I made bagels the other day. Working at home I’m going a little stir-crazy and looking for distractions.
Bagels aren’t any harder to make than any raised bread. Just mix up a bunch of flour, yeast, and liquid, let it rise, and bake. About the only thing that makes a bagel a bagel is that you boil them before baking.
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To shape the bagels you roll the dough into a ball and then press your thumb to make a hole.
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They’re surprisingly easy to boil. You drop them in a pot of boiling water, cook them for 2 minutes on one side and then flip them and cook them another minute.
After they’ve boiled you let them dry for a few minutes then brush them with an egg wash and top with seasonings if you want.
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Then into the oven for a few minutes and you have bagels!
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1 package yeast
1 T sugar
1 3/4 cups warm water
4 cups bread flour
1/2 T salt
1 egg beaten with a tablespoon of water for egg wash
Combine the yeast, sugar, and water, set aside.
Mix the flour and salt together, then stir in the yeast mixture.
Mix in a mixer with a dough hook or by hand until smooth
Lightly grease the dough by rolling it around in the bowl with a little oil. Cover and let rise until doubled, around an hour.
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll into balls, cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
While the dough is rested bring a pot of water to a boil. Heat your oven to 400 degrees.
Shape the balls into bagels by pressing your thumb through the middle to make a hole. Make it a little bigger than you think you need to, it’ll close in as they cook. Let rest again for about 10 minutes.
Boil for 2 minutes and then flip and boil for one minute longer. You can do as many at once as fit in your pot without crowding.
Let them dry for a moment then move to a parchment lined baking sheet and brush with the egg wash. If you’re adding seasoning sprinkle that on a plate and lay the egg-washed bagel on it top side down to cover with the seasoning. I used an everything mix we’d gotten from Trader Joes.
Bake for 20-24 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack and then enjoy!
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