Earlier this year I had a trip booked to NYC before ‘Rona rudely interrupted my plans. These bagels took me on a culinary journey to NYC when I couldn’t be there in person and helped me feel better about the whole situation… or maybe it was the carbs?? Either way, try this recipe even if you are new to working with yeast, you will be so proud of yourself when you bite into a fresh bagel laden with cream cheese!
This is a small batch recipe that yields 4 bagels.
Ingredients:
250g plain flour
125ml warm water
2 x teaspoons sugar
1 x teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast (I use SAF dried active yeast)
Water (for boiling bagels) with 1 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons sugar added
1 x egg (or milk) for glazing
Sesame or poppy seeds for topping, optional
Lulu's how to:
1. In a bowl, combine 125ml warm water with sugar and yeast. Set aside for five minutes to allow yeast to activate (it should become bubbly or foamy)
2. Add 250g flour to yeast mix and stir to combine. Allow mix to sit and hydrate for five minutes before you start kneading.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured bench. It will be a very dry and crumbly dough. Use your hands to bring the dough together, if it is too dry add 1 tablespoon of water at a time to help it combine (you shouldn’t need more than 1-2 tbsp of water to bring the dough together)
4. Knead dough for 7-10 minutes (anchor dough with one hand, use your palm to push it away from you, then pull it back on top of itself) Continue kneading until dough is pliable. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the dough during the kneading process.
5. When finished kneading, the dough should be firm and smooth. Add a splash of olive oil to a bowl and coat the dough in oil. Cover the bowl in a plastic bag and leave it for one hour to rise, or until it has doubled in size.
6. Once dough has risen knock it back and remove from the bowl. Use your hands shape it into a loaf shape, then divide it into four equal portions. Shape each portion into a ball, poke a hole in the middle and stretch it gently to make a bagel shape. Once you’ve shaped your four bagels, set them on a baking tray and let them rest for 20 minutes.
7. While bagels are resting, bring water to boil and add 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp sugar. Preheat the oven to 220C/ 425F.
8. Once bagels are rested, add bagels to boiling water and boil for 1min 30s on each side. If you pot is small you can do this in batches.
9. Once bagels are boiled, place on a tray coat with an egg wash (or milk) This will give them a nice shine and help your toppings stick. Add whatever toppings you like and bake bagels in oven for 18-20 minutes.
Happy cooking!
Lulu Bliss is an Australian honey pie residing in Las Vegas Nevada USA. You can reach out to her via her instagram page here.
