Pandemic fatigue. That’s what we’re all feeling, right? Like many of you, I find myself to be on an emotional roller coaster. A couple of nights ago, while I was putting my babies to bed, I had Alexa play Feed The Birds from Mary Poppins and I burst into sobs. Life isn’t all bad though. I love to play Racko in the afternoon with my husband. We are even able to get our kids to play with us as long as their much cooler parents (Ipad and XBox) don’t have their attention. And I love that feeling you get when the school work has been completed for the day. Seriously, if I could bottle up that feeling I’d sell it for some 50 bucks a pop because that shit is good. I also love playing Sudoku very late in the evening. My new roommate, Anxiety, told me that sleeping for 8 hours a night is so “2019”, and that I should “just shut up about it”, so solving Sudoku puzzles are a great way for me to pass the time.
Oh, and I still love baking. Thank goodness I still love baking.
Good times.
I made you bagels.
The first time I made bagels I was blown away by how easy it was, while simultaneously feeling very accomplished. *I need to amend this last sentence after a few of my readers questioned “easy”. While this recipe does have a lot of steps, each step is easy to do. Even for the novice baker.* I believe in you, and I want you to feel accomplished too, so I adapted this recipe from Ultimate Bread by Eric Treuille & Ursula Ferrigno.
Begin by combining warm water, barley malt syrup, and dry active yeast. I used barley malt syrup because it adds an earthier sweetness that gives the dough that classic New York bagel flavor. However, you could also use sugar, honey, brown sugar, or molasses.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients (flour and salt), and pour in the yeast mixture. Mix in a little of the flour mixture to create a soft paste. Then cover the bowl with a damp towel and set aside for 30 minutes.
It’s alive! In bread making this soft paste is called a sponge. Sponges help to deepen the flavor of bread.
After your sponge has rested for 30 minutes mix in the remaining flour mixture, and a little more warm water to form a stiff and moist dough. I know. I just typed “stiff” and “moist” in the same sentence.
Then knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 10 to 15 minutes.
To make sure you’ve kneaded the dough long enough break off a small piece and gently stretch it. If you can stretch it thin where light comes through, but it doesn’t break then you are good to go. If not, then get back to kneading.
Place the dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel, and set aside until it has doubled in size (about an hour). You could also place it in the refrigerator to rest overnight.
Once it has proofed, punch down the dough, and then cut it into eight equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. Place them on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, place one of the dough balls in a bowl of cold water. If it floats for 10 seconds or longer it has enough carbon dioxide trapped within it’s gluten web, and therefore will rise well when baked. If it doesn’t float then dry it off, and cover the dough balls again for another 20 minutes, or so.
Create a hole in the middle of each dough ball.
And widen that hole by carefully flinging it around your finger. Yippee!
Place the bagels in simmering water, and boil for 1 minute. Then place the boiled bagels on a parchment-lined baking sheet. If you’re adding toppings to the bagels now is the time. Bake in a 500º F. oven for 5 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet, and lower the temperature to 450º F., and then bake for another 5 minutes.
To be sure the bagels are fully done use a baking thermometer. They are ready when they reach an internal temperature of 210º F.
My son can hardly contain his enthusiasm.
Notes
Special equipment needed: Large mixing bowl, mixing spoon, kitchen towel, bakers scale (optional), baking thermometer (optional), large pot, baking sheet, parchment paper, perforated skimmer, cooling rack, plastic wrap
Ingredients
- 2 tsp. Active Dry Yeast
- 1 and 1/2 TBS. Barley Malt Syrup, or other sweetener (sugar, molasses, honey)
- 1 and 1/4 cups Warm Water (divided)
- 3 and 1/2 cups (500 g) Bread Flour, plus extra for kneading
- 1 and 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1 TBS Baking Soda and a large pot of Water (for boiling)
- Various Bagel Toppings (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Set aside.
- Heat 1/2 cup of water in the microwave until it's lukewarm to touch (98.6 degrees F). Add the yeast and barley malt syrup. Set aside for 5 minutes.
- Whisk the yeast mixture.
- Use a mixing spoon to form a well in the middle of the flour/salt mixture. Pour the yeast mixture into the well.
- Working around the bowl, draw in a some of the flour mixture into the dissolved yeast mixture to form a soft paste. This is the sponge.
- Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Bring the remaining 3/4 cup of water to lukewarm temperature.
- Pour this water into the sponge. Stir the sponge and remaining flour mixture until it comes together.
- On a lightly floured work surface, knead the dough until smooth and firm (about 10 to 15 minutes). Stretch a small piece of the dough until it's real thin. If it doesn't break move to the next step. If it does then keep kneading.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl, and cover with a damp towel. Set aside until double in size (about an hour). You can also refrigerate overnight.
- Punch the dough down, and then let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces, and roll each piece into a ball.
- Place the dough balls on a greased baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 20 minutes.
- Fill up a large bowl with cold water, and place one of the dough balls in. If it floats for 10 or more seconds then the dough is ready to be boiled and baked. If not, let them rest a little longer, and then test again.
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F., and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Pour in the baking soda. Bring the water down to a simmer. Using a perforated skimmer, carefully lower two to three bagels into the water. Boil for 1 minute, and then place on the baking sheet. If you'd like to coat the bagels with topping now is the time.
- Once all of the bagels have been boiled bake them in the oven for 5 minutes. Next, lower the oven temperature to 450 degrees F., rotate the baking sheet 180 degrees, and bake for another 5 minutes.
- Remove the baking sheet from the oven and allow the bagels to cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Enjoy!
