There is no one bagel recipe, as recipes for these yeasted, boiled and baked breads vary according to region and culture. However, most recipes call for flour, water, salt, yeast and malt syrup or barley malt flour. Some recipes also include eggs, butter, sugar, honey, malt extract, potato flour, milk, sourdough starter or vegetable shortening.
3 1/2 qt Water with 1 Tbs.
of malt syrup in it :: 1 ea Egg white,beaten, mixed with 1 tsp.
water :: 1 ea Toppings (onion, garlic,poppy or sesame seed.
) MIXING, KNEADING, AND 1ST RISE: Mix all dryingredients, including yeast, thoroughly.
Mix malt syrup and water.
Make sure the temperature is between 120 and 130 degrees.
Add hotwater mixture and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon or your hand.
When is blended together, remove from bowl and knead (By hand: 10minutes.
By food processor: 1 minute).
Add a little flour if toowet.
a little water if too dry.
Place in clean, greased bowl,cover tightly and allow to rise until doubled in volume, about 1hour).
Punch down.
PREPARATION:Boil water with 1 T.
malt syrup in large pan (The maltsyrup makes the bagels shine).
Prepare cookie sheet sprinkled withcorn meal or polenta.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
SHAPING AND 2ND RISE:Either (1) Flatten and cut into eighteen 6strips, or (2) Divide dough into 18 pieces, each a little largerthan a golf ball (whichever shaping method tickles your fancy).
Allow dough to relax for 5 minutes.
If you chose #1, join the 2 endstogether.
If you chose #2, flatten the dough ball with palm of hand.
Poke a hole in the middle, push finger through, and swing around onyour finger until the hole looks large enough (remember that thehole will get smaller during the water bath).
Cover with cloth andallow to rise slightly for 10 minutes, no more (It will rise more inthe water bath).
WATER BATH:Just before bagels are ready to cook, reduce the heatunder the water to a gentle bubble.
Drop bagels with a skimmer or aslotted spatula or spoon into water bath.
Only do 4 or 5 at a time(so they have enough room to expand a little).
With the water at asimmer, cook 2 minutes on one side, flip it over and cook 1 minuteon the other.
Remove from water bath, drain momentarily on a papertowel, and place on cookie sheet.
BAKING, EGG WASH, TOPPINGS: Place cookie sheet of bagels into oven,middle shelf, and bake for 10 minutes.
Remove and brush with eggwash (egg white beaten with 1 tsp.
cold water).
Sprinkle topping ofchoice on top (sauteed onions or garlic, soaked (reconstituted)dehydrated onions onions or garlic, Kosher salt, poppy seeds, sesameseeds, what have you), and return to the oven.
Bake another 5 to 10minutes, turning them over 3 or 4 minutes before they are done.
Cool on a rack.
Variation: Add rum soaked raisins to dough before kneading.
Top withcinnamon sugar during baking.