I’m a carb girl. Always have been. Despite my best efforts at self-control and healthy eating, there is simply no denying that they are one of my favorite food groups. In an effort to limit my intake, I generally stick to the rule that I can have all the carbs I want…as long as I make them. All the bread, bagels, and biscuits I desire as long as they are made completely from scratch. Keeping in mind that bread takes on average five days to make (including the yeast starter process) and is relatively labor intensive process it’s a good limiting factor. My favorite bread recipe has long since been nailed down. Yet, in all my experiments I hadn’t perfected the great, chewy bagel of my dreams. My love of bagels is well documented on the blog but I’ve not yet posted an official bagel recipe before because I never felt like I had it just right. Well, today all that changes folks. I’m here to dazzle your world with a bagel recipe worth the hype. Throw in some Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel seasoning and you’ve got yourself the potential for a one-day bagel making extravaganza. Bonus points if you’ve got a steam setting on your oven. Enjoy!
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 ½ tablespoons (4 ½ teaspoons) granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups (you may need ± ¼ cup, I know I did)
- 3 ½ cups bread flour or high gluten flour(will need extra for kneading)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- In ½ cup of the warm water, pour in the sugar and yeast. Do not stir. Let it sit for five minutes, and then stir the yeast and sugar mixture, until it all dissolves in the water.
- Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture.
- Pour 1/3 cup of the remaining warm water into the well. Mix and stir in the rest of the water as needed. Depending on where you live, you may need to add anywhere from a couple tablespoons to about ¼ cup of water. You want a moist and firm dough after you have mixed it.
- On a floured countertop, knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Try working in as much flour as possible to form a firm and stiff dough. The photos show the dough after 5 minutes of kneading and then again after 10 for an idea of texture.
- Lightly brush a large bowl with oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel (photo 1). Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size (photo 2). Punch the dough down, and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
- Carefully divide the dough into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round. Now, take a dough ball, and press it gently against the countertop (or whatever work surface you’re using) moving your hand and the ball in a circular motion pulling the dough into itself while reducing the pressure on top of the dough slightly until a perfect dough ball forms. Repeat with 7 other dough rounds.
- Coat a finger in flour, and gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring to about ⅓ the diameter of the bagel and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Repeat the same step with the remaining dough.
- After shaping the dough rounds and placing them on the cookie sheet, cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425ºF, using a steam setting if you have one.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce the heat. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to lower the bagels into the water. Boil as many as you are comfortable with boiling. Once the bagels are in, it shouldn’t take too long for them to float to the top (a couple seconds). Let them sit there for 1 minute, and them flip them over to boil for another minute. Extend the boiling times to 2 minutes each, if you’d prefer a chewier bagel (results will give you a more New York Style bagel with this option).
- If you want to top your bagels with stuff, do so as you take them out of the water, you may use the Trader Joe's seasoning to top the bagels but before hand, you will need to use an egg wash to get the toppings to stick before putting the bagels into the oven.
- Once all the bagels have boiled (and have been topped with your choice of toppings), transfer them to a lightly oiled baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until golden brown.
I feel left out…I see 6 bagels…you must have dropped them when bringing them over for your parents to try! They look yummy!!!