Homemade Bagels

Ingredients: 

• 530g flour


• 1 tablespoon (12g) caster sugar


• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt


• 1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil


• 2 teaspoons (7.5g) dried yeast


• 300-350ml warm water

• Prep time: about 1 hour 15 mins


• Oven time: 20 mins at 220

 

 

 

Instructions: 

• Mix the dough using the above ingredients and knead for a full 10 minutes until smooth


• Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and let it rest for 20 minutes


• Take each piece and roll it into a 'snake', roughly the same length as the width of both hands


• Wrap a snake around one hand, with the ends meeting on the palm, then smush and roll the ends together, working it into as smooth a ring as possible


• Once all the rings are formed, leave to rest for 20 minutes and bring to the boil a large pan of unsalted water


• Place the bagels in the water, as many at a time as possible without the bagels touching


• Cook for 1 minute, then flip over in the water and cook the other side for 1 minute then remove immediately


• Once out of the water, allow the bagels to dry a little before placing them on a lightly-oiled baking tray


• Bake for 10 minutes, then flip over and bake the other side for a further 10 mins


• Mazeltov! Delicious, homemade bagels!

N.B. If you wish to top the bagels with poppy seeds or whatever, then this should be done after the boiling stage and the bagels placed topping-side-up for the first 10 minutes in the oven.

Hole-ly Inappropriate

Well I gave up trying to come up with a saucy title for this article because I couldn't get past 'hole' jokes which were well beyond saucy and firmly in rude territory. So. Bagels: can't buy a decent bagel for love nor money in these parts, so I decided to have a bash at making them myself.

I was somewhat taken aback when I learned that bagels are boiled before they are baked, but it turned out to be easier than I thought, and an essential part of the process.  Just wish I hadn't used curved tongs to fish 'em out, as they made the boiling water run over my hand! Lesson learnt.

The actual dough is very simple, and if the steps are followed correctly you get great bagels.  However, I have yet to become an expert on shaping them! My bagel rings have yet to turn out as the completely smooth rings one sees when buying professionally-made ones.  They have improved with each batch, and with enough practice I'm sure they'll be looking spiffy.  In the meantime, they taste delicious which is pretty much what food should be about, isn't it?