Homemade Bagels

A few months ago, a bakery went in very close to my house. I was excited to see what they had in store, day dreaming of yummy fresh bread and novelties. Turns out they're more about cakes and events, but they did have things like muffins and bagels. I was excited and tried to talk to the sales person about how they make them. She didn't know and had to find out. When she returned from asking the owner, she told me they were from a mix. I was very disappointed. Why would I pay more for the bagels there at their bakery, when they could very well use the same mix Publix or Kroger uses? Dough conditioners and corn products included. I had thought about making bagels off and on on my own since Jackson got big enough to enjoy something like that, but I've never really had the equipment to manage it.

My last post on this blog was November 4th. My last recipe post was on September 22nd, AND the last time I experimented with something for Jackson? Well, it was a while ago, too far for me to scroll through. We've been surviving on our staples, but I got this beautiful thing for Christmas...

I've wanted one of these since Jackson was Dx with food allergies.

And the first thing I thought was, now I can try making bagels. I had been told by several people not to even attempt it without a good stand mixer. This baby is the best; so, Merry Christmas to me. *squeal*

Oh, and, that first pic above is with my DSLR. The rest of these photos are from my iPhone. It's just easier right now.

So, first things first, the recipe. I combined things from the recipe on the back of the King Arthur Flour I ordered and the Cooks Illustrated recipe I found. (Love my online subscription and app with them. Definitely worth it!)

What you'll need.

You're gonna need high protein flour. I used King Arthur Flour brand Sir Lancelot flour. I ordered it from them along with the instant yeast you see here. It's different from the active dry yeast you buy in the grocery store. Then, I used malted barley syrup, but you can get it as a powder, too. That I got from Amazon (you can get the powder from King Arthur, too). I just added the syrup to the yeast mixture in stead of the flour mixture before combining. Then just salt and water. There are little differences between the recipes, and in stead of telling you which thing came from which recipe, I'm just going to tell you what I did.

4 Cups high protein flour
1 Tbsp instant yeast (if you're using the active dry yeast, I think it's 1 1/2 tsp)
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp barley malt syrup or powder (I think King Arthur's is called non-diastatic malt powder)
1 1/2 Cups lukewarm water

Whisk together the dry ingredients in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. In a small bowl or mixing cup, combine the water, the yeast and the syrup. Let it activate for a bit, then stir together before adding to the mixer bowl. Mix at lowest speed until the dough starts to come together, about 4-5 minutes. Then increase it to speed 2 and mix until the dough is cohesive, smooth and stiff, about 8-10 minutes.

Aren't they adorable!

Take the dough out of the mixer and onto your work surface. Divide it into 8 portions. I formed a ball, then used a very sharp knife to cut it like a fat pizza into 8 triangle parts. Then I rolled each of those into a ball. Cover the balls and let them rest for about 5 minutes. I had so much fun with this part. The dough was so smooth and elastic. I was REALLY impressed with my mixer and the ease of this recipe. Roll the balls into ropes, about 11 inches long, even all over. Overlap the ends of the rope about 1 1/2 inches and pinch the entire overlapped area firmly together. You might need to use water to get a better seal. Then put your fingers through the hole and roll the overlap under your fingers or palm several times to seal the seam. The ring should be roughly the same thickness all the way around. Put the rings onto an almond meal dusted cookie sheet. The recipe called for corn meal. I used almond meal for obvious reasons. You could probably just use flour, too. Then cover them tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate them overnight (12-18 hours). The Cooks Illustrated recipe has detailed pics of this process, and they helped a lot.

Not bad for my first try.

When you're ready to bake, make sure your oven rack is in the center position and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Fill a large soup pot (I used my dutch oven) with water. You'll need about 3 inch depth. Bring water to rapid boil. If you're not sure if the bagels have proofed yet, you can fill a bowl with cold water and drop a bagel in. If it's ready, it will float. If not, keep trying every several minutes until they're ready.

All proofed and ready to boil.

Once the water is boiling and the bagels have proofed, drop them in 4 at a time using a slotted spoon or strainer to push them down under the surface.

Why this part scared me before I don't know. Super easy.

You should only have to boil them for 30-45 seconds, just until they're lightly puffed. Transfer them, bottom side down, to a wire baking rack over a towel to drain.

They looked deflated and wrinkly. I thought I had ruined them.

Then transfer them, same side down, to a parchment lined baking sheet or stone. Bake until deep golden brown, about 14-16 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool, and enjoy.

Then they rose and filled out and turned out so beautiful and yummy.

They smelled amazing, tasted amazing and the texture was bakery quality. Seriously, I don't know that I'll eat another store bought bagel again.

This is what Jackson thought about them. He was SO excited, he didn't even balk when I asked him for a photo.

Don't you just love his little cow lick on the side of his head.
Some day he'll be embarrassed I took this photo.
I'm embarrassed by the dirty oven door.

Not at all as difficult as I thought they would be. Definitely not any more difficult than making my own pop tarts or cinnamon rolls. So, I think these will be another staple for us. Yay for something new!