< Bagels

Source: The Gefilte Manifesto by Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern

Yield: 10 bagels

Time: 3 hours to overnight

Ingredients

Dough

• 1½ cups lukewarm water
• 1 (¼-ounce) packet active dry yeast (2¼ teaspoons)
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup honey (or barley malt syrup)
• 3¾ cups bread flour, plus more as needed
• ¼ cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• Vegetable oil, for oiling the bowl

Boiling bath

• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Seasoning

• Sesame seeds
• Poppy seeds
• Coarse salt
• Dried minced onion
• Ground cinnamon
• Raisins

Method

Dough

• In a small bowl, combine the lukewarm water, yeast, and sugar and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk the egg and honey into the yeast mixture. In a large bowl, mix together the bread flour, whole wheat flour, and salt.
• Add the wet mixture to the bowl with the flour mixture and stir until the dough comes together. Turn the dough out onto a liberally floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until the dough is firm yet supple and smooth, working in additional bread flour as needed. Form the dough into a ball. Place the dough ball into an oiled bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a kitchen towel and allow the dough to rest in the bowl for 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.
• Divide the dough into 10 equal portions. At this point, if you’re planning to make cinnamon-raisin bagels, work the cinnamon and raisins into the portions of dough you’d like to be sweet (a little bit of both goes a long way). Roll each portion out into an 8-inch strand—just long enough to wrap around your four fingers, then connect the ends (see illustration below). Place the bagels on a greased baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or, for best results, overnight).

Cooking

• While the bagels are in the fridge, bring a stockpot filled with about 4 litres water to a boil and stir in the baking soda and salt.
• Preheat the oven to 260ºC. Line at least two baking sheets with parchment paper and keep your optional seasonings nearby.
• Remove the bagels from the fridge and boil in batches for 1½ to 2 minutes, flipping halfway through. Do not crowd the pot. After a few seconds in the water, the bagels will expand and float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon, and let them drain well. Sprinkle the bagels with the desired toppings and place on the prepared baking sheets.
• Slide one baking sheet at a time onto the middle rack of the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 230ºC and bake for an additional 5 to 7 minutes until golden brown and a bit crisp on the outside. Remove and let cool slightly before slicing and serving. Store any leftover bagels in an airtight plastic bag. They will keep for about 5 days, but may need to be toasted for maximum enjoyment after day 2. Bagels can also be kept in the freezer, wrapped individually in aluminum foil and then stored in an airtight plastic bag. To defrost, simply leave at room temperature for 1 hour and then toast before serving.