Bagels
Fresh bagels at home! You can top them with whatever you choose and your house will smell amazing while they bake. It may seem intimidating, but they aren't actually that difficult or time consuming and definitely worth the effort.
bagel ingredients
300 ml (1 ¼ cups) warm water
1 ½ Tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
500 g bread flour (3 ½ cups)
toppings (optional):
seeds of your choice, coarse salt, minced garlic or onion, egg (for egg wash) or milk
Mix warm water with salt and sugar until (mostly) dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over the mixture and let it sit for 5 minutes or so until yeast is foamy. If you're using instant yeast instead of active dry yeast you can skip the wait time.
Add flour to the yeast water mixture and mix to combine. Knead the resulting dough for 7 to 10 minutes. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment to mix and knead the dough, scraping down the sides when needed. Dough should be firm and stiff but smooth and should pass the windowpane test.
Drizzle a small amount of vegetable oil into a bowl and use your fingers to coat the bottom/ sides of the bowl. Form dough into a ball and roll it around the bowl, coating the dough in a thin layer of oil. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap (or a kitchen towel). Let it rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
Deflate the dough and let it rest a few minutes while you prep the next steps. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Grease 2 baking sheets.
Prep your toppings. If you want to add seeds, salt, or other toppings to your bagels, you will need a liquid wash to help the toppings adhere. To make the egg wash, mix one egg with about 2 teaspoons of water. Alternatively, use milk (or your favorite milk substitute). If you don't want toppings, you can still use an egg or milk wash to get a shinier/ browner crust on the top of your bagels.
Divide dough into 8 even pieces. Flour your hands as needed throughout the shaping process. Form each into a ball. Press the ball against a cutting board or your counter, rolling gently, to smooth the bottoms/ seams of the dough balls. Press a finger into the center of the dough ball, pushing all the way through to form a hole, gently enlarge the hole and even out the shape of the resulting ring. Repeat with each dough ball. Take your time with the shaping process. See the video below for further guidance.
Place 4 dough rings (or as many as comfortably fit in your pot) in the boiling water. They should quickly float to the top. Boil for 1 minute, then flip them and boil for another minute.
Remove from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and place on greased baking sheet. Repeat until all dough rings are boiled.
If using, brush bagels with egg or milk wash and sprinkle on your toppings. Bake bagels for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
bagels after boiling