You Can Make Bagels At Home? Yes. So Much Yes.

 

By Allison Gates 

 

Bagels might be my all time favorite food, so imagine my sadness when I arrived in Buenos Aires to start a new life and there were no bagels to be found. How can you describe that amazing chewy texture to someone who has never has the pleasure of devouring a real New York bagel? You can’t, its impossible.  

You CAN, however, make bagels pretty simply at home!  

This ONE DAY bagel recipe is delicious and not technically difficult. It is, however, punctuated by a couple periods where you have to wait, so its perfect if you are already going to be putzing around the house and can distract yourself with other activities.  

Give it a try, I promise you’ll feel like a total rockstar with your amazing homemade bagels! This recipe was modified from “Ultimate Bread” by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno. Makes about 8. 

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups of warm water 
• 3 1/2 cups (500g) of bread flour or high gluten flour 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

Directions

1. PREPARING THE YEAST: Since yeast is alive, you have to “wake it up” so it can make your bread fluffy (if not, you have another Jewish bread treat: matzah.) So pour the sugar and yeast into a ½ cup warm water and let it sit for a few minutes, then stir until it all dissolves.

2. MIX flour and salt; make a well and pour in the yeast mixture, then half of the remaining water. Mix, then add the rest of the remaining water. You want the resulting dough to be slightly moist and firm, so depending on where you live you might need a little extra water.

3. KNEAD your brains out for about 10 minutes until the dough is uniform and stretchy. Try to work in as much flour as possible so that the dough ends up stiff.

4. LET EM SIT: Coat a large bowl and the dough with a light brushing of oil. Place the dough in the bowl, cover with a damp dishtowel, and let rise in a warm place for about an hour until the dough has grown to about twice its original size. Punch the air out of the dough, and then let it sit for another 10 min.

5. DIVIDE: Divide the dough into 8 portions and work them into round balls. Stick a floured finger through the center of each ball and stretch slightly to form a ring. Place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet, and cover with a damp towel once again, letting them sit for 10 minutes. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit

6. BOIL: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then reduce heat. Place as many bagels in the water as you are comfortable with. Once in the water, they should float to the top within a couple of seconds but sometimes they take longer. Boil them for 1-2 minutes and then flip them over and boil for another few minutes. The longer you let them boil the chewier they will be. Transfer them to the lightly oiled cookie sheet again.

7. TOP AND BAKE: If you want toppings on your bagels, brush them with an egg wash to get onion, garlic, coarse salt, or seeds to stick. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.   

BAM! Outrageously yummy bagels at home!

 

Side note: I used normal flour and it worked fine. You may need a little extra flour for kneading.