Bagels

Doneness

Cut faces are deep golden brown with crisp ridges where the surface dehydrated and toasted; the outer crust is springy-firm (not rock-hard, not raw-soft); interior crumb is warm-and-chewy with the steam-baked open texture still intact. The bagel should sound hollow when tapped on the cut face — that's the marker of a properly toasted bagel vs an under-warmed one. Any bagel still pale-yellow on the cut face needs 60–90 more seconds.

Oil & seasoning

No oil needed — bagels have enough surface starch to dry and toast under convection heat. Optional: brush ½ tsp melted butter on the cut face before the flip if you want a richer flavour (butter penetrates the warmed crumb and adds bakery-style richness).

Season with: plain (no topping), everything-bagel seasoning (sprinkled on the butter brush), cream cheese to serve, smashed avocado + salt + chilli flakes, lox + capers + red onion + dill, peanut butter + banana + honey, ham + cheese for a hot bagel sandwich.

Watch out for

• !Slice the bagel cleanly through the middle BEFORE loading — never try to toast a whole bagel. The dense interior crumb won't warm through in 5 minutes from the outside; the only result is a hot crust over a cold-and-doughy centre. A serrated knife sawing horizontally gives the cleanest cut.
• !Cut-side UP for the first 3 minutes — this is when the cut face dehydrates and toasts. Flipping cut-side-down too early traps moisture on the basket grate and the toasted face goes from golden back to soft. After the flip at 3 min, the round outer crust crisps for the final 2 min.
• !Single layer — overlapping bagel halves block airflow to the cut face and the result is half-toasted. 2 bagels (4 halves) fits a standard 4-qt basket; bigger NYC-style bagels need a 6-qt basket or a 2-batch cook.
• !Frozen bagels — load straight from the freezer (no thaw), add 90 seconds to the total cook (so 6.5 min total, flip at 4). Thawing on the counter first lets surface moisture form, which steams the cut face and prevents the deep golden toast.