Bagels
Posted On 26 October 2020
I haven’t had a lot of luck making bagels, but finally got it right. Bread flour is key. If you don’t have any make your own.
Basic Bagels
Ingredients
- 305 grams lukewarm water (1⅓ cups)
- 9 grams yeast (1 tablespoon)
- 480 grams 14% protein bread flour (4 cups) (see notes)
- 12 grams fine salt (2 teaspoons)
- 14 grams brown sugar (1 tablespoon)
Water Bath
- ~2 quarts water (3" deep in a wide pan)
- 28 grams brown sugar (2 tablespoons)
- 14 grams granulated sugar (1 tablespoon)
Topping Glue (optional)
- 1 egg white
- 1 tablespoon water
Toppings (optional)
- Sesame Seeds
- Poppy Seeds
- Everything But The Bagel Seasoning
- 21 Seasoning Salute (Trader Joe's)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the water and yeast. If using active (not instant) yeast, let sit for 10-15 minutes until bubbly. If using instant yeast, continue right away.
- Add flour, salt, sugar and mix. Knead vigorously for 10 minutes (15 minutes if you're doing this by hand). This is a very strong dough and won't settle when the mixer is turned off. Will 'thwap' around and clean the sides and might rock your mixer a bit on anything higher than about 3.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let sit to rise in a warm place for 60 to 90 minutes. It might not double but it should get very puffy.
- Line two baking sheets with parchment and spray with oil. Yes, parchment and oil. You can thank me later.
- Deflate the dough, transfer to a work surface, and divide into 8-12 pieces. I usually do 12, six per sheet. Not as big as store-bought bagels but still a good size.
- Working with one piece at a time, work into a smooth, round ball. Place the balls evenly on the parchment. When all are formed, cover with oiled plastic wrap and let sit for 30-40 minutes to puff up a bit.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425°F.
- Get a wide pan ready on the stovetop with about 3" of water. Add sugars and bring to a gentle boil.
- Working with one ball at a time, push your thumb through the middle and then widen the hole to about 2". Put back onto the sheet pan and let rest while working on the rest of them.
- When all are formed, put them in the order you made them into the water bath — probably 3 or 4 at a time, depending on the size of your bagels and the size of your pan — for about 2 minutes then flip and boil 1 minute longer. You may need to turn the heat back up to keep it at a boil. Remove with a slotted-spoon or a spider and return to the parchment-lined baking sheet with the smoothest side up. Continue until all bagels are boiled.
- (If adding toppings, whisk the egg white and water until frothy. Brush on the bagels and add seeds or 'everything' topping.)
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. If making plain bagels, take out at about 15 minutes and flip over. May want to rotate the sheets and change racks, too.
- Remove from oven and put bagels on a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- If all you have is all-purpose flour, which is about 9% protein, I recommend 35 grams of vital wheat gluten flour (which is 75% protein) and then 445 grams of all purpose flour — that’ll give you the 480 grams of flour and the roughly the right protein content.
- If you want to make onion bagels, make plain bagels and about 2 minutes before they’re done cooking hit with the egg/water wash and thinly sliced onions.
