Bagels From Scratch 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.

HOMEMADE BAGELS

Steps:

• Combine the water, yeast, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in the bowl of an upright mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add 4 cups of the flour and the salt, and mix until the mixture comes together.
• Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups additional flour 1/2 cup at a time to make a stiff dough, either stirring with the wooden spoon or working with your hands. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky, about 5 minutes, adding just as much flour as needed. (Dough should be heavier and stiffer than regular yeast bread dough.)
• Grease a large bowl with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until almost doubled, about 1 hour.
• Grease a baking sheet with the remaining teaspoon of oil.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and punch it down. Divide into 12 equal pieces, about 2 to 3 ounces each, measuring about 4 inches across. Form each piece of dough into a ball. Roll each ball into a 4 to 6-inch log. Join the ends and place fingers through the hole and roll the ends together. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place on the prepared baking sheet, cover with a clean cloth, and let rest until risen but not doubled in a draft-free spot, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the cornmeal on another baking sheet.
• In a large, heavy pot, bring 12 cups of water and the remaining tablespoon of sugar to a boil. In batches, add the bagels to the water and boil, turning, for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Dip the bagel tops in desired toppings. Flip bagels onto the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 5 minutes, turn over and cook for another 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

BAGELS FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Combine the flour and water with 20 grams (1 tablespoon) of the malt syrup, 25 grams (1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon) of the salt, and all of the yeast in the 6-quart bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer and mix with the hook attachment on the stir setting until the mixture forms a shaggy dough. Increase the speed to low and knead until the dough is no longer sticky and springs back when pressed with a finger, about 10 minutes. It may still be slightly tacky, which is okay. If the dough gets stuck on the hook at any time during the mixing, stop the machine and pull the dough off the hook, pushing it to the side of the bowl so that it can continue kneading.
• Move the dough to the counter and shape into a ball. Place in a tall 2- to 4-quart transparent container, pressing down the top to flatten the dough. Mark the dough height on the outside of the bowl with tape or a rubber band. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave to rise at room temperature until the dough is about 1 1/2 times its original size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Meanwhile, line two half sheet pans with parchment paper and have standing by.
• When the dough has increased to 1 1/2 times its original size, punch the dough down and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 12 (4-ounce) pieces and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Working with one piece at a time, roll each into a 16- to 18-inch-long snake, making sure to pop any large air bubbles, and then wrap around the palm of your hand twice to form a tight circle. With the seam side down and the snake still around your hand, roll your hand across the counter to seal the ends together. (Sometimes my wood board gets so dry, the dough just slides. If that happens, moisten the surface lightly with water. A spritz bottle is perfect for this.) Continue rolling on the counter to seal the seam all the way around the bagel. Transfer to the prepared pans and repeat with the remaining dough, evenly spacing 6 bagels on each tray. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, preferably in the coldest part of your fridge, for 18 to 24 hours. (Tip: I place metal ramekins, the kind you might serve melted butter in, in the corners of the first pan so that I can stack the second pan on top of it without crushing the bagels below. This will save a lot of refrigerator space.)
• When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and place a rack in the center position. You'll be boiling, then baking the bagels, so you'll need to set up a work area around your cooktop. You'll need to drain the bagels as they come out of the water (a wire rack over a pan or even a kitchen towel will suffice) and you'll need a fresh piece of parchment to put them on for baking.
• Remove one pan of bagels from the refrigerator and set by the cooktop until they soften and register between 60 and 65 degrees F, about 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a gallon of water to a boil over high heat in a wide pot, along with the remaining 80 grams (1/4 cup) of malt syrup and 50 grams (3 tablespoons) of salt. Once the water boils, reduce the heat to a gentle, not rolling, boil. At this point, remove the second pan of bagels from the fridge so they can warm up while you cook the first batch.
• Check the temperature of the first pan of bagels. If they're at 60 degrees F, carefully place three into the boiling water, making sure they don't overlap. (Use your fingers for this.) Boil for 1 minute, flipping if they rise to the surface in 30 seconds or less. (Don't worry if the bagels don't fully rise to the surface.) Remove the bagels with a slotted spoon and set them on the rack to drain and cool. Repeat with the other three bagels. As they drain, replace the parchment on their original pan (trust me, they'll stick if you use the old paper again) and then move the bagels back to it.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate the pan and continue baking until the sides of the bagels are golden brown and the bottoms are firm, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the bagels to a cooling rack.
• Repeat the same steps with the second pan of bagels.
• Let all of the bagels cool at least 10 minutes before serving. If you're not planning to eat all of them in one sitting, slice the cooled bagels, then wrap in plastic wrap, transfer to a gallon-size zip-top freezer bag, and freeze until ready to eat. To reheat, wrap frozen bagels in a paper towel and microwave on high to thaw, 30 seconds to 1 minute, then toast if desired.

