Ingredients

For the base bagel dough

750 g (5⅓ cup) All purpose flour

415 g (1¾ cup) Warm water

7 g (1 packet) Dried yeast

50 g (4 tbsp) Sugar

1½ tsp Salt

2 tbsp Olive oil

You will also need water for boiling the bagels in

1 egg white, beaten, for brushing the tops of the bagels

The various flavorings to make egg, onion, poppy seed and everything bagels

Egg yolk

Onion powder

Dehyrdrated onion flakes

Poppy seeds

Sesame seeds

Sea salt flakes

Sunflower seeds

Method

For the base bagel dough

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt.

Add the yeast to the warm water, and stir to distribute the yeast.

Add the yeast/water mixture to the bowl containing the flour. Mix together with a spoon or spatula until the dough starts to come together. Then transfer to a work surface and knead the dough for 10 - 15 minutes (see the video for the kneading technique). If you prefer, you can knead the dough using a stand mixer for around 5 minutes.

At this point add the olive oil, and knead it into the dough until fully incorporated.

Put the dough into a greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 2 hours or until it has doubled in size.

At this point, divide the dough according to which flavors of bagel you want to make. Note that you will need to make additions to the dough for egg bagels and onion bagels (see below for details). Whereas, for other flavors, it’s just a matter of adding toppings to the bagels.

To make egg bagel dough

For every 200 g portion of dough add 1 egg yolk. You will also need some additional flour. See the video for details of how to incorporate the eggs and flour into the dough.

To make onion bagel dough

For every 200 g portion of dough, add ¼ tsp of onion powder.

Note: when making onion bagels (see the section below) top the bagels with rehydrated dehydrated onion flakes two minutes before they finish baking. See the video for more details.

To make the bagels

To form each bagel, you need 100 g of dough. Shape each portion of dough into a ball. See the video for the precise technique.

Place the bagels on a floured tray, cover and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Punch out circular holes in each bagel using something sharp e.g. a large piping tip. See the video for the technique.

Dip each bagel into simmering water for about 40 seconds. This step is critical in developing the signature chewy texture of bagels.

Place the bagels onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops of bagels with beaten egg white.

According to what kinds of bagels you’re making, add the relevant toppings e.g. poppy seeds or sesame seeds.

Bake the bagels in a preheated oven at 220 °C (430 °F) for around 18 minutes. When they’re ready to come out of the oven, they will be a beautiful golden brown color.

Take the bagels out of the oven, and allow to sit for around 10 minutes. At that point, they will be cool enough to handle. Loosen the bagels from the parchment paper.

Tips

As soon as the bagels cool, you can freeze them. That way, you can have fresh bagels whenever you want.

Categories: Bread, Homemade Bread