There's something conquering about making your own bread. For me at least, I never made bread much fearing using yeast like an OCD person fears breaking routine. Of course it helps enormously when you have a mixer with a dough hook attachment that does all of the work for you. Now I can't stop baking things especially breads. We have so many things spilling out of our fridge, packed away in the freezer, given away to family and friends that its becoming a worrisome habit.
Today is Tropfest though and I need a snack that will be filling enough to be dinner but transportable too. If there is a criticism of bagels, its that for me, they're almost too filling for a snack or lunch but perfect as dinner fodder. And of course I have plenty of cream cheese and smoked salmon on standby.
I made three different kinds of bagels: onion, poppyseed and sesame seed which simply involved dividing the dough into three. For the onion, I finely chopped up onion and left it to prove in the final stage. For the poppyseed and sesame seed bagels all that was required was a quick sprinkle before popping them into the oven.
I did find that fastening the join in the circle was a bit troublesome, after boiling them, the join would undo. But whilst affected this aesthetically it didn't affect it functionally, as the bagel swelled and was able to contain the smoked salmon and cream cheese filling perfectly. Boxing these smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels up I felt something like a proud Jewish mother making bagels for her brood. Oy vey!
Bagels from How to be a Domestic Goddess
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Print Recipe
1 kg of white flour, plus more as necessary for kneading
1 tablespoon of salt
7g of easy yeast or 15g of fresh yeast
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for greasing
500mL warm water, plus more as needed
2 tablespoon of malt or sugar, for poaching the bagels
2-3 baking sheets, oiled or greased
Sesame seeds, poppyseeds or finely diced onion optional
Step 1 - Combine the flour, salt and yeast together in a large bowl, add the sugar and the oil to the water. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the liquid, mixing to a dough with a spatula or wooden spoon.
Step 2 - Knead the dough either by hand or with dough hook, trying to add more flour if you can, dough is better drier than wetter, the dough will be stiff and hard work, even with the dough hook it takes 10 minutes.
Step 3 - Form the dough into a ball and put it into an oiled bowl, turning once to coat all around, then cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave it to rise for 1 hour. It should be well risen, and when you poke it with your finger , the impression should remain.
_Proving (waiting to rise)
_
Step 4 - Punch the dough down and then give a good knead and divide into 3 pieces. Using your hands, roll each piece into a rope then cut each rope into 5 pieces. Roll each piece between the palms of your hands into a ball and then roll into another rope, curling to form ring. Seal the ends by overlapping.
Step 5 - Put on a large pan of water to boil, when it boils add the malt or the sugar.
Step 6 - Sit the bagels on the baking sheets cover with tea towels and leave for 20 minutes by which times they should be puffy. Preheat oven to 240C.
Step 7 - When the waters boiling, start poaching, drop a couple of bagels at a time into the boiling water and boil for 1 minute turning them once, use a couple of spatulas for this.
Step 8 - As you poach them put them back onto the oiled baking sheets, well spaced and then bake for 10-15 minutes until they're shiny and golden brown. Mine were done within 10 minutes so do check after 10 minutes.
Bread flour – Because of its high protein content, bread flour makes these homemade bagels delightfully chewy. This recipe also works with all-purpose flour, they're just a bit less chewy than bagels made with bread flour. Maple syrup – It activates the yeast and gives the bagels a hint of sweetness.
a regular bagel is the water you boil them in. Much like a specific vineyard terroir is used to make a wine, certain minerals in New York City tap water are attributed to creating the best bagels. These include low concentrations of calcium and magnesium and a high level of sediment.
The traditional way to make bagels is to roll the dough into a sausage shape, wrap it around your hand, and join the ends.With the join next to your palm, gently roll the dough back and forth to seal.
New York bagel shops (the real, genuine ones, that is) ferment their dough overnight in wooden containers, which allows tasty yeasts to grow and create complex flavor compounds. They then poach the bagels before baking them. The poaching is what you can thank for that true chewy texture of a New York bagel.
Baking soda makes the water more alkaline, giving the bagels a pretzel-like quality that contributes to their chewiness. Just one teaspoon helps the bagels develop a shiny, dark-brown exterior as they bake. One thing to keep in mind: Keep the water bath at a constant simmer.
If your dough is too wet, it'll create large holes in the crumb of the dough and your bagels will be more like French bread, with a fluffy interior (see top photo). When too much flour is kneaded in, bagels become dense, hard and tough, instead of crisp and chewy.
To make bagels properly you need to give them a bath. Make sure you use only baking soda and not baking powder. The baking soda helps the bagels form that beautiful golden crust and give them the distinct bagels taste.
Fresh bagels are best eaten on the same day they're baked. When stored at room temperature in a paper bag, fresh bagels can last for about two to three days. Fresh bagels can last for about three to four months when stored in the freezer, and thawed in a toaster.
California lox down its status as a superb state for bagel lovers. Bagels are extremely popular in San Francisco (No. 2), which has the most bagel vendors per square mile out of the cities in our ranking. Other California cities have some of the best-rated bagels.
Real New Yorkers don't toast their bagels! As a life long New Yorker, I want to show you where to eat a bagel and how to eat a bagel like a New Yorker. You'll have the most authentic New York experience and won't be judged by those around you.
Jersey has soft water that contains a low concentration of minerals. This allows for the perfect baking chemistry when mixed with the flour's high concentration of proteins.
A good bagel should have a thin, shiny, crackly crust spotted with the kind of microblisters that you can only get from proper boiling followed by a high-temperature bake. It's these little bubbles that add both surface area and crunch.
If you want a thinner crust and airier texture in your bagels, shorten the boiling time slightly (around 45 seconds, instead of the 60 seconds called for in the recipe). The shorter boil means the crust has less opportunity to preset, which allows more rising, and thus a “fluffier” bagel.
Introduction: My name is Domingo Moore, I am a attractive, gorgeous, funny, jolly, spotless, nice, fantastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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