I quickly wrote this down. Hopefully not too confusing. This is actually really easy to make. Next time I’ll add photos.
It is important that you make the dough the night (or even a day in advance) before you plan on baking.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon instant yeast or 1 tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
4 cups bread flour (do not use all-purpose flour!)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon brown sugar (at the bagel deli where I used to work, we added malt powder instead, but this brown sugar trick works really well – if by any chance you have malt powder, you should use 1 tablespoon of that instead)
1 1/3 cups warm water
I use a KitchenAid to mix and knead the dough, but you can do it by hand. I would knead the dough for a bit longer though, maybe 15 minutes. …exhausting, I know.
If using active dry yeast (like I do), add the yeast to the warm water for 10 minutes to let it bloom. Combine all of the dough ingredients on low with the paddle attachment until it comes together. Remove the paddle, and by hand, bring the dough into a ball, and insert the dough hook. Using the low setting, knead for 10 minutes. The dough should hold it’s shape and not stick to the sides of the bowl.
Cover the bowl with a towel and let it rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until it has bulked up in size (not necessarily doubled in size, but close).
Transfer dough to a work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Shape into bagels. My preferred method is to roll each piece into a ball, insert a couple fingers into the center and spin on the counter-top so that the holes widen. The holes should be fairly large (maybe I’ll take photos next time 🙂 ) so that there is room for the bagels to puff up a little. Place bagels on a pan that has been lined with parchment. To help keep the bagels from sticking, spread a thin layer of corn meal on the parchment, or spray with cooking spray. I prefer the corn meal method. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. That part is key! Like a pizza dough, the flavor needs time to develop.
The next morning take the tray out and let it sit to warm up and rise a little. You don’t want them to be too puffy or you’ll have air pockets in your bagels, but you do want them to puff up a bit. Depending on the temp of your kitchen, this can take about an hour.
Set your oven to 425 degrees. I place the bagels nearby to speed up the warming up process a bit. If they are warm, they will puff up a lot faster.
When you are ready to bake, boil a large pot of water and place the bagels into the boiling water (3 or 4 at a time) for 2 minutes on one side, flip and continue for another minute.
Place them back on the prepared pan and add toppings while the dough is still wet. That will help them stick.
Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the bagels and bake for another 10 minutes.
This recipe was adapted from a couple of sources, the original Bageland deli in Gainesville, FL ca. 1990, and the King Arthur Flour company.
