Bagels Recipe

Origin: Jewish      Period: Traditional

These are a classic Jewish roll that are actually easier to make than most people think. There's nothing like tucking into your home-baked bagels as a weekend treat.

Ingredients:

For the Sponge Starter:
1 tsp dried instant yeast
55og bread flour
600ml water

For the Dough:
1/2 tsp dried instant yeast
525g bread flour
2 3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp malt powder (or 1 tbsp malt syrup or 1 tbsp honey)

1 tbsp baking soda
cornflour to dust the pan
bagel toppings, such as poppy seeds, salt, onion, garlic

Bagels Preparation:

Method:

Prepare the sponge starter the night before my stirring the yeast into the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add the water a little at a time and continue stirring until all the ingredients are blended. Cover with clingfilm or a clean towel and set aside in a warm spot to raise for two hours.

After this time add the additional yeast into the sponge starter then add 420g of the flour and the malt powder along with the salt. Combine until the ingredients come together into a ball. Now gradually work in the remaining flour until you have a very stiff dough. Turn the dough onto a clean surface and knead vigourously for 10 minutes, so that the dough becomes elastic.

As soon as you have finished kneading divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (they should be around 120g apiece). Roll each piece of dough into a ball then set aside. As soon as they are all shaped cover the dough balls with a damp cloth and set aside to rest for 20 minutes.

After this time shape the bagels by punching your thumb through the centre of each roll then rotate the dough so that the final bagel shape is an even doughnut. Transfer the shaped bagels onto an oiled baking tray then cover with plastic (shopping bags or large freezer bags are good here) and set aside for the dough to rise for 20 minutes.

Once the bagels have risen set them to rest in the refrigerator over night.

The following day pre-heat your oven to 250°C then bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the baking soda in the water and return the pot to a boil. Now drop in a few of the bagels into the pot one at a time and allow them to cook for 1 minute (no longer). Use a slotted spoon to flip them over as soon as the minute is over and cook for 1 minute longer.

Scatter a little cornflour onto the baking tray then remove the bagels from the water and set on the tray. If using a topping add this immediately, whilst the bagels are still moist. Repeat the process until all the bagels are done.

Now place the baking trays in your oven and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 230°C and rotate the pan before baking for a further 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside to cool. Serve warm.

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