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Easy Homemade Bagels

Yes, you can make homemade bagels in your own kitchen. These turn out chewy in the middle, and a crispy on the outside. Baked bagels freeze really well, too.
Course Bread
Cuisine American
Keyword Easy Homemade Bagels
Prep Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Resting Time 1 hour
Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings 8 bagels
Author Debby - www.AFeastfortheEyes.net

Equipment

  • I invested in a baking stone, and that is how I get crispy pizza crusts, and crispy baked rolls. I also use parchment paper, and cannot be without it. I buy mine pre-cut from King Arthur Flour.com.
  • A "spider"(shallow wire mesh basket with a long handle) makes flipping over the bagels, draining them and placing them on the baking sheet really easy to do.
  • Important: I used my Kitchen Aid Stand mixer, because it's less elbow grease than kneading this dough by hand. I also invested in a pizza peel, that makes the transfer of my breads/pizza much easier to do.
  • large pot for the water bath
  • Baking Sheet lined with parchment paper

Ingredients

DOUGH:

  • 1 tablespoon instant yeast recommended, SAF instant yeast
  • 4 cups bread flour 17-ounces; (recommended King Arthur Flour unbleached bread flour)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water 12 ounces

WATER BATH:

  • 2 quarts water
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Instructions

Manual/Mixer Method:

  • To make this dough in a mixer, combine all of the dough ingredients and on medium-low speed for about 10 minutes.
    (To make this dough by hand combine all of the dough ingredients and knead vigorously, by hand for 10 to 15 minutes.)
  • Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Set it aside to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours until it is noticeably puffy.
  • Note: You can use your oven as a "proofing drawer".Turn the oven on WARM for one minute, then turn off the oven. My dough had risen, beautifully, in less than an hour!
  • Transfer the puffed/risen dough to a work surface and divide the dough into eight equal pieces.
    Working with one piece at a time, roll it into a smooth, round ball.
    Place the balls on a lined or lightly greased baking tray and cover lightly. Let them rest for 30 minutes. They’ll puff up very slightly.
  • Note: I forgot to cover the dough, and it developed a bit of a crust, giving the bagels a slightly wrinkled look. My bagels still turned out great, but next time I won't forget to cover them while resting.
  • Once they have rested, one-by-one, use your thumb to poke a hole through the center of each ball then twirl the dough and use your other fingers to stretch the hole until it is about 1 to 2 inches in diameter. The entire bagel will be around 4 inches across.
    Place the shaped bagels on a lined baking tray (the same one that you’ll bake them on).
  • Prepare the water bath by heating the water and sugars to a very gentle boil in a large, wide-diameter pan. You can use a large pot or a deep straight-edged skillet.
    You'll want to boil them for 2 minutes, flip them over for another minute. Place the bagels back on the baking sheet.
  • Preheat your oven to 425°F.
  • Top the bagels with your desired ingredients.
    If you are going to use a dry topping, such as sesame seeds or poppy seeds, whisk together 1 egg white with 1 tablespoon water and brush each bagel with the mixture before topping heavily with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc.
  • If using Asiago or another cheese, there is no need to brush the bagels with an egg white glaze, simply place the shredded cheese on the bagels.
  • Bake the bagels for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they’re as deep brown as you like. Remove the bagels from the oven, and cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes

Recipe source: Recipe adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and King Arthur Flour
Mel's notes: Since a high-protein bread flour is used here (or a combination of all-purpose flour and gluten), it takes a bit more effort and time to develop the gluten. The dough will be stiffer than other soft yeast dough but will still be pliable and smooth once it has finished kneading. It should be stiff and floured enough not to leave much residue on your fingers after pinching a piece but not so stiff that you can’t easily pinch off pieces of dough and work with it.
My note: I used a Danish dough hook, and the dough had developed enough gluten after ten minutes.