Day 5: BAGELS

Honestly, I don't know why I don't make these homemade bagels more often.  The kids LOVE THEM!  I LOVE THEM!  YOU will LOVE THEM!  One of our favorite ways to make bagels is with cheese baked on top.  There's just something about baked cheese that heightens the flavor to a whole new level.  WE LOVE IT!!  I would probably consider my family as bagel monsters.  They don't last very long at our house.  After you've made these yummy bagels yourself, you will come up with all kinds of variations that will make your own homemade bagels family favorites.  

We will be using FIVE of our 7 ESSENTIAL ingredients every kitchen should always keep on hand and well stocked: flour, sugar, salt, eggs, rising agent (yeast).

In actuality, I always make more baked goods because it only makes sense with my large family, right? But for all practical purposes, I'm giving you the 1/2 cut recipe version to make an even dozen.  However, these bagels are freezable and can easily be taken out and thawed, toasted, or microwaved if you make more than you can eat right away.

Let's get at it shall we?

First we're starting with 1 1/2 cups of warm water in a large mixing bowl.  

If you're a beginner and you've stuck with me for a few recipes now you probably know why the water has to be warm right?  It helps our rising agent--in this case yeast--rise a little better.  

So we're going to add 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast to the water.  

This would be equivalent to one .25 oz package of yeast.

Another thing that we'll add to this yeast mixture is sugar, which also helps it rise.  

Not too much, just 2 Tablespoons will do the job.  

Nifai has a hard time remembering NOT to pour the sugar all in one spot.  

YOU will want to sprinkle it evenly over the yeast. 

Now we'll leave it alone for 5-10 minutes until our yeast is nice and foamy.

In the meantime we're going to put 3 1/2 cups of flour into a separate bowl.

and to that flour we'll add 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.

Nifai mixes that salt and flour up for us with a fork and you can do the same.

Once that's done, we're going to add it to our yeast mixture.

Mix it well until all the flour has been evenly incorporated.

Once you've worked the flour pretty well through, you're going to get your floured surface ready.

We like to use a clean counter top, a hand sieve and just sprinkle it over our work area.

Then we take all the mixed dough and clump it in one big heap on our floured surface.

The idea here is to knead this piece of dough into a nice smooth shape.  This will take about 5 minutes of kneading action and possibly more flour sprinkled during kneading to keep the dough from sticking to the surface and your hands.

After 5 minutes of kneading is up, your dough should look like this.

We're going to put that in a bowl, cover it and let it rise for about 45 minutes.  

During this time your dough should double in size.

Once it has risen and you've punched it down a bit, smooth it out into a nice round ball and place it on a clean surface once again for dividing.

Some people like to weigh their dough and do the math to see how many ounces each portion should be for even division.  I'm not that technical.  I just eyeball it and cut down the middle.  

But if you like measuring--more power to ya.

Give it a nice clean cut all the way through and separate the sections a bit.

You'll just keep eyeballing the sections and dividing them until you get 12 equal-ish portions.   

Quick tip, if you've got kids and they eat like a half a bagel (or less) go ahead and make mini bagels.  The kids think it's cute, fun and they waste less that way.  

Now we'll take each of these dough portions and roll them into perfect little dough balls, like so--

Then we'll place those perfect dough balls on parchment paper or some other nonstick surface and allow them to rest about 5 minutes while we prepare a few other things.

We are going to prep our water, drip tray, and baking sheets.  You're probably thinking, "Water?  Drip tray?"  Yup.  Did you know that in order to make bagels you have to boil them before you bake them?  I know--it came as a surprise to me the first time I made them too.  But if you think about it, boiling dough before baking it is what gives bagels that chewy texture that we love.  

While you are trying to wrap your mind around this whole boiling then baking thing, go ahead and fill a large pot about 3/4 full of water.  Set it on the stove to boil at high heat.

You'll also want to have something near the boiling water to use as a drip tray.  

I have a roasting pan with a cooling rack over it.  This is where the boiled bagels go to drip dry.

Next, you'll get your baking sheets ready by lining them with foil.

 

Then spray it evenly with non-stick cooking spray and sprinkle with cornmeal.  

This will keep the bagels from sticking to the sheet while baking.

Alrighty, you're set!  Let's put some holes in those bagel balls.  It's a very difficult technique--are you ready for it?  You jab your thumb in the middle and pull apart.  Yes, I was being sarcastic because this is super easy AND fun.  Because of the elasticity of the dough, you really can't ruin this.  

I have seen homemade bagels with major holes in them--like big enough to put a cup of dipping sauce--but who cares!  It tastes the same no matter the size so YOU DO YOU!

The one thing I would suggest is just to make sure the holes are big enough for even boiling and baking action.  When things aren't fully cooked through it is usually right smack in the middle, right?  So just make sure your bagel holes are wide enough that when they do rise a bit, boil and bake, the hole doesn't close up.  Keeping an opening in the center allows heat to engulf your bagel all over to get a nice even bake throughout. 

Cover your bagels and let them rise about 10 minutes while you get an eggwash ready.

Not sure what eggwash is?  Its just beaten egg.  Many recipes will say to use the egg white only for eggwash.  I use the whole egg because I don't want to waste an egg yolk.  You don't need much.

One beaten egg is enough eggwash for 24 bagels and 6 loaves of french bread--just so you know.  

(I used it all in one day on baked breads).

Once your egg is beaten into an eggwash, set it aside near your drip tray.

Alrighty, turn your water down to medium high heat for a simmer...

And drop your first 1-3 bagels in for their hot water bath.  

Let them boil for about 40 seconds on each side.  Use a spatula or something wide to gently flip them over.  Anything much smaller or sharper will puncture the soft dough release 

air and possible cause it to deflate or become misshapen.

Once they've boiled on both sides, gently scoop them out and place on a cooling rack/drip tray.
I'm still using my slotted wooden spatula for this.

After all of your bagels have been boiled and cooled, use eggwash to coat the tops for a shiny finish.

This is what it looks like after the eggwash coating.  You're thinking "The bagels look lumpy." 
No worries! Once they bake the lumpiness goes away and they just look glorious. 
And yes--it would be easier to use a pastry brush than a spoon for the eggwash. 
I can just never remember to get one whenever I go to the store.  

Finally, we're going to put them onto our lined, sprayed, and cornmeal sprinkled baking sheets.

At this point, I go ahead and add my cheese--nothing fancy, just good 'ol shredded colby-jack cheese.  If I had thought ahead, I would've sliced some jalapenos and added that on top too.  Maybe next time.

Here they go! Straight into the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes.

And this is what the finished product looks like fresh out of the oven!  

See?  No lumps--just glorious golden baked goodness!  

Beautiful huh?  

They taste even better than they look, if you can believe it.  I meant to only take one bite then snap a picture, but they were so good I got carried away before I remembered.  SORRY!  The kids were chowing down on them too.  Maybe next time they'll last long enough for me to make a bagel sandwich with egg, ham and cheese and take a picture----oohhh yes!

Let me know how your bagels turn out!