Lives to Eat

Another thing I was inspired to cook during the giant snowstorm was homemade bagels. I have been very afraid of yeast doughs for a long time. I'd always heard that yeast was so tricky to work with, requiring exactly the right temperatures and conditions to properly rise and you wouldn't know if it would work until the dough is already made. I just avoided it and bought any bread or pizza dough that I needed. I decided that enough is enough and I needed to make this myself. So I did. And I ended up with some of the most delicious bagels I've ever eaten!



Everything Bagels
Inspired by Smitten Kitchen

I recommend you review the recipe over at Smitten Kitchen as well, since there are some great notes there on how the bagels are made from a much more experienced break baker. :-)

Yield: 9 medium sized bagels

Sponge
1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 cups bread flour (or high gluten flour)
1 1/4 cups water, heated to 120*

Dough
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 3/4 - 2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp malt powder or 1 TBSP dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar (see note below)

To Finish
1 TBSP baking soda
Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting

Topping
Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt, rehydrated dried minced garlic or onions (I used 2 TBSP of each, but would definitely use less salt next time - maybe half as much)

1. Day one: To make the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in a 4-quart mixing bowl. Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly. It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop or poked with a fork.

2. To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl (or in the bowl of a strong stand mixer), add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. Then add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and all of the salt and malt (Note: I used honey because I could not find malt in any of the 4 stores I checked). Stir or mix on low speed with the dough hook until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining flour to stiffen the dough as needed.

3. Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes (or for 6 minutes by machine). The dough should be firm, stiffer than French bread dough, but still pliable and smooth. There should be no raw flour – all ingredients should be hydrated. The dough should pass the windowpane test. If the dough seems too dry and rips, add 1/2 tsp of water and continue kneading. If the dough seems tacky or sticky, add more flour to achieve the stiffness required. The kneaded dough should feel satiny and pliable but not be tacky.

4. Immediately divide the dough into 9 pieces, or more if smaller bagels are desired. I don't have a scale, so I couldn't weigh my pieces, but each one fit comfortably into a 1/4 cup measuring cup. Form the pieces into rolls.

5. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes.

6. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment. Poke a hole in a ball of bagel dough and gently rotate your thumb around the inside of the hole to widen it to approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter. The dough should be as evenly stretched as possible (try to avoid thick and thin spots.)

7. Place each of the shaped pieces 1-2 inches apart on the pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

8. Check to see if the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the "float test." Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. The bagels are ready to be retarded when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water. Take one bagel and test it. If it floats, immediately return the tester bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (it can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float, return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. The time needed to accomplish the float will vary, depending on the ambient temperature and the stiffness of the dough. (Note: I skipped the overnight refrigeration because I didn't have enough patience. I didn't seem to have any negative effects from not refrigerating them overnight. I did refrigerate the bagels for about 20 minutes.)

9. When you are ready to bake the bagels, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F with the rack set in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda (stand back - it will bubble up). Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.

10. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds). The bagels will expand significantly, so do not overcrowd the pot. I cooked mine in batches of three. After 1 minute flip them over and boil for another minute. If you like very chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling to 2 minutes per side. While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-lined sheet pan with cornmeal or semolina flour. If you want to top the bagels, do so as soon as they come out of the water. You can use any of the suggestions in the ingredients list or make up your own.

11. When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pan on the middle shelf in the oven. Bake for approximately 5 minutes, then rotate the pan 180 degrees. After the rotation, lower the oven setting to 450 degrees F and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown. You may bake them darker if you prefer. (I actually baked them longer, often almost five extra minutes in 2 minute increments. I judged their doneness by color.)

12. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.