Let me start by saying these bagels are heavenly. I jumped in and thought I could figure this out. I did. I only threw away one batch before I got it right. This recipe comes from my pizza dough recipe. If you have made my pizza dough recipe before, GREAT!! We are starting with some confidence!
This is a basic bagel recipe. You can even get creative and add cheese and peppers to the dough. You can add raisins and cinnamon for a sweet option. I would suggest using dried fruit to keep the moisture down in the dough.
I personally used the Zojirushi bread machine to do the heavy lifting for me, so I included instructions for a mixer and for the bread machine. I love this bread machine because I can customize the settings. So I can adjust my rise times depending on the humidity, which can create a temperamental dough. I also like that I can customize the settings to just knead and rise for when I am making things that are not bread loaves. SO I can throw all the ingredients in, walk away and come back in an hour to shape, rest, and bake! It's a very nifty machine. And It makes my bread making time for passive.
Let's get into it.
Fresh Milled Bagels
Ingredients:
2 cups of warm water
1 tbs honey
2 tbs barley malt syrup
1/2 TBS salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 TBS instant yeast
3 cups of hard white or hard red wheat berries ground on bread setting (about 4 1/2 cups of fresh milled flour)
3 TBS gluten (optional, but bagels need a high gluten flour to get that big rise, its not necessary but if you want them to look like a bakery, add it)
Directions:
Add the warm water, honey, and barley malt syrup to a bowl. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Let it get foamy.
Add the flour, salt, olive oil, and optional gluten to a mixing bowl. Add the water yeast mixture to the dry ingredients. Knead for about 10 minutes. Cover and let it rise 45 minutes. When its been 45 minutes start boiling the water.
Fill a large pot of water and add 1/3 cup coconut sugar to water or 1/4 cup barley malt syrup. Bring this to a boil.
Punch the dough down. Separate the dough into balls that are about 150 grams of dough. Do the pinch and tuck method for each ball. Punch a hole in the middle with your fingers. Insert two fingers into the hole and spin it around your fingers to stretch the hole. Let them rest another 15 minutes. Lay them on the sheet you will bake on. This is my favorite baking sheet! it just makes the transfer easier to the water.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Drop the bagels in the boiling water, two at time is good, you just don't want them touching in the water. Boil for 1 minute on each side. So you will need to flip them to boil each side. I just set a timer on my phone. Put them back on the baking sheet.
I like to add an egg wash because it just gives it a glow that is like the bakery. A standard egg wash is one whole egg and two egg whites. Beat them together, and brush the bagels. Be sure to coat the whole bagel, down the sides and center. You can top them with cheese, everything bagel seasoning.
Bake for 15-18 minutes on the middle rack!
Enjoy!
P.s. Here is a video that demonstrates the folding technique and the bagel shaping technique that I used!
ZOJIRUSHI BREAD MACHINE INSTRUCTIONS:
Add warm water, add honey, barley malt, and yeast to the bread machine loaf pan. Let it get foamy.
Add 4 1/2 cups of flour fresh milled flour, salt, olive oil, and gluten to the bread machine loaf pan.
Create a custom setting on the machine for a knead and rise cycle only.
The settings are:
Preheat: OFF
Knead: 20 minutes
Rise 1: 45 minutes
Rise 2: off
Rise 3: off
When the cycle is done, it will beep, and you just turn the dough out on a floured surface.
Separate the dough into balls that are about 150 grams of dough. Do the pinch and tuck method for each ball. Punch a hole in the middle with your fingers. Insert two fingers into the hole and spin it around your fingers to stretch the hole. Let them rest another 15 minutes. Lay them on the sheet you will bake on. This is my favorite baking sheet! it just makes the transfer easier to the water.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Drop the bagels in the boiling water, two at time is good, you just don't want them touching in the water. Boil for 1 minute on each side. So you will need to flip them to boil each side. I just set a timer on my phone. When they are done, put them back on the baking sheet.
I like to add an egg wash because it just gives them a glow that is like the bakery. A standard egg wash is one whole egg and two egg whites. Beat them together, and brush the bagels. Be sure to coat the whole bagel, down the sides and center.
Bake for 15-18 minutes on the middle rack!
Enjoy!