Homemade Bagels

Welcome to my first Baking Blog! I thought I would start with something challenging enough, but not too challenging that it would make me a baking failure on my first try, we gotta start nice and easy. For this reason, bagels sounded just like the right thing to bake. 

I love bagels, I lived in NY for like 5 years and it was one of my favorite things to eat. I usually buy them here from a store, but I thought I would give them a try at home as they’re best when fresh and let me tell you these did not disappoint (ask my husband, he’s not even a bagel type of guy). It's a much easier process than I thought, and I know that if I can do it, you can do it too. All you need is a short list of ingredients and some time (around 3 hours to be exact) .

Ingredients: 

• 1 and ½ cups of warm water (aim for 100-110 f)
• 2 and ¾ tsp of active dry yeast 
• 4 cups Bread Flour and a bit on the side for dusting 
• 1 tbsp of Granulated Sugar (you can use dark brown sugar or as traditionally used barley malt syrup) 
• 2 tsp of salt 
• Olive oil to coat 
• ¼ cup of honey
• 1 egg white whisked with 1 tbsp of water for the egg wash
• Toppings - the options are endless. I will be using the ‘Everything but the bagel’ seasoning, just be aware that this has salt so it can become too salty if you add too much. 

(Do this ahead of time - you will need to do this 1 hour and a half before baking the bagels) 

1. Mix the warm water with the dry yeast and let it sit for 5 mins to activate the yeast.
2. In a large bowl add the flour, sugar and salt and mix until combined. Create a well in the middle and add the warm water and yeast mixture.
3. With a wooden spoon, slowly start incorporating the flour with the water. The mixture will look dry (if you have a stand mixer, you can definitely use it for this step) 
4. With a wooden spoon, slowly start incorporating the flour with the water. The mixture will look dry (if you have a stand mixer, you can definitely use it for this step) 
5. Lightly grease a bowl with olive oil or spray. Place the dough and turn it to cover all sides with oil. Use plastic wrap or a clean towel to cover it. Now we’re gonna let it rest for around 60 to 90 mins until it doubles in size.
6. Once it has doubled in size, line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats. 
7. Give the dough a nice punch to release air bubbles. With a knife I split the dough into 8 similar pieces - does not have to be perfectly measured. 
8. Now we shape the bagels - take one of the sections and roll into a ball. Use your index finger to make a hole in the middle, you can do it as big or as small as you’d like. Slowly stretch out and shape the bagel. 
9. Once all done, put the bagels in the baking sheet and cover them with a towel while you get the water bath ready. 
10. Preheat your oven to 425F 
11. In a wide pot put water to boil - should be at least 3 inches of water or more. Whisk in the honey. Once the water boils, turn the heat down to medium-high. 
12. Place 2 to 4 bagels seam up in the water and cook each side for 1 minute.
13. Remove them and place them on the baking sheets and with a brush put some of the egg wash, make sure you get the sides as well. If you wanna add toppings now is the time - I only used the ‘Everything but the Bagel’ seasoning from Trader Joes, but the options are endless. 
14. Bake the bagels for around 20 to 25 minutes, I exchanged the pans from racks in the oven at the halfway mark. They are done when they are dark golden brown. 
15. Once done place them on a cooling rack, or if you don’t have one I used a wooden cutting board. Let them rest for 20 minutes and then they’re ready to be devoured. 

I was so shocked at how easy it was and how amazing these came out - there’s no way I'm going back to store bought ones (unless it's in NY hehe). I definitely have to work on the shaping but I am sure that will come with practice. I can’t wait to keep doing these and try different flavored ones. 

What is your favorite way to eat a bagel? 

I hope you give these a try, I promise they are sooo easy to do!