I love bagels. No matter if just with cream cheese or a more substantial version with salmon, eggs or avocado. Most of all I like the texture of bagels, they are so chewy. The best thing, you can easily make your own bagels at home. It just takes some time, because they have to prove overnight, but it’s worth it. Homemade fresh bagels for breakfast… a dream.
Tools & Equipment
- 2 large baking sheets
- Bench scraper
- Food processor
- Large pot
- Liquid measuring cup
- Plastic wrap
- Rolling pin
- Skimmer
- Whisk
- Wire rack
Recipe tips for making Bagels
Rest period: shaped bagels must be refrigerated for 16 to 24 hours before baking, which means you have to start at least one day ahead.
Flour: do not use regular flour (type 405). Bread flour type 812 would be best, but it is not easy to find, therefore I used type 550.
Malt syrup: is also not available in every supermarket. If you cannot find malt syrup, substitute it with 23g of molasses.
Storage: Bagels are best eaten within one day after baking. Freezing: completely cooled bagels can be transferred into zip-bags and frozen for up to 1 month.
How to make Bagels
Day 1 – Preparation & Shaping Bagels
Start by weighing all ingredients. Stir ice water and malt syrup together until the malt syrup has fully dissolved.
Mix flour, wheat gluten and yeast in a food processor for about 3 seconds. With the machine running, slowly add the ice-water mixture and mix until the dough is just combined and no dry flour is left, about 20 seconds. Let the dough prove for 10 minutes.
Add salt to the dough and mix until the dough forms a shaggy mass that clears the sides of the bowl, 45 to 90 seconds. If necessary, stop the machine in between and redistribute the dough.
Put the dough on a counter and knead until smooth, for about 1 minute. Divide into 8 equal pieces (99g) and cover loosely with plastic foil.
Work with 1 piece of dough at a time and leave the remaining pieces covered. Shape the dough pieces into smooth balls. Cover the balls and let them rest on the counter for 15 minutes.
Dust a rimmed baking sheet with cornmeal. Lightly coat a dough ball with flour, then tap and roll in 12.7cm rounds by using your hands and a rolling pin. Roll it into a tight cylinder. From the center of the cylinder, work your way to the ends, rolling and stretching the dough gently and evenly into an 20-23cm rope.
Roll the ends of the dough in opposite directions, twisting the rope to form a tight spiral. Wrap the rope around your fingers and overlap the ends about 5cm under the palm of your hand. Work in circular motion to seal it completely. Transfer the bagels to your prepared sheet and loosely cover with plastic. Let them stand at room temperature for 1 hour. Cover the sheet tightly with plastic and place in the fridge for 16 to 24 hours.
Day 2 – Cooking & Baking
Preheat the oven to 232°C / 450°F. Place a wire rack in the rimmed baking sheet and spray the rack with vegetable oil spray.
Bring water, sugar and baking powder to the boil. Place 2-3 bagels in boiling water and cook for 20 seconds. Flip the bagels over and cook for another 20 seconds.
Beat the egg-white and water together and mix grains as desired, e.g. I chose poppy, sesame and sunflower seeds.
Transfer the bagels on a wire rack with the cornmeal side facing down. Brush the bagels with the egg-wash and dip them into the grain mixture.
Put them on your prepared baking sheet. Pour 120ml of boiling water into the bottom of the sheet and transfer it to the oven.
Bake until the bagels start to brown on the top, 10 to 12 minutes. Flip the bagels over and continue baking until golden brown, another 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the bagels cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes.
Enjoy your bagels, any way you prefer them. They taste best when still slightly warm.
My summary for Bagels
Difficulty: simple to intermediate.
Taste: so much better than regular buns. I like the plain ones as much as the ones with grains.
Texture: super chewy.
PROS: the list of ingredients is not very long and most of it you have at home anyway. At least when you make bagels for the second time.
CONS: making bagels the first time can be a bit challenging, but believe me it sounds more complicated than it really is. You have to plan in advance because the dough has to stand for at least 16 hours.
