my all-time best-beloved Black Russian Bagels. Black Russian Bagels are deep, dark Pumpernickel Everything Bagels. Holy swoon, Batman.
I ran into these for the first time a few years back at my closest Wegman’s. I brought four home (with the remaining dozen being regular Everything Bagels) thinking it was a sure-fire way to guarantee I got two bagels out of the bunch. My kids are stalwart Everything Bagel boys and they always scrunched their noses up a bit when I had my pumpernickel ones. Somehow, one of them grabbed one of the Black Russian Bagels and before I knew it, there were rapturous boys proclaiming their undying love for pumpernickel-plus-everything. I ordered one of them to give me a bite since I clearly wasn’t going to get to enjoy an entire bagel by myself.
Wowza.
I was hooked and hard just like the kids. The trouble is that the nearest Wegman’s is a thirty minute drive in either direction, so the Black Russians were a rare treat for us. I picked them up when I did my monthly shopping trip (and when other Black Russian Bagels aficionados hadn’t cleaned out the basket before I got there.)
Then I visited King Arthur Flour’s Baker’s Education Center last spring and picked up a bag of the Pumpernickel Artisan Bread Flavor. It languished on my shelf until two weeks ago, when I picked it up and read the label: “Takes bread from average to Artisan in one easy step.” and my brain screamed, “BLACK RUSSIAN BAGELS!”
Sure enough, King Arthur Flour had a recipe for pumpernickel bagels on the site, and -like you can count on King Arthur’s recipes to be- it was practically perfect in every way.
I bumped up the amount of pumpernickel flavour just by a smidge to get it super dark and bursting with pumpernickel and crusted the top with homemade Everything Bagel topping* to make Black Russian Bagels that have cured me of the need to burn an hour’s worth of gas and time.
*If you’re not keen on making your own, King Arthur Flour also sells jars of pre-mixed Everything Bagel Topping.
My kids are nutty over them. My hubby is nutty over them. I am BONKERS over them. People, we’ve had Black Russian Bagels five mornings in the last two weeks, and I don’t see signs of it slowing anytime soon.
Don’t be intimidated if you’ve never made bagels before today. The dough is very forgiving and is sturdy enough that you don’t feel like its going to rip every time you look at it. It’s a great baking project whether you’re beginner-to-intermediate or a full-blown expert.
Black Russian Bagels {Pumpernickel Everything Bagels}
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1/3 cup plus1 tablespoon King Arthur Flour Pumpernickel Artisan Bread Flavor or 2 ounces by weight
- 3 3/4 cups Unbleached Bread Flour 1 pound by weight
- 1 1/4 cups lukewarm water 10 ounces
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
To Boil the Bagels:
- 2 quarts water
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar or raw sugar
For the Egg Wash:
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon water
For the Everything Bagel Topping:
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 3 tablespoons dried minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons dried minced onion
- 1 tablespoon pretzel salt or coarse sea salt
Instructions
To Make the Everything Bagel Topping:
- Add all of the ingredients to a pint jar, screw a lid on tightly, and shake to combine. Store in a cool, dark place and use as needed.
To Make the Dough:
- Mix all of the dough ingredients together in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook on low speed then allow the mixer to knead it for 10 minutes. Do not crank the speed above low unless you'd like to damage your machine! If you do not have a stand mixer, use a sturdy spoon to combine the dough ingredients before turning it out onto a clean counter and kneading it for 15 minutes. Either way, the dough will be quite stiff... Don't be tempted to add water to loosen it up.
- Remove the dough from the stand mixer bowl and oil it (or oil another mixing bowl). Put the dough in, flip it once, then cover the bowl with a clean, dry tea towel and let it rest and rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour to 90 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
- Turn the dough out onto clean work surface, divide into 8 equal pieces, and roll each piece into a smooth ball. This is easiest to do if you roll it around on the countertop in a repetitive circular pattern with your hand cupped gently over it. Let the dough balls rest, covered with a clean towel, for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- While the dough rests, combine the bagel boil ingredients in a large, high-sided skillet over high heat. When the sugars have dissolved and the water is at a gentle boil (not a full, rolling one) turn your attention to the rested dough.
