Bagels

This is translated from the bagels recipe I wrote (in Swedish) at my old blog. That, in turn, was adapted from Peter Reinhart's "The Breadbaker's Apprentice," a book I simply cannot recommend enough. If you have a deep interest in bread, or even just a fleeting moment of curiosity, this book is worth the investment.

The dough is prepared in two steps. Then, the bagels are shaped, proofed, boiled, and baked. Toppings are added in any of 3 different points in the process. There are many steps and it's a lot of work, relative to simpler breads, but it is worth the effort - these are truly world-class bagels.

1. Sponge

Ingredients

• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 qt high-gluten wheat flour
• 2 3/4 cups lukewarm water

Instructions

In a very large bowl, mix the flour and yeast, then add the water. Stir until all the flour is hydrated and the mixture is pretty smooth.

Cover the bowl with plastic and let stand at room temperature for a couple of hours. The mixture will become very very bubbly, which is why this stage is called the "sponge."

Proceed to make the dough once the sponge is about twice the original volume and collapses when you shake the bowl or tap it against the countertop.

2. Dough

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
• 3 3/4 cups high-gluten wheat flour, optionally mixed up to 50% with finely ground whole-grain wheat.
• 3 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp molasses (or some other malty sugar)
• Optionally sugar, cinnamon, and raisings. Or else some finely diced sautéed onions, or maybe habaneros or pressed garlic, for example.

Instructions

Add the yeast to the sponge and mix it in. Add most of the flour, the salt, and the molasses. Mix until it forms a ball, and add the most of the rest of the flour gradually to produce a stiff dough.

Place the dough on a floured surface for kneading. Knead for at least 10 minutes. It should be really tough, tougher than a French bread dough, but still smooth and supple. It must be entirely hydrated and stretchy like a proper dough, but it is better to err on the side of dryness. A tough, dry dough will keep its shape better than a dough that is too loose, and a good bagel is a chewy bagel.

If you would like to put something tasty inside the bagel, do this while kneading, toward the end of the process. I divided the dough into two parts, mixed sugar with cinnamon and raisings, and folded it into one half for sweet cinnamon-raisin bagels. The other half remained plain.

Now divide the dough into 16 equal parts, about 4 or 5 ounces each. These are large bagels, but large bagels are great and are easier to handle than smaller bagels.

Roll the parts into balls (or, even better, boules), and place them on a baking sheet under a damp towel. Let rest 30 minutes. This time is necessary for the gluten to relax and reset, and for the rising process to get started.

3. Bagels!

Shape the bagels by pressing a hole through the center with index finger and thumb, and subsequently stretching it out so it is reasonably large and the piece of dough resembles a bagel. The hole should be considerably larger than the desired end result; the hole shrinks when the dough expands through proofing, boiling, and baking. I prefer bagels with smaller holes, because it is easier to pile on large amount of sandwich toppings without it falling through the hole! Even so, the bagels I shape have a hole diameter about 1.5 times the dough-ring's cross-sectional diameter.

Place the bagels on a greased baking sheet (I use greased baking parchment) and spray or brush with oil so they don't dry out. Loosely cover with plastic, and let stand at room temperature for about a half hour.

Once they have risen a little (but noticeably), they are ready for refrigeration.

4. Refrigerate

The bagels should ripen in the fridge at least 8 hours, and up to 2 full days. This is called "retarding the dough", because it slows down (retards) the proofing process. This allows additional chemistry to happen with the enzymes and starches, unlocking big flavors hidden in the grain.

5. Boil

Ingredients

• Lots of water
• 1 tbsp baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
• Optionally something tasty to sprinkle on top, such as a blend of course sea salt and crispy fried onion, or salt and flaxseeds, poppy seeds, and sesame seeds perhaps.

Instructions

Take the bagels out of the fridge.

Use a very large pot, as wide as you have. Fill it with water and bring to a rolling boil. Add the baking soda. Make sure you have a slotted spoon or other implement handy, with which you can fish out bagels from the churning cauldron.

Preheat the oven to 450-500 F.

Prepare two baking sheets by sprinkling course cornmeal (polenta works very well) over top of them and placing them within easy reach.

When all is ready, place as many bagels in the pot as can comfortably fit on the surface. Boil for about 1 minute, flip them, and boil another minute. Fish the bagel out of the water, shake off excess water (without squeezing the bagel!), and place it on the baking sheet. Savory toppings are sprinkled on right away, so they stick to the wet, starchy outside.

Make sure you boil all the plain bagels before boiling bagels with fillings like cinnamon-raisin or chilis, because the flavorings get into the water and affect the flavor of subsequent bagels.

6. Bake

When a baking sheet has been filled with bagels, place it in the oven. Bake at maximum heat for about 5 minutes, then turn it down to 400-425 F. Continue baking for 5 minutes or until the color is as desired. 

Cinnamon-raisin bagels can be enhanced by melting butter, brushing this over the freshly baked (piping hot) bagels, and then dipping in a cinnamon-sugar mix. These bagels are suitable for dessert!

7. Let cool

They should rest on a cooling rack at least 15 minutes before serving. This is to allow the inside to firm up a little. 

NOTE:

You can skip step 4, the refrigerator. Then you allow them to rise at room temperature. This takes 4 or 5 hours, or perhaps less if you have a warm house. You miss out on some flavor, and they seem less sturdy, which is a little sad, but they are still acceptable bagels.