Bagels
A bagel is a round bread made of simple ingredients: flour, salt, water, yeast and malt. Its dough is boiled, then baked, and the result should be a rich caramel colour.
Most famous bagels are New York bagels. If you will ever visit US this is the one thing you should definitely try.
People think that bagels originated in New York, but the truth is, they arrived in the Big Apple with Jewish emigrants from Poland.
Most typical way to enjoy the bagel is with cream cheese, but it’s delicious with any kind of fillings. Just be creative, you can use everything from salmon to ham or jam.
It’s worth to try to make them 😊
Bagels – makes 8 bagels
Ingredients
360ml lukewarm water
7g active dry yeast
480g of all-purpose flour plus some extra for making bagels
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 egg yolk – mix with 1 tablespoon of water
2 tablespoons of honey
1 pot of boiling water
Directions
1. To make the dough, mix 7g of yeast with 260ml of lukewarm water in a big bowl. Let it rest for 5 mins. You will be able to see little bubbles popping up in the water -this means that yeast is active.
2. In another, smaller bowl mix together 480g all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 2 teaspoons of salt.
3. Add flour mixture into a big bowl with yeast.
If using a mixer, use the dough hook and mix on the lowest speed for 3 minutes.
4. Kneading the dough by hand:
Start with kneading the dough inside a bowl.
Once you have a consistent dough, sprinkle some flour on the kitchen counter and transfer your dough.
Gather the dough into a pile. When you first plunge your hands into the dough, it will be sticky and difficult to gather. Go ahead and work the dough with your hands, forming it into a ball, pressing it down and reshaping it. Continue doing so until the dough is no longer as sticky, and it becomes possible to shape it into a ball without the dough falling apart.
Punch the dough. Press the heels of your hands into the dough, pushing forward slightly. This is called "punching" the dough and helps the gluten start working.
Knead the dough for 10 minutes
Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
5. Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl.
6. Cover the bowl with clean kitchen towel, and let the dough rise at room temperature for 90 minutes.
7. Fill the pot with a water and bring to boil. Add 2 tablespoons of honey and reduce the heat.
Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees.
8. When you’re ready to shape the bagels, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
9. Poke a hole through the center of the ball to create a doughnut shape. Holding the dough with both thumbs in the hole, rotate the dough with your hands, gradually stretching it to create a small hole.
10. Transfer bagels into the pot and cook for 1 minute. Flip over after 30 seconds.
Put bagels on the tray, lined with baking paper.
11. Brush each bagel with egg yolk mixed with 1 tablespoon of water.
12. Sprinkle each bagel with your favorite topping – sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or a salt. Bake for 20 minutes.
