Homemade Bagel – I’d always put making my own bagels in the too hard box, but they’re no harder than making your own bread. Plus 10 times better than those things you buy in a bag.
My recipes a tweaked version of Rachel Allen’s recipe in her book Bake.
This recipe will make 8 bagels.
Ingredients – makes 8
- 450g bread flour
- (For seeded bagels add 50g seeds, plus some to scatter on top)
- 7g yeast
- 2tsp salt
- 300ml warm water
- 2 tbsp honey for bagels
- 2 tbsp honey for water
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- oil and cornmeal for the trays
- 1 egg for egg wash
- Rock salt, onion granules and/or seeds to sprinkle on top.
Equipment
- 2-4 baking trays
- Large mixing bowl
- Large bowl for proving (you can use the same bowl, if you wipe it out)
- Plastic shower cap or cling film to cover
- Jug
- Scales
- Cooking rack
- Large pan or stockpot
Method
- Leave to Sift the flour and seeds into a bowl, add the yeast and mix together.
- Mix the honey, oil, water and salt in a jug.
- Make a well in the flour and add a third of the liquid and mix with a spoon.
- Once absorbed add another third and repeat, then add the final third.
- When combined use your hands to kneed together, it should not be sticky and slightly more springy than bread dough.
- Turn out onto a floured surface and kneed until it’s springs back when you prod it.
- No place in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film or a plastic shower cap.
- Leave to rise for at least 2 hours.
Making your bagels
- Once risen turn out onto a floured surface and quickly kneed – I knock out the air once and kneed a few times only.
- Flour one of you trays
- Roll into a sausage and cut into 8, then roll each eighth into a ball.
- To make the bagels flatten the ball and use your fingers to make a hole in the middle.
- Then work with your hands to even out the bagel and make the hole 2-3cm wide.
- Place each bagel on the tray, then cover with a towel and leave for 20 mins.
Cooking your bagels
- Heat the oven to 220c.
- Meanwhile bring a pan of water to a simmer, add 2tbsp honey and mix in.
- Oil enough baking trays to cook the bagels and scatter with cornmeal, or wholemeal flour if you don’t have it.
- Then poach each bagel for 20 second on each side, I normally do batches of 3.
- Once done quickly drain and place on a baking tray.
- Once they’re all poached coat in an egg wash and sprinkle your chosen topping on top.
- Then bake for 15-20 minutes, flip them over after 10 mins.
- They should be golden and sound hollow.
- Cool on a cooling rack and then serve.
Try them with sausage and cheese