THE REAL NEW YORK BAGEL RECIPE

Steps:

• In a medium/large bowl or pot, stir the sponge together with a whisk or wooden spoon. Make sure to get all dry materials mixed in well.
• Cover with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for 2+ hours.
• After sponge is bubbly with small holes at the top and about 2 hours have gone by, pour sponge into your mixing bowl.
• Attach dough hook. Then add all ingredients listed for dough. Flour can be added gradually as mixer is going.
• Knead with dough hook for approximately 10 minutes or until dough looks smooth and is not too sticky. Dough should be quite stiff (add more flour if needed).
• Turn out on counter and knead by hand for a few minutes. (More if your mixer couldn't handle the kneading for very long). Make sure dough does not stick to fingers to get to proper consistency.
• Divide dough with a knife into 12 equal pieces about 4.5 oz. each. make into "balls". Cover to rest with plastic wrap for 20 minutes.
• Shape each ball into a bagel by pushing your thumb(s) through the middle.
• then using your two index fingers in the hole, make fast circular motions, stretching the hole out a bit. Don't worry if they are not perfect.
• Place bagels on sheet pans or cookie sheets that have been sprayed with cooking spray oil. Leave an inch or so on all sides.
• Let rise under plastic wrap for 20 minutes then place in refrigerator.
• Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
• Pull pans from fridge, get a large pot (4 quarts) of water on the boil and preheat the oven to 500 deg. F. move racks to the top of the oven.
• Add 1 T. baking soda to water (this increases the color depth and flavor of the bagel while baking).
• When water is boiling, pull 2-3 bagels at a time gently and place them upside down in the water.
• Boil for 30 seconds then flip over with a large slotted spoon or similar and repeat for other side. (if perchance your bagels have had time to warm up from the fridge the boiling time decreases--if your bagels are coming out of the boiling water looking too flat, decrease the boiling time on each side but always go a minimum of 15 seconds per side).
• Remove each bagel with spoon and slide off on to a large clean cotton cloth (flour sack type material not terry cloth) for draining.
• Repeat with all other bagels.
• Place parchment paper in your sheet pans or cookie sheets.
• Spread corn meal evenly and lightly on parchment paper.
• Place moist, warm bagels gently on corn meal. You can place them touching one another. Sometimes we like our bagels plain with no toppings, if you do, skip the next couple steps --.
• Make an egg wash with 1 egg mixed with approx 1/2 cup of water and when well-mixed, brush across tops of bagels. If you don't like a slightly eggy taste, you could brush with just egg whites mixed with a bit of water. This will help hold topping on.
• Sprinkle with desired toppings (I like toasted sesame seeds and poppy seeds the best, but this could include a dizzying number of different toppings-whatever you like).
• Turn oven down to 450 deg F. as you place pan(s) in oven.
• Bake for 5-7 minutes then turn pan around and switch pans on racks as necessary.
• Bake for another 5-10 minutes turning as necessary and repeat this until all bagels are evenly deep golden brown. Total cooking time will be 20-25 minutes until all are evenly deep golden.
• Remove from oven, let cool on pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack for at least 15 minutes (ok, 5 minutes!) before devouring.

HOMEMADE BAGELS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the butter, sugar, salt and egg yolk; mix well. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. , Punch dough down. Shape into 12 balls. Push thumb through centers to form a 1-1/2-in. hole. Stretch and shape dough to form an even ring. Place on a floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes; flatten bagels slightly. , Fill a Dutch oven two-thirds full with water; bring to a boil. Drop bagels, 2 at a time, into boiling water. Cook for 45 seconds; turn and cook 45 seconds longer. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain well on paper towels. , Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds if desired. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 400° until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

HOMEMADE BAGELS

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together yeast and warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the dough hook. With the mixer on a low speed, add sugar, 1 tablespoon malt syrup, flour, and salt. Knead until a dough forms, about 1 minute. The dough should be slightly tacky but not sticky (if necessary, add more flour or water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Continue to knead dough for 5 more minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl; cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours. Divide dough into 10 equal pieces. Cover with a damp, clean kitchen towel, and let rest for about 20 minutes. (This will relax the dough and make it easier to shape.)
• Line two unrimmed baking sheets with parchment paper, and lightly brush with oil; set aside. With lightly oiled hands, roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch rope. Holding one end of rope between your thumb and forefinger, wrap dough around your hand to form a circle with overlapping ends (they should overlap by a few inches). Still holding the dough, press the overlapping ends on the work surface, rolling back and forth to seal with the palm of your hand.
• Place the bagels 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Cover with a piece of oiled plastic wrap, and let rest until slightly puffed, about 20 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees, with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Fill a large stockpot (the wider, the better) with about 5 quarts of water, and bring to a boil. Add remaining 2 tablespoons malt syrup. Gently drop bagels into the water. (Add as many bagels as will comfortably fit without touching each other.) After 30 seconds, use a slotted spoon or skimmer to flip bagels over; simmer for 30 seconds more.
• Using the slotted spoon, return bagels to parchment-lined sheets. Top with seeds or coarse salt, as desired, while bagels are still wet.
• Immediately place sheets in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes, then rotate sheets and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. Continue to bake until the tops of the bagels begin to turn golden brown, about 10 minutes. Using a spatula, flip bagels over, and continue to bake until other sides turn golden brown, about 5 minutes more. Transfer bagels to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Bagels can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day, or frozen, tightly wrapped in plastic or stored in resealable bags, for up to 3 weeks. Preslice bagels before freezing for easy toasting.