homemade bagels

Who knew bagels were so easy to make? I was craving bagels this week, and was too lazy to head out to find some...so I decided to give making them a shot. They may not be the prettiest of bagels, but for a first attempt, the tastiness was there. I tinkered with this recipe, so feel free to make your own tinkers to fit your own bagel dreams.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
1.5 tablespoons of granulated sugar
1.5 cups of warm water
4 cups of bread flour or high gluten flour(will need extra for kneading)
1.5 teaspoons of salt
2 eggs
3 tablespoons toppings of choice (I used minced onion and sesame seeds)

Directions:
1. In 1/2 cup of warm water, dissolve the sugar and yeast by letting sit for 5 minutes and stirring if any bits remain.

2. Mix the 3.5 cups of flour and the salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture.

3. Pour 1/2 cup warm water into the well. Mix and stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of warm water gradually. This will result in a moist and firm dough after you have mixed it.

4. On a floured surface, knead the dough for about 6 minutes until it is smooth and elastic, adding more bread flour as needed to make a firm but elastic dough.

5. Drizzle a large bowl with oil, place the dough ball in the bowl and turn to coat. Cover the bowl with a warm damp dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour (or in uncovered in an oven at 100 degrees), until the dough has doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and let it rest for another 10 minutes covered with the dish towel.

6. Divide the dough into equal pieces. Shape each piece into a compact ball, as you would with clay.

7. Coat a finger in flour, and gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball to form a hole. Stretch the shape so the hole gets a bit larger and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Repeat the same step with the remaining dough.

 
8. After all dough rings are on the baking sheets, cover with the warm damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 more minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425ºF.

9. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to lower the bagels into the water (one by one at first until you get the hang of it).  After a few seconds in the water, the bagels will float to the top. Let the bagels sit at the top for 1 minute, and them flip them over to boil for another minute. 

 

10. Whisk the eggs and coat the post-boiled bagels. Roll in toppings, or sprinkle toppings to coat the top of the bagels.

11. Transfer all of the post-boiled post-topped bagels to a lightly greased baking sheet.

12. Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

 

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