I guess we're homemade bagel people now...

A bagel with cream cheese has been one of my go-to easy breakfast, lunch, and even dinners for a good part of my adult life. Over many years of trying different brands, I did eventually settle into some favorites to keep on hand that weren't too soft or fluffy, but also weren't too dense and chewy. But, when COVID happened and suddenly the bread aisles were empty and the bakery shelves were bare, I found myself in a quite a pickle not knowing where I would find my pantry staple to get me through the challenging days of early lockdown. However, I had a lot of time on my hands and 20lb bag of flower my sister bought me at Costco. So, I got to work in perfecting the homemade bagel. 

After playing around with a couple different recipes, I landed on this one by the Sophisticated Gourmet as my starting point. But, after about 10 batches, I managed to really dial it in and get it exactly where I wanted it. Now, grocery store bagels just seem sad by comparison... I guess we're homemade bagel people now. 

Makes 8 bagels

Ingredients:

120g of warm water (about 105-115 degrees F)

19g white sugar 

6g instant rising yeast (one packet)

440g bread flour (or substitute up to 240g whole wheat in place of equal weight of bread flours)

9g salt

120g warm water (if you substitute whole wheat flour above, add an extra 20g of water)

Everything bagel topping (adapt the ratios to your preference, or top with whatever you like)

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 tsp poppy seeds

1 tsp dried minced garlic

1 tsp dried minced onion

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (omit if you dont like spicy)

Instructions: 

Start with warm water, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of the stand mixer. Mix gently and let sit 5 minutes to prove (this step isn't necessary with instant yeast if you trust your yeast and your thermometer). 

Once you're certain your yeast is alive and well, add bread flour (and whole wheat if substituting), salt, and remaining warm water. Mix into dough with the dough hook on your stand mixer at speed 1. 

Once dough comes together, knead at speed 2 for 10 minutes in stand mixer. 

Lift dough out of mixer and drizzle a very small amount of oil in the bowl, turn the dough over in the bowl until lightly covered in oil. Then, cover with a tea towel and set somewhere to rise for 1 hour. 

At the end of the hour, punch down the dough and let it rest 10 for minutes. While it rests, start boiling a large, shallow pot of water on the stove and begin preheating the oven to 425. Also, prep any toppings you'd like for your bagels. I keep mine in a recycle sesame seed shaker for easy sprinkling. 

After the 10 minute rest, shape dough into 8 tight round balls. Pull the dough to the bottom and pinch to create a smooth round, then roll the bottom on the counter gently to round out the bottom. They will weigh approximately 85-90g each, slightly more if you used whole wheat flour. 

Once all balls are formed, go back to the first ball and shape into bagel shape. I use my pointer finger to poke a whole in the center of the ball, then slowly stretch from the center to create a hole in the middle.  The hole will shrink as the dough rests and the bagels will expand a bit when the boil so make sure the hole is much larger than you'd expect. I make sure my whole hand can fit through it like this. It is very unsettling. 

Once shaped, let rest another 10 minutes covered with a tea towel. 

Once your water is up to a rolling boil, starting with the bagels you made first, drop 2-4 bagels in the pot and boil for 60-90 seconds on each side. As you pull them out, set them on a cookie sheet with the side that was boiled second facing up. Sprinkle immediately with toppings and move to a lined baking sheet (I use a Silpat to line the sheet, and can fit all 8 on one sheet).

Bake for 20 minutes in 425 degree oven. When they come out of the oven remove them from the Silpat within 5 minutes to cool on a wire rack to avoid the bottoms from getting soggy.  

Store in an airtight container at room temperature. They will start to get stale very quickly if they're not kept away from air, so eat up!