Yeast Breads: Variety Bagels

There's a lot you can do with an excellent bagel dough. You can leave them plain or top them with sesame or poppy seeds. They're not difficult, but they do take a little work. But if you have a free afternoon, you'll be enjoying fresh bagels in no time.


Ingredients


1¼ tsp bread machine or quick rise yeast
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup water
2 tbsp honey
1 egg
sesame seeds (optional)
poppy seeds (optional)


Preparation


Place flour and yeast in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add salt, brown sugar, and water. Combine until you have a loose dough, then turn this dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until you have a dough that is soft and elastic, about 5 minutes.


Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled in size. This will take at least an hour. When the dough has sufficiently rise, punch down to remove all air bubbles. Roll out dough on a floured surface until dough is no thinner than ¼-inch. Closer to ½-inch is better. Use a bagel or doughnut cutter to cut out your bagels.


Alternatively, you can divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and shape each into a bagel by hand. Do this by forming a ball with one piece of dough, then press your fingers through the center of the ball and stretch until you have a bagel-shape. It doesn't matter which shaping method you use.


Place your shaped bagels on a prepared baking tray. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes. In the meantime, fill a small pot with water and add the honey. Bring to a boil. Heat oven to 375°F. Place bagels, one at a time, in the pot and allow to boil for at least 30 second, but no more than 2 minutes. The longer they boil, the chewier they will be.


Remove bagels from the water with a slotted spoon and place them back on the baking tray. When all bagels have been boiled, crack the egg into a small bowl and lightly beat it. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the egg over the bagels. If desired, sprinkle bagels with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. I typically do a few of each.


Bake bagels for 20 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove from the pan immediately and cool on wire racks.


This recipe makes 10 to 12 bagels.