Quarantine Recipes: How To Make Homemade Bagels
Photo Courtesy of Chowhound/Anna Gass
One of the silver linings of fewer grocery store visits is that I suspect we have all been a bit more adventurous in the kitchen. Instead of running to the market when we have a craving, many of us have been doing a little online digging to see if we can DIY. One of my family traditions is Saturday morning bagels and cream cheese, but since our local bagel shop is closed right now, we haven't been able to do our routine Saturday breakfast: rolling out of bed and toasting up a bagel before starting our day.
Related Reading: 11 Smoked Salmon Recipes That Go Beyond the Bagel
Not willing to sacrifice my bagel breakfast, I decided to come up with my own recipe After a bit of tinkering to avoid bread flour (don't have any) or an overnight proof (too impatient), I created a recipe that can be made all in one day and uses regular old AP flour.
Once the dough is ready, cut it into eight wedges. Roll out each wedge into a six- to eight-inch rope, pinching the two ends together into a circle. The best part of this recipe is the little hands in my kitchen loved rolling the dough out and watching the rounds puff up and boil in the water prior to baking.
In my house, everyone picks their favorite topping out of the spice drawer to customize their bagel. Just dunk the bagel into egg wash, then sprinkle whatever seasonings and spices you want on top. I'm an everything girl, but my kids love cinnamon raisin, so we pressed a few raisins into the dough. Get as creative as you want, sprinkling the dough with things like sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dehydrated onion, Italian spice blend, and even cinnamon sugar, but for that I suggest waiting until the bagel is out of the oven—then brush with a bit of melted butter and shower away.
Homemade New York-Style Bagels
They taste great on day two after a quick toast to wake them up!
INGREDIENTS
- 2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 1/2 cups to 4 1/2 flour, divided
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 egg beaten with a tsp of water
- 10 cups water
- Toppings: everything spice, sesame seeds, garlic salt, dehydrated onions & herbs
INSTRUCTIONS
- In a KitchenAid mixing bowl, add 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water and sprinkle in the yeast. Whisk and allow to bloom for 5 minutes.
- Whisk again and add honey and salt.
- Add the flour and mix until a ball forms and begins to "thwap" against the side of the bowl. Add additional flour in 1/2-cup increments if the dough is sticky and not forming a ball.
- Remove the dough from the mixer bowl and knead for 1 to 2 minutes with your hands, folding the ball in on itself.
- Lightly grease a bowl with oil and put your kneaded ball in the bowl, turning it to coat. Cover the bowl with a tea towel, place in a warm room, and allow the dough to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- After your dough has doubled, punch it down and allow it to rest for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Bring a large stockpot with water to a boil. Whisk together the egg and water to make an egg wash.
- Preheat your oven to 400º F.
- Turn your dough onto the floured surface and divide it in half.
- Then in half again and then across, forming 8 wedges.
- Roll out each piece into a rope and then pinch the ends.
- Rest the dough again for 10 minutes and begin to puff up again.
- Boil your water.
- Before you drop the bagels in the water, put a cotton tea towel over a baking sheet and have it close to the stock pot of boiling water.
- Add 3 bagels to the boiling water; cook for 30 seconds, then flip on to the other side and boil for another 30 seconds. Remove them to the towel-lined baking sheet with a spider. Tongs will rip into the delicate, soft dough. Repeat until all bagels are boiled.
- Dip the top of each bagel with the egg wash and add your desired toppings.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown, rotating the pans halfway through to ensure even baking. Remove from the oven and serve with butter and cream cheese.
Article provided by CBS sister site Chowhound.com and written by Anna Gass. All featured products are curated independently by Chowhound editors. When you buy something through their retail links, Chowhound may receive a commission.
