I used to buy the occasional bagel (or eat whatever stale ones my apartment-mates didn't want anymore), but at some point, I decided that I might as well make my own. I'd know what I was putting in them, and with a little planning, I could get them fresh whenever I wanted. I usually use the King Arthur recipe for whole wheat bagels to integrate a healthy diet into my carb indulgences, but I only make half a recipe at a time. But since I'm going to Philadelphia in a couple days, I thought I'd go a little bagel-happy and try the full recipe so I'd at least have something to bring on my plane trip there.
Not a good idea when you don't have a machine bread-kneader. Worse when you are known for exceptionally small hands.
Let's just say I got a pretty nice workout that day. I think at some point, I just cut the dough in half and kneaded both individually...but it still turned out okay. So I'm just going to post the half-recipe, which makes about 7 bagels.
Note: I made whole-wheat bagels here, but I've also made regular ones with the same recipe. Just substitute the whole wheat flour for unbleached bread flour.
Whole-Wheat Bagels
Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast1
1 cup water, warm
1/2 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon diastatic malt powder (optional) - I didn't add this
1.5 cups (12 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1.5 cups (12 3/4 ounces) King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 tablespoon salt
Cornmeal for dusting
Tools
1 large pot for boiling water (preferrably wider than it is deep)
2.Combine the rest of the ingredients, adding one cup of flour at a time, and mix until they pull away from the sides of the bowl.
3. Knead together until the dough is springy. This takes a while; I usually knead for about 20 minutes by hand. 4. Cover with saran wrap or a damp towel for 20 minutes.
5. Divide the dough into 7 balls. Poke a hole through the middle with your finger (I usually pinch my thumb and middle finger until they meet in the middle). Even out any creases or bumps with warm water.
6. Dust a pan with cornmeal, place bagels on top, cover, and let rest for either 2.5 hours at room temperature, or 12-24 hours in the refrigerator. 7. If you refrigerated them, take them out and leave at room temperature for about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
8. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and set your oven to 450F.
9. Boil the bagels for 1.5 minutes on one side, then flip over and boil the other side for 1 minute.
10. Brush egg yolk over the tops of each. You can then add whatever toppings you want (sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc.)11. Bake 15-20 minutes or until they are brown.
12. Remove, cool, and eat!Note: These are plain bagels, but you can make variations on the bagels, too. Feel free to add raisins, bluberries (yum), or sundried tomatoes for a start. I actually added a teaspoon of cinnamon to my dough before letting it rest at step 4.