- Poke your index finger down through the center of each dough ball to the counter. Pick the dough ball up and gently stretch the hole you made until it is about 2 inches in diameter. Take care not to deflate the dough too much. Place it back on the mat and repeat with the remaining dough. Once they're all done, lower one bagel at a time into the water (lowering the side that was facing up on the countertop into the water first.) Do not overcrowd the pan. Each batch for boiling should be no larger than 4 bagels. Boil those 4 bagels for 2 minutes on the first side, carefully flip the bagels and boil the second side for 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bagels to a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. They will not expand greatly while they bake, but should still have a little space between them to allow heat to circulate well. Repeat with the remaining bagels.
- Whisk together the water and egg white until frothy. Brush the boiled bagels then generously crust the top of the bagels with the Everything Bagel Topping. Bake for 25 minutes. The internal temperature of a finished bagel should be at least 190°F.
This post was originally published December 7th, 2013.
Ven Andreyuk says
Disinformation!! There are no such things as Black Russian bagels!
Rebecca says
Aaaaactually, Ven, these were sold as “Black Russian Bagels” by the Wegman’s grocery store chain, so there *is* indeed such a thing as black Russian bagels. I’m not sure how that qualifies this as disinformation.
…Anyone from Buffalo or Rochester, NY or the surrounding WNY community has either seen or eaten them. And unless you’ve made these, I’m not sure why the 1 star rating.
Carol says
How did you get them so dark? I used Bob’s Red Mill Organic Dark Rye Flour because the shipping price on the King Arthur Flour was more than the flour. Did I use the wrong flour?
Rebecca says
You used the right flour, Carol! The Artisan Bread Flavour that I used from King Arthur Flour had caramel colour in it which made it so dark! I know King Arthur has since discontinued the product, but I managed to reverse-engineer a solid home-made version of it. The recipe for that is in my “Ready, Set, Dough: Beginner Breads for All Occasions”, if you’d like to get that gorgeous dark chocolate looking pumpernickel hue. 🙂
Jon Weisberg says
We’ll soon move from NYC area (where the russian pupernickle bagels down the street are exceptional) back to Salt Lake City, where locals confuse bagels with donuts (not really, but pretty close). I’ve mastered regular bagel baking but not black pumpernickle bagels. Your recipe mentions King Arthur Flour Pumpernickle Artisian Bread Flavor, which I am unable to find on the King Arthur site. Listed on the site, however, is Organic Pumpernickel Flour. Is that the same ingredient? Please advise. Thank you!
Rebecca says
Hey Jon! I absolutely understand the issue. Bagels outside of NYC are hit or miss and most often miss. 🙂 You are correct that King Arthur no longer offers the Pumpernickel Artisan Bread Flavor. I was beyond sad when I saw that, but decided that I could figure out a replacement, and I did! I included a recipe for making your OWN pumpernickel bread booster in my bread cookbook: “Ready, Set, Dough: Beginner Breads for All Occasions.” You have to mail order a couple of ingredients, but once you have it, you’ll be set for many, many, MANY Russian pumpernickel bagels or 1-hour pumpernickel bread or anything pumpernickel that tickles your fancy!
Here’s a link for the book! https://amzn.to/3uAmrij
Diane says
My son is begging me to make these black russian bagels. I CANNOT find this pumpernickel artisan bread flavor anywhere….. Please help me! I can only find pumpernickel flour.
Rebecca says
Hey there, Diane! I can help you!! I actually published a recipe for a homemade version of the pumpernickel artisan bread flavour in my book “Ready, Set, Dough! Beginner Breads for All Occasions.” I’m afraid King Arthur doesn’t sell the mix any more, which is such a bummer! It’s an easy thing to make, you just have to collect a couple of ingredients to make it. The good news is that you’ll have it on hand to make these often (which you will probably want to do. 🙂 )
Anne says
Love these bagels! I have them twice. The bagels did not turn out as dark as the bagels in your photo. Is the King Arthur Pumpernickel flour really dark? I used pumpernickel flour from Chicago’s Central Baking.
