Bagels...Something I've always wanted to try...The recipe and process

Are you intimidated by Bagels?

I WAS....they just looked like they took a long time...days even. But guess what...They're easy and DO NOT take a long time.

I sometimes order supplies for baking from King Arthur Flour. Especially the things I have trouble finding in QFC or Safeway. They always have good quality products and the 00 flour and semolina flour I use for pasta. They also have a lot of recipes posted. King Arthur Flour is the website. I was looking around and found their bagel recipe. Hmmmm, didn't look too hard and the only thing I did NOT have in the pantry was non-diastatic malt powder but it does have brown sugar as an alternative. I had about 4 hours until the News Year's Eve party....what to do....what to do?  BAGLES!
Here's the link to their recipe. But I'll recreate it here with my comments (I DID change a few things AND I have suggestions to make it better next time)

Here's the Dough (so simple!):
1 tablespoon instant yeast4 cups (17 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour (Yes, I used their bread flour - I can get it in the grocery store). Bread flour had a higher gluten content. Gluten is the protein that makes beautiful breads rise. Some people have gluten issues......I'm sad for you.
2 teaspoons salt1 tablespoon non-diastatic malt powder, brown sugar or barley malt syrup (like I said above...don't have non-diastatic malt powder....going to to order some today!) I used brown sugar - it was in the pantry
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) water, lukewarm

So, I put all the warm water in a bowel and then sprinkled my active yeast on the top and then sprinkled about a teaspoon of white sugar on top of that. I LOVE to watch yeast wake up, eat and start growing. What a miracle of Biology!

In the meantime, I put all 4 cups of bread flour, brown sugar, and salt in my food processor. I have a commercial grade MagiMix...it can take the punishment. I have burned out 3 Cuisinarts doing pasta (seriously....there was smoke!). If you think yours can take it...do it. Otherwise put these dry ingredients in a bowl. You might want to hold back a cup of flour. You never know really how much fluid your flour will take. Easier to add more flour to a wet dough than add wet to a dry mix.
Add your water/yeast/sugar frothy mix to the dry ingredients and turn on your food processor or get your VERY strong mixing spoon and get to work. It's a good upper body workout if you're doing it by hand. If you have a good electric mixer...now's a good time to get it out and use it!

Mix until you can dump it out on a floured board to knead. For those of you hand mixing....the work continues! (think of the muscle tone you're developing!) 
Knead until it's a smooth ball. Oil or grease a large bowl, put in your dough, cover it, and put it in a warm place until it's risen. The KA recipe says it will take 1-1.5 hours. I must have a perfect place for bread rise....in 30-40 min it was ready.

Forming the bagels:

The formed bagels - about the size of my hand

The KA recipe says to divide into 8 equal pieces of dough. OMG!!! WAY TOO BIG! After doing this once....I'd make 12 instead of 8. They were Costco-size! You can see in the pics. If you like MASSIVE bagels, make only 8.

Anyway...Divide up your dough into balls and put on oiled parchment paper or what ever you have and cover again to puff up about 15 min. Then stick your thumb in the middle and make a bagel shape...you know with a hole in the center, stretching the dough gently without deflating the dough. Lay them back on the parchment paper to rest.

While they're puffing...get your boiling pot of water ready

Boiling water bath:
2 quarts (64 ounces) water (I used my large deep-sided skillet and filled it about 3/4 full)
2 tablespoons non-diastatic malt powder, brown sugar or barley malt syrup (again..no non-diastatic malt powder so I used brown sugar AND 1 tablespoon baking soda. The professional bakers use LYE! Whoa. I had some baking soda...good enough)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar (I'd already added brown sugar..that was enough)

Get the water bath boiling...about a medium boil. The KA recipe says to put in 4 at a time. My pan would only take 2 of these Ginormous Bagels at a time....was not a problem.
Put them in (2 at a time - make sure the water continues to boil) for 2 min on the first side (use a timer) and then flip and boil on the second side one more min. Lift them out onto the parchment paper with a wire basket spoon or other slotted spoon. Continue with the next batch.

the Bagels boiling - they puff

(Warm your oven up to 425 deg----don't forget. If you have a convection oven heat to 400 deg)

While the next batch boils, brush the tops and sides with whisked egg white with a bit of water and sprinkle with your favorite toppings. I used poppy seed, sesame seed, "everything" spice, and flaked salt.

Once they're all boiled, brushed and sprinkled put them in the oven. I have ceramic tile on my bottom rack and put them on that (make sure to oil it). I used my silpat sheet on the top shelf. Bake for about 20-25 min but only as brown as you want them. Don't over bake.

Put on a rack to cool when you take them out.

Baking on my tile

OMG...they smelled soooo good. It was all I could do to not eat them as they came out of the oven. I took out some cream cheese to warm to room temp while they were baking. (NEVER eat cold cheese! EVER...why bother?)


Wayne and I each had one before we went to the NYE party and then again with breakfast this morning - split and toasted. They are HUGE, but sooo good. Good thing I walked 3 miles before breakfast this morning. 

Baked, cooled and ready to eat

Like I said, I'll make them smaller next time. Other than getting and using the non-diastatic malt powder....I'll make them exactly the same way as above. I have to ask myself...WHY did I wait so long to make them????

Right now, I've got some beef bones with yummy marrow browning in the oven with bacon lardons, onion and carrots (400 deg). This is for the beef stock I'll be using for my "Refrigerator/Stone soup" tonight for New Years Day. TIME TO CLEAN OUT THE REFRIGERATOR and have a couple of bagels with it along with a fennel/carrot slaw.