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The Perfect Bagels
by September-21-2015
Ingredients
  • 2 packets active dry yeast
  • 3 tbs. granulated sugar
  • 4 cups warm water (100°+)
  • 6 cups bread flour (high-gluten flour)
  • 3 tsp. salt
  • 1 tbs. baking soda
  • Corn meal, for dusting
  • 1 egg
  • Bagel Toppings (see below)
Instructions
MAKE THE SPONGEIn a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast and sugar. Stir together gently so they are evenly distributed. Pour 1 cup of warm water (100+ degrees, in my opinion, hot) over the yeast and sugar. Do not stir. Let the mix sit for 5 minutes, it should be foamy and frothy. If its not, your yeast is bad. Stop and start over.Stir in 1 cup of bread flour. Slowly add a second cup of flour, a little at a time, until it is the consistency of a thick batter, but not a dough. You may not need the whole second cup (I only needed about 2/3). Put the remaining flour into a separate, large mixing bowl.MAKE THE DOUGH In the bowl with the left over flour, add another 3 cups of bread flour and 3 tsp. salt. Mix together and make a well in the middle.Pour 1 cup of water into the well, pour the sponge on top and mix it all together with your hands. When its combined, make another well in the middle of the dough, Add the remaining cup of flour and top with half a cup of water.Mix it well with your hands. You want your dough to be smooth and elastic without being sticky (a tad bit tacky is okay, but you don't want it clinging to your fingers and coming apart). You may need to add more flour if it's too sticky, or more water if its not elastic enough.When smooth and elastic, form into a large ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth and let it rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes. This may take more or less time for you, depending on your room temperature and humidity. Make sure its doubled in size, don't worry about the time.THE COLD RISEOnce the dough is doubled in size, punch it down and knead it for just a few minutes. Using a sharp knife, divide the dough into equal portions (8 or 12 depending on the desired size of bagels). I roll it into a log, then cut it in half, and cut the halves in half, etc.One at a time, form each portion into a smooth round ball. Firmly push your finger down through the middle of the ball and then gently pull the dough into a ring with your ringers. Stretch the ring as wide as you can without tearing the dough. Place each shaped bagel onto a cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal (I needed two).Cover the sheets lightly with plastic wrap (you don't want to apply pressure to the dough because it will still be rising, but you don't want it to dry out). Put the cookie sheets into the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight.THE BOILFill a large pot 3/4 of the way full with water. Add 1 tbs. salt and bring the water to a boil. While you wait for the water to boil, preheat your oven to 475 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and then dust with cornmeal. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with some water to make an egg wash. Assemble your desired bagel toppings. Set all aside, close to the stove if you can.Once its boiling, add the 1 tbs. baking soda. Gently drop two or three bagels, one at a time, into the boiling water. Don't over crowd or they can stick together. Boil for 2 minutes, then using a spoon, flip them over and boil for another 2 minutes on that side. Remove from the boiling water with a slotted spoon or strainer. Place onto a prepared baking sheet, brush with egg wash and top with your desired toppings. Repeat with remaining bagels.THE FINISHBake for 10 minutes in the middle of the oven, or until golden. I rotated mine halfway to make sure they browned evenly, but every oven is different.Remove from oven and cool on wire racks.**** TOPPINGS **** You can use any toppings you want; sesame seeds, poppy seeds, minced garlic, even a cinnamon sugar mix for a sweet bagel. You can make an Everything Bagel topping too: 1 tbs. each of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried minced onion, caraway seeds and 2 tsp. coarse salt I do not recommend using SALT to top any bagels you do not plan on eating within 24 hours. It will cause the bread to get soggy the longer it sits on the bagel, so don't be alarmed if this happens, its just the salt. So omit the salt from the Everything mix if you are gonna hang on to them all week.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 12 Medium or 8 Large Bagels