10/3/2014 Susan' s Cooking School-Bagels

http://www.susanscookingschool.com/bagels.html 1/2
Susan's Awesome Bagels!
Rounding the bagels. Watch Susan's Bagel Video
Free mp3 of Chopin's Nocturne in E-flat Major used in video.
Freely use this recipe for your enjoyment, but please do not republish.
Print this Recipe
Ingredients Large (6 qt. mixer) Medium (4.5-5 qt mixer)
Approximate Yield: 14 bagels 10 bagels
Bread flour
1
1 lb. (about 3 cups) 12 oz.(~2 cups)
Active dry yeast 1 tablespoon 2 teaspoons ( envelope)
Water
2
, lukewarm (90-100 F)
2 cups 1 cups
Bread flour 1 lb. (about 3 cups) 12 oz.(~2 cups)
Salt
3
1 tablespoon 2 teaspoons
Optional Sesame seeds, Poppy seeds, or other toppings
1. Prepare a sponge out of the first three ingredients: Measure the flour into a large bowl. If using a heavy duty stand mixer,
place the ingredients right in the mixing bowl.
2. Add the yeast and water. Stir vigorously until smooth. Cover and let rest until double in volume.
3. When the sponge is ready, add the remaining flour and salt. Knead with a dough hook for 10 minutes on Speed 1. If the
dough appears too dry and the mixer sounds as if it's straining, add a little more water. If the dough seems too wet, add a
little more flour. Try to make these changes early in the mixing process. Occasionally you may need to stop the mixer and
scrape the dough from the sides and the bottom of the bowl.
If kneading by hand, empty dough onto table and knead for 8-10 minutes, using as little flour as necessary to prevent the
dough from sticking. For more information on hand kneading with video instructions, visit my French Bread
10/3/2014 Susan' s Cooking School-Bagels
http://www.susanscookingschool.com/bagels.html 2/2
4. When the dough is finished mixing, remove the dough hook and let the dough rest covered for about 20 minutes.
5. Reshape the dough to form a tight surface that will hold in the carbon dioxide created by the yeast.
6. Cover and let the dough
4
rise until double in volume. The time will vary mostly dependent on room temperature. Should
take between 30 minutes to one hour. The dough is ready when an indentation remains after gently pressing with your
finger.
7. Take the dough out of the bowl onto a table or cutting board and scale or divide it into 12-14 pieces (between 3.5 to 4
ounces makes a good size bagel).
8. Round each piece into a ball. Coat each one with flour, cover and let them rest/rise for about 15-30 minutes or until the
dough has expanded a bit. Don't let them rise too long or the bagels may collapse when you boil them.
9. Dust the bagels with a little flour. Press down into the center of each bagel to make a flattened indentation. Then cut the
hole in the dough. A small cannoli form for great for this.
10. Boil the bagels in salted water for 2 minutes on each side. If the bagels have over-risen, only boil for 1 minutes per
side. Turn carefully.
11. Remove the bagels from the water and drain on a baking rack.
12. If desired, seed the bagels before baking. An egg white wash (1 egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon of water) is optional
but gives a nice glaze to the bagels and helps the seeds to stick. To seed: Dip the bottoms in cornmeal, then dip tops in
egg white wash, water or nothing if the bagels are still wet from boiling. Then dip the tops again in your topping(s) of
choice.
13. Bake the bagels on a preheated baking stone at 400F and begin checking them at 25 minutes. They may also be baked on
greased or parchment lined sheet pans. You may turn the bagels when they're almost done to help them brown evenly.
14. The bagels are nice and golden brown when done. If your bagels are not browning well, it's possible that the dough was
over fermented and the sugars present have been used up by the yeast. The bagels will still taste great, but they won't
get as golden in color. Bake longer for a darker color, but not so long that they will be dry.
15. Be careful when slicing!
Happy Bagel making!
Notes:
1. If using measuring cups instead of a scale, stir flour first, then spoon into the cup and level off.
2. Quantity if water needed may fluctuate
3. Uniodized salt is best. I like to use Kosher or sea salt.
4. For more information on yeast doughs, please see the following articles: How Long Does it Take Dough to Rise
Dough FAQs
2013 Susan J. Sady