Bagels

Last week I made bagels for the first time in my life.  I can't believe I waited so long to make them--they were so easy (as most bread things are) and tasted far superior to the ones you buy! That particular day I was in the mood for cinnamon sugar bagels, so that's what we had.  But I am anxious to try making all kinds of varieties--plain, poppy seed, sesame seed, onion, cheese...the list goes on!  Do yourself a favor and make these bagels.  You won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. warm water
2 T yeast
3 T sugar
1 T salt
4 1/2 c. flour
Any toppings that you intend to use, such as cinnamon or sesame seeds, etc.

Add'l Ingredients:

At least 8 cups of water for boiling the bagels before baking
1 egg white + 1 T water, mixed to together, for an egg wash so you can then add whatever toppings you like.

Oven Temperature: 350 degrees
Baking Time: 35 minutes

In a glass measuring cup, combine the yeast, sugar, and water together and stir. Allow the mixture to stand for 3 minutes.

In a large bowl or stand mixer bowl, combine the flour and salt, mixing well.  Once the yeast has been activated, go ahead and add it to the bowl.  Mix until combined, then knead for 5 minutes.

Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover, and allow the dough to rise until doubled.

Punch down the dough.  If you are making cinnamon bagels, I added about 2 T of cinnamon to my dough and kneaded it in by hand at this point.

Divide the dough into 8 or 10 balls and allow them to rest for 5 minutes. (I always gently cover any bread dough that I work with, with a layer of plastic wrap to help retain the moisture. Don't press it down on top of the dough though--you don't want it to stick!)

After 5 minutes, it's time to shape the bagels.  Have a little flour nearby in case you need it. Using your thumbs, poke a hole in the center of the dough ball and stretch the ball into a bagel shape. Be fairly liberal in your stretching (not to the point that you tear the dough, of course), as the bagel will continue to rise and potentially close the center hole as it expands.  Try to make at least a 1 1/2" hole.  Place shaped bagels onto a baking sheet to rest (covered) for 10 minutes.

At this point you will want to have your large pot of water boiling--it's time to give your bagels a quick bath! They'll need to cook for about 45 seconds total and you will want to turn them halfway through that time period.  I used a pair of tongs to turn the bagels mid-boil, as well as to remove them from the water.  You'll also want to be prepared for when the bagels come out of the water. I set a couple of drying racks on 2 extra cookie sheets--that way the water (and eventual egg wash) could drip and drain as necessary.  Before baking, I transferred them to my favorite cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.

Now that your bagels have been boiled, it's time to use that egg wash.  Brush a generous coating of egg wash on top of each bagel and then sprinkle on whatever topping you are wanting to use.  This is when I added cinnamon sugar to the tops of my bagels.

Finally, it's time to bake the bagels.  As mentioned earlier, I used parchment paper to avoid any unnecessary drama of bagels sticking to my cookie sheets.  It worked wonderfully.  Halfway through the baking time, go ahead and rotate the bagels on the tray. Don't flip them over (unless you want all your toppings on the baking sheet instead of the bagels), simply lift and turn them a bit to ensure they aren't sticking to the pan and to allow the bottoms of the bagels a better opportunity to evenly bake.

Eventually they will be ready and your family will descend on the bagels like they've never eaten anything quite like them before. They were absolutely delicious, although if you can at all hold off on eating them until they are comfortably warm rather than burn-your-mouth-hot, you'll probably enjoy them even more! ;) Happy baking and even happier eating!