Bagels

As much as I enjoyed the Homemade Plain Bagels from a few weeks ago, I still felt there was much room for exploration as far as bagels were concerned.

Especially since I was fixated on creating a Garlic Bagel.

When I came across a recipe from Ultimate Bread, I just knew it would be great to adapt into a garlic version. Especially since it didn’t require a sponge. Score!

On half of the bagels, I sprinkled sea salt on the tops and on the other half I brushed on a garlic-olive oil mixture. At the end of the day, the latter won in flavor. Deliciously garlicky with a yummy crunch created by the olive oil. YUM!

The texture of these bagels were perfect—a wonderful balance of soft and chewy. As for the garlic flavor—it was exactly what I was looking for. Almost like a breakfast garlic bread 🙂

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Garlic Bagels
Adapted From Ultimate Bread
Makes 8 Bagels

2 Teaspoon Dry Yeast
1½ Tablespoon Sugar
½ Tablespoon Garlic Powder
1¼ Cups Warm Water
3½ Cups Unbleached flour, plus extra for kneading
1½ Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Garlic, finely minced
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Corn Meal
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
Vegetable Oil

Sprinkle the yeast and sugar into 1/2 cup of the water in a small bowl. Leave for 5 minutes and then stir to dissolve. In a large bowl, mix the flour, garlic powder and salt together. Form a well in the center and pour in the dissolved yeast.

Pour half of the remaining water into the well. Mix in the flour and stir in the reserved water as needed, forming a firm and moist dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Gradually work in as much additional flour as possible while comfortably kneading to form a stiff and firm dough.

Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turning the dough to coat it. Cover with a towel and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch down and let the dough rest 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball – cup between your hands and press the bottoms together between your palms. Press down to get rid of air bubbles and roll the dough between your palm and the work surface to form a smooth ball. Coat a finger in flour and press it through each ball to form a ring.

Work the rest of your fingers into the hole, stretching the ring and widening the hole to about 1/3 of the bagel’s diameter. Place the bagels on a lightly oiled baking sheet and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 10 minutes and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix olive oil and garlic together. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Carefully sprinkle in the baking soda. Use a perforated skimmer to lower the bagels into the water in batches of 2-3. Boil, uncovered, until they rise to the surface, about 1 minute. Turn them over once. Then remove from the pan, letting the water drain, and transfer to a lightly oiled baking sheet that has been sprinkled with corn meal. Bake 12-15 minutes. Remove bagels from oven. Using a brush, coat the bagels with the olive oil-garlic mixture. Return back to oven and back until golden—about 5 minutes. Remove and cool on a wire rack. Bagels can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

One of the things I miss most about San Jose is my beloved little bagel spot.

It was a cozy little family-owned bagel shop that was a gem of the community. The staff were some of the nicest people around and even when I would fumble in at 6am, they would always greet me with warm hellos—-and of course my cheese bagel with jalepeno spread. AH-MAY-ZING!

I’ve really been missing those delicious bagels lately so when I saw the post on Tasty Kitchen for homemade bagels, I knew I had to give them a try. Meredith’s take on them were straight forward and easy to follow. I especially appreciated the short proofing time—which is always a plus in my book!

I really liked the texture of the bagels as it yielded the lovely chewiness that I am so fond of. However, after my bagels cooled down, they began to flatten out. She had commented to another reader that this may happen when you let the dough rest too long but I only had mine out for about 20 minutes. I was a bit Sad Panda but I would love to try it again and substitute some of AP flour for wheat.

Nonetheless it was a fun recipe to make!

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Homemade Plain Bagels
From An Epic Change
Makes 1/2 Dozen

Ingredients:

1½ teaspoon yeast
½ tablespoon sugar
⅔ cup warm water + extra
½ tablespoon vegetable oil
¾ teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour

In the bottom of your mixer bowl, combine 2/3 cup water, sugar, and yeast and let the yeast develop for about 5 minutes. Add in flour, vegetable oil, and salt and mix with a dough hook (or by hand) until the dough is elastic and tough. You may need to add in a bit of extra water, but do it little by little. Let the dough sit and rise in a warm place for 20-30 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead. Cut into 6 equal pieces. Roll each individual piece into a “snake” long enough to wrap around your palm. Dip each end of the dough in water and press together in your palm, forming a circle. Place the formed bagels on a floured board and allow to rise another 20-30 minutes.

Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pot. When the water is gently boiling, place 2-3 bagels into the water for 1 minute and then flip to boil on the other side for another minute. Remove the bagels, place them on paper towels to take off excess moisture, then place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bagels. Bake in the oven on 425 degrees for 18 minutes, turning them over after 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks and enjoy!