This recipe makes a lot of bagels. I make about 15 large bagels with this recipe. These bagels last only a few days, but I freeze half of the batch, that way I can eat one batch fresh and then take the second batch out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator to thaw.
S'sK Plain Bagel Recipe
Ingredients:
3 cups water
3 tablespoons white sugar
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 teaspoons salt
8 1/2 - 9 cups bread flour
Bonus items:
Parchment
paper
Instructions:
1. Add
cold water to microwave safe bowl. Microwave water for about 45 seconds
until warm. Add water to a large bowl. (Water should be warmer than lukewarm,
but not hot enough to burn you.)
2. Add sugar and yeast to water and stir with a fork to dissolve.
3. Cover
yeast bowl with plastic wrap and let yeast bowl sit in a nested bowl or Tupperware
container with hot water.
a. To
make a nested bowl with hot water:
i.
I use a large Tupperware container and fill it
about half way up with hot water.
ii.
Nest the yeast bowl in the Tupperware container.
iii.
Water should be hot, but not hot enough to burn
you.
iv.
(Remove yeast bowl from nested bath when
kneading)
b. Let
yeast sit in nested bath for 10 minutes. You will notice that your yeast water
has become very thick, bubbly, and frothy. This is perfect. Remove bowl from
nested bath and remove plastic wrap top.
c. If
your bowl is not frothy, try again. There are many factors that could affect
this. Most likely your yeast died. Either your initial water was too hot and it
killed your yeast, or your environment was too cold so the yeast did not wake up
and begin feeding. Another possibility is that your yeast was dead to begin
with. Make sure you use fresh yeast that has been stored properly - as yeast
does go bad.
4. Add
salt to the yeast water. Whisk with fork until well mixed.
5. Add
bread flour slowly. Mix with fork until
difficult to mix. Knead dough with hands for a couple minutes until dough has
absorbed all flour.
a. Don’t
add too much flour that the dough cannot absorb it all and leaves dusty traces.
If this happens, add a little water until the dough absorbs the flour.
b. The
dough should be slightly sticky to the touch, not dried out, or too wet.
6. Knead dough vigorously for 2 minutes.
7. Cover
bowl with plastic wrap.
8. Let
sit on counter in a nested bowl with hot water (just like before) for 1 hour.
9. Remove
dough bowl from nested bowl.
10. Remove plastic wrap from bowl.
11. Separate
dough into 12-15 medium or large balls.
12. Grab 1 dough ball and stick your index finger through the middle of the dough ball. Flatten dough around your finger to make a bagel ring.
13. Shape all the other dough balls the same way.
14. Once all bagel rings are made, add water to a large pot and bring water to a rolling boil.
15. Once water is boiling, preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
16. Add 3-4 raw bagel rings to boiling water.
17. Let bagel rings boil for 1- 2 minutes depending on how chewy you want your bagels. Flip bagels over half way through boiling (I use a straining spoon to flip them over). I like leaving mine in for about 2 minutes since I like my bagels very chewy. Your bagel dough should double/triple in size while boiling.
18. Use a straining spoon to remove the bagels from the boiling water.
19. Place boiled bagels on parchment paper lined baking sheet (or Silpat baking mat).
20. Bake bagels for 20-40 minutes flipping bagels over at the 10-15 minute mark. Depending on how thick you make your bagels.
21. Bagels will start to turn slightly golden brown on each side, this is perfect. If you are unsure if they are done, remove one bagel from the baking sheet and open it carefully with a knife (it will be hot!). Check if it is raw inside.
