Bagels

I have been wanting to make bagels for a while now and finally did a couple of weekends ago. It is an easy recipe but it does take two days as it requires overnight resting.

The recipe I used is from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Bread Every Day. I found the recipe online at Epicurious. Epicurious has printed the recipe from the book with permission so I would not print the recipe here. But I am going to regal you with step by step photos.

As this is my first time, I figured I tried making 1/2 recipe, which yielded 4 bagels. It starts by mixing malt syrup, yeast, and salt into lukewarm water. Then combined with the dough and mix by hand or using mixer and dough hook for 3 minutes or until combined. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, resume mixing on low speed for 3 more minutes or mixing by hand on a floured counter for 3 minutes. The dough should feel supple and slightly tacky but not overly sticky.

This is what the dough looks like after mixing.

The next instruction says to place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.

I didn't want to dirty another bowl so I moved the dough on the counter for a second while I oiled the mixing bowl. The dough went back into the mixing bowl, covered with plastic wrap. This is how it looks after 1 1/2 hour.

Next, divide the dough into 4 equal pieces.

Roll each piece to 8 inches long.

Wrap each piece onto your hand like in the photo below. Wet the edges of the dough a bit.

Then roll the dough on the counter on the seam so that they would hold together.

After all 4 dough balls are rolled, they look like this.

I placed them on a wide plate that's been lightly sprayed with Baker's Joy.

After the required overnight resting. The bagels needs to sit at room temperature for 60-90 minutes. About 60 minutes in, preheat the oven to 500 degrees.

This is how the bagels after 90 minutes.

Then float test. I've never done float test before, it's kinda funny to see the bagel floating. Anyway, if the bagel float, it means it's ready to be poached.

The poaching liquid is more barley malt syrup, salt, baking soda, and water.

After boiling, I sprinkled the bagels with a combination of sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, and poppy seeds.

Lower the oven heat to 450 degrees. Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for another 8-12 minutes.

Photo op after the 30 minutes cooling.

They are pretty good. I wish I had taken a photo of how the inside look. They are not as dense as store-bought bagels and have more taste. I ate one as is and another with some orange marmalade.

Recipe:
Peter Reinhart's Bagels at Epicurious
The Wednesday Chef's
Bread Baker's Apprentice version at Smitten Kitchen