Artisan Style Bagels Recipes

HOMEMADE BAGELS RECIPE

Steps:

• Whisk the warm water and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes.
• Add the flour, brown sugar, and salt. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. The dough is very stiff and will look somewhat dry.
• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. With lightly floured hands, knead the dough for 4-5 minutes. The dough is too heavy for the mixer to knead it!
• Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes or until double in size.
• Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
• When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. (Just eyeball it- doesn't need to be perfect!) Shape each piece into a ball. Press your index finger through the center of each ball to make a hole about 1.5 - 2 inches in diameter. Watch video above for a visual. Loosely cover the shaped bagels with kitchen towel and rest for a few minutes as you prepare the water bath.
• Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).
• Fill a large, wide pot with 2 quarts of water. Whisk in the honey. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high. Drop bagels in, 2-4 at a time, making sure they have enough room to float around. Cook the bagels for 1 minute on each side.
• Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash on top and around the sides of each bagel. Place 4 bagels onto each lined baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. You want the bagels to be a dark golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow bagels to cool on the baking sheets for 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Slice, toast, top, whatever you want! Cover leftover bagels tightly and store at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

REAL HOMEMADE BAGELS

Steps:

• Combine 1 1/4 cup water, flour, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, vegetable oil, and yeast in the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on low speed using the dough hook until well-developed, about 8 minutes. To ensure the gluten has developed fully, cut off a walnut-sized piece of dough. Flour your fingers, and then stretch the dough: if it tears immediately, the dough needs more kneading. Fully developed dough should form a thin translucent "windowpane."
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover it with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel, and let rise for 2 hours.
• Punch the dough down, place it on a lightly floured work surface, and use a knife or dough scraper to divide the dough into 6 pieces (or more, for smaller bagels). Roll each piece of dough into a sausage shape about 6 inches long. Join the ends to form a circle. Repeat with the remaining dough, and let the bagels rest for 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange small plates with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and onion flakes next to the baking sheet.
• Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Add honey, if desired (see Editor's Note). Boil the bagels, three at a time, until they rise to the surface of the pot, about 1 minute per side. Remove the bagels with a slotted spoon and place them on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Dip the tops of the wet bagels into the toppings and arrange them, seeds up, on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt, if desired. Bake in the preheated oven until the bagels begin to brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

ARTISAN STYLE BAGELS

Steps:

• Mix ingredients of starter in large mixer bowl; mixture will look somewhat like pancake batter. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 1-2 hours until mixture is bubbly and increased to nearly double in size.
• Add remaining yeast to starter. Place dough hook on mixer and gradually add remaining flour, gluten, salt and brown sugar into starter and mix on low speed for 6-8 minutes. Then stop and cover machine with kitchen towel, allowing dough to rest for 5 minutes. Transfer dough to counter and hand knead for 10-12 minutes. Add flour as needed to create a smooth and pliable texture, not tacky.
• Separate the dough into 12 pieces, formed into small balls as you would make for dinner rolls. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand for 20 minutes.
• To form bagels, flatten each ball, roll into cylinder shape about 9 inches long. Wrap around your hand and seal edges by pushing your fingers into your palm. Transfer bagels to two baking pans which have been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking oil. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (or longer-- up to two days.).
• On the day of baking, remove bagels from refrigerator and bring to room temperature while you preheat oven to 450 degrees F for one hour. Set a wide pot to boil with four inches of water. When oven is heated and bagels are ready, add baking soda and sugar to boiling water. With slotted spoon, place 3 or 4 bagels into pot. Count to ten and flip bagels and count to ten again. Remove bagels and drain in colander. Repeat process.
• Place boiled bagels onto two baking sheets which have been lined with parchment paper and dusted with cornmeal. Put pans into oven and set timer for 8 minutes. Rotate pans and set timer for 8 minutes more. Check for doneness and continue baking up to 4 minutes more according to your preference. The bagels should be nicely browned on top and dark crust on bottom.
• Let sit for about 5 minutes before devouring!