Bagels

Stephen and I decided to venture out today... Not into the snow, but to make bagels!  We've always talked about making them and this was a perfect day to do it.  I had all the ingredients on hand, so if you do too I would reccommend making these, it is really fun!  This process took us about 3 hours total (that includes rising time too), and was a pretty easy process which I was quite surprised about since I always heard bagels were difficult to make.  It's a great dough recipe though and that helps a lot.  So here it is...

Step 1: Mix your dough

4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon salt
5-5 1/5 cups bread flour (I used about 1 cup of whole wheat flour in the mixture)
2 tablespoons vital wheat gluten

• In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar in 1/2 c. of the warm water and stir to dissolve.  Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes
• In a stand mixer or bowl, combine remaining water, oil, sugar, salt, 2 cups flour, and the gluten.  Beat on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.  Add the yeast mixture and 1 cup of flour, beat for another minute.  Beat in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl and forms a ball.  
• Knead for about 6-10 minutes, add flour as needed until the dough is smooth and elastic.
• Put the dough in a bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap, let the dough rise about 1 hour or until it is doubled in size.  

Step 2: Forming the bagels

• Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with oil.  Take the dough and divide it into 4 portions then divide each portion into 3 pieces (12 bagels total) 
• Shape each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and flatten with the palm of your hand.  Poke a finger through the middle of the ball, stretch the hole to about 1 inch in diameter.
• Continue to work the dough into a nice bagel shape, make the hole a little bigger than you would think because it will shrink slightly when you stop.
• Place the bagels on the baking sheets, spray with oil and cover with plastic.  Let the bagels rise at room temperature until puffy, 15-20 minutes.  

Step 3: Boiling the bagels

• While the bagels are rising, prepare the water bath.  In a wide pot bring 4-6 quarts of water to a boil over high heat.  Add 1 Tablespoon of baking soda to the water and reduce the heat to medium to maintain a gentle boil. 
• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees
• Once bagels are puffy, lower 3-4 bagels into the water.  (The recipe says they will sink to the bottom then rise back up... ours did not do this)
• Boil for 2 minutes on each side.
• Take the bagels and transfer to a dry kitchen towel to drain for a moment. 
• Place the bagels back on a greased baking sheet (no parchment paper now)

Step 4: Bake the bagels

• When all the bagels are boiled, brush with egg whites and sprinkle with desired toppings.
• Bake until deep golden brown, 16-20 minutes.  
• Remove from oven and transfer to racks to cool completely.  

Plain Bagels

We used sea salt, poppy seeds, and chives for the toppings.  Sesame seeds or minced garlic would be good too!