weekends are for baking: bagels

I haven’t had a bagel in. . .I don’t even remember how long, but the last time I had one I was in Canada because I have never seen a bagel here in Zambia. I love bagels (especially if they come with cream cheese). When I worked downtown Vancouver, many mornings would start with a trip down to the sandwich shop to pick up breakfast of a bagel and cream cheese. I miss not being able to just pop down to the sandwich shop (or any of the restaurants in Vancouver) to buy something to eat (especially when I have a tendency to eat my lunch by 10:00 am).

When I happened upon this recipe for New York-style bagels and read the comments about how easy they were to make and realized I had all of the ingredients in my pantry, I had to give it a try and I am so happy I did. This recipe is awesome; so awesome that I made on batch on Saturday and then had to make a second batch on Sunday because we ate them all.

 

Ingredients

2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 ½ tablespoons of sugar
1 ¼ cups of warm water (another ½ cup might be required)
2 ½ cups bread flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (plus extra for kneading)
1 ½ teaspoons salt
toppings such as grated cheese, minced garlic, sesame seeds, or chili flakes, optional

In ½ cup warm water, pour in the sugar and the yeast. Do not stir. Let sit for five minutes then whisk until the yeast and sugar dissolves in the water.

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast mixture. Pour in half of the remaining water into the well. Stir to combine. Mix in the rest of the water (and more if needed) until you have a moist and firm dough.

On a floured surface, knead the dough for about 10 minute until it is smooth and elastic. Work in as much flour as possible to form a firm and stiff dough.

Place the dough in a large bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil. Turn the dough in the bowl so the dough is coated in olive oil. Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and let rise in a warm place for an hour until the dough has doubled in size.

Punch the dough down and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Pinch off pieces of dough (about the size of your hand) and shape into a smooth ball by rolling it into itself. (For step-by-step pictures, click here.)

Gently press your finger into the middle of the dough ball to make the hole. Using two fingers stretch the hole to form a bagel shape. Place bagel on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.

Once bagels have been shaped and are on the cookie sheet, cover with a damp towel and let them rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 F or 220 C.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Then reduce heat to a simmer. Using a slotted spoon, place the bagels into the water. The bagels will expand in the pot so do not boil too many at a time. Once immersed in the water, the bagels will quickly float to the surface. Let them sit on top for a minute before flipping them over to boil on the other side for another minute. For chewier bagels, increase the boiling time to 2 minutes per side.

Remove the bagels from the water and place on a cookie rack.

Coat each bagel with an egg wash (whisked egg – if egg is too thick, add a bit of water to thin it out) and place toppings on each bagel if desired. (Our favourite was the everything bagel which was a combination of minced fresh garlic, chili pepper flakes, sesame seeds and grated cheese.) If you are not topping the bagels, you may skip the egg wash, however I think that the bagels have a nicer colour with the egg wash.

Transfer bagels to an oiled baking sheet. Do not skip the oil or the bagels will stick to the pan.

Bake for 20 minutes until the bagels are golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack.

Makes 12 small bagels.