Rebecca says
Hi Anne- Yes, the King Arthur Flour pumpernickel flavour boost powder had caramel colour in it, but I’m so glad the ones you made taste delicious!!
judy says
So why do you show dark brown bagels but don’t include the ingredient that makes them dark brown…They turned out delicious but just look like plain bagels …..note King Arthur adds 1 T cocao, read that after I made these…
Rebecca says
Judy- I did share the ingredient that makes them brown… it’s just that that particular ingredient is no longer sold by KAF. However, I did re-create the ingredient and include the recipe for it in my bread cookbook: “Ready, Set, Dough! Beginner Breads for All Occasions.” It’s available here.
Lexi says
Hi, I was wondering do you use dark or light brown sugar?
Rebecca says
Hi Lexi-
I use light brown because it’s what I usually have on hand, but either will work here.
Jason says
Hello – where is this King Arthur Flour Pumpernickel Artisan Brad Flavor? I’ve searched that term and haven’t found a thing. thanks
Rebecca says
Hi Jason- Unfortunately, King Arthur Flour has stopped production of this flavour. I made a homemade version of it, though, and the recipe is in my new cookbook, “Ready, Set, Dough!” That’ll set you up if you’d like to try it!
Jason Jason says
hello – is it on page 269?
Jenn says
Where do you get the pumpernickel artesian bread flavor? I don’t even see it on the website. Help!
Rebecca says
Hi Jenn- I am sorry to say they no longer offer it! I have put together a homemade version of it which you can find in my cookbook “Ready, Set, Dough! Beginner Breads for All Occasions.” It is worth it if you love dark pumpernickel!
Ruth Cavayero says
Not sure my dough is not dark. What did you add to make yours dark pumpernickel color?
Rebecca says
Hi Ruth- I used Pumpernickel artisan bread flavouring from King Arthur Flour in these, as I mentioned in the post. I am aware that they no longer sell it, but if you’d like to replicate that colour, I have made my own version of it and included the recipe in my new cookbook: “Ready, Set, Dough: Beginner Breads for All Occasions.”
Russ says
You forgot a key ingredient in your recipe ! What makes the bagels black!
You must include Molasses or dark cocoa!
Rebecca says
Hi Russ- No, actually, I didn’t forget any ingredients. When I published this recipe, I used a mix-in from King Arthur Flour called “Pumpernickel Artisan Bread Flavour” It contained caramel colour, rye, and a bunch of other goodies. They no longer carry the product, but I figured out how to make something very similar and the recipe is included in my new bread cookbook. You can find it here. I’ll actually go in and edit this post to reflect that. 🙂
Marji says
I was going to make these bagels and when I tried to buy the pumpernickel artisan flour the King Arthur’s website said “Note: Since we no longer carry the pumpernickel artisan bread flavor that we used in developing this recipe, as of 11/14/17 it calls for alternate ingredients.” Has anyone made these without the pumpernickel artisan flour?
Rebecca says
Hi Marji- I am actually in the process of making my own version of the pumpernickel artisan bread flavour as we speak. It will be in my upcoming bread cookbook. In the meantime, I’m going to start putting together a list of people willing to test recipes for the book. If you’re interested, join my little facebook group here and you’ll be among the first to hear about it. The recipe for the pumpernickle flavour will be in the list of recipes to test!
Sunny Drohan says
These sound not so difficult. Haven’t made bagels in a lot of years. Did for the holidays once and made plain. Wish I had had this recipe as the pumpernickel is my most favorite. The only place I can get these is on the east coast of Florida. We are on the sw Gulf side. Brooklyn Water Bagel. They have their own water treatment system to replicate Brooklyn. And they are the best. Actually even better than some I have had in NY. And in season the traffic is crazy and it is at least a 2 hour + ride one way. So we wait until we visit friends there or when they come here and bring them.
Sadelles in NYC had the Pumpernickel Everything when they first opened. Now for some reason do not make them anymore.
Rebecca says
Pumpernickel bagels are the best!! I hope you enjoy these!
Mary says
I Can’t wait to hear back from you. Thank you so very much!