Home made bagles FTW

Mr. Tulip is a bagel fiend. I'm sure you can imagine his excitement and child-like joy when I announced that I was going to try my hand at making some home made ones. He was elated. And the 8 bagels that we made were devoured within moments.

The recipe I used was adapted from 3 different recipes and tutorials, I found online. However, this one is the page that inspired me to give it a whirl: click

So, with out Further ado, here's how I did it.


Homemade bagel recipe (Makes 8)
4 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsps instant yeast
1 1/2 cups of warm water.
Pam
(+ some water, sugar, and flour if needed)



Mix all the ingredients your big mixing bowl. The dough should feel stiff, if it’s really dry or you can’t get all the flour in, add a little bit of water. Just a little bit at a time. If it gets too loose a tiny bit more flour. Be careful not too make it too loose.

Plop the dough down onto the counter, and knead for about ten minutes, or until the dough is uniform and smooth.


There can be some playing with portions of flour and water here too. The dough should be thick and slightly sticky, but not clinging to your hands or the counter. I recommend not flouring the counter to begin with, and adding only a little bit of flour at a time until it reaches the desired consistency.

Divide the dough into 8 even balls. I recommend using a sharp knife and cutting it. Then rolling the dough between your hands like play-doh. Give it a couple good smacks.



Let the dough-balls sit for 15 minute or so.

Pre heat your oven to 400 (You may need to adjust the temp, my oven runs hot)
Take each ball of dough, and roll it into a snake shape until its about two palm-widths long, do this on a NON-floured surface. Trust me on this one. Then wrap the snake around the back of your hand, placing both ends in your palm. Squeeze the ends together, so it fuses and sticks. (This is why you don’t want too much flour, if your dough isn’t somewhat sticky, the ends wont fuse and you wont have bagels).



Let your bagels (see, no longer dough balls, now they’re bagels!) rest for another 15-20 minutes. I let them hang out on the cookie sheet, since I have really limited counter space. While you’re waiting get a pot of water boiling. I like to add a little bit of sugar to the water, just a dash though.

See, boiling the dough before you bake it is what makes a bagel, a bagel. It’s very important. So get that water ready to go!

Once your bagels have rested, it’s time to boil them. I usually do them 2 or 3 at a time. Boil them on one side for a minute, then flip them over and boil them on the other side for a minute.



Make sure to let your bagels drain for a minute or two before putting them on your greased cookie sheet.

This is the part where you can add toppings if you want. I didn’t for these ones but I’m particularly fond of poppy seed bagels. The best way to do it is to fill a shallow dish with what ever topping you want to add. Then, when the bagels come out of the boiling water, plop it in the dish, give it a little wiggle, and then put it on the cookie sheet topping side up.

Put your tray in the oven, bake them for 10 minutes, flip them over, then bake for another 10. (do this for topped bagels too)

Let them cool for at least 20 minutes, get the cream cheese ready, and feast !


Mmmm those look awesome.