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Sally’s first challenge of 2019 finds us back into yeasted breads. Homemade bagels, yum 😋 Now, you probably have figured out that I do love to bake bread. However, I am not a huge consumer of bagels. Not sure why. It may have to do with the fact that they are too large and bready for my taste. But if I get to make them, well, then they can be any size I want! And, any flavor 😉

I kept it simple for this go around. I made her basic recipe, but if you want to change it up, Sally did provide a list of her other tasty varieties!

One item that is truly unique to bagel, or pretzel making for that matter, is barley malt syrup. This is what gives bagels their malt like flavor. You don’t have to use this of course, honey and/or brown sugar can be used instead. But, I decided to order it online, just to be authentic.

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I also opted to do this overnight, as I was kinda busy during this time. Actually, allowing the dough to rise slowly, overnight, allows for a delicious flavor development 😄. So, I mixed up the warm water and yeast.

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Once I saw it was activated, I added the barley syrup, bread flour and salt. And that’s it!

The mixer pulled the ingredients together, and then I kneaded it for another few minutes until the dough was firm.

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This went into an oiled bowl, covered and left overnight in the fridge, to slowly rise.

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The next morning, I allowed the dough to come to room temp, about 2 hours in my house that morning.

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Sally’s recipe called for the dough to be divided into 8 “equalish” pieces. But, you know I can’t just do that! 😂 I did weigh the dough so that the bagels would be similar.

I weighed the bowl with the dough, removed the dough, and weighed the empty bowl to find the total weight of the mixture. 838g of dough, divided by 8 came to, a little over, 104g per bagel.

I divided the dough into 8 pieces and checked them on the scale. A little extra dough here, a little less there…. And, each was ready to be shaped.

The first step was to roll it into a tight ball.

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Then flattened, and a 1-2 inch hole punched into the middle

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Seven more later….

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These were covered and allowed to rest while I prepared the water bath.

Yes, water bath! Bagels (and pretzels) need to be boiled prior to baking. This gives them the crusty exterior and helps them color properly.

The boiling water has more barley malt syrup, but you can use honey. Check out the color of the boiling solution with the syrup!

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Once the mixture had boiled, I added the bagles and cooked them 1 minute per side.

It took a little time, but this step is quite important. Once all were boiled, an egg wash was applied. I decided to add some course salt to the top. We had been given a special sea salt from our yoga trip to Mexico last year, so I used that.

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Now they were ready for the oven!

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The bagles were baked at 425F for 20 minutes, until dark brown

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After they cooled, we dug in! I know that most people associate bagels with cream cheese, and that is delicious. But I like mine with goat cheese and honey 🍯

 

A great start to this year of baking challenges 🤩 And this was not hard! It really is simple to make bagels at home, and they freeze well if you have extra😊💕

Give it a try, and let me know what you think! Or better yet, join me in the next challenge😁👩🏻‍🍳

25 thoughts on “Sally’s Baking Addiction: January, 2019 Challenge: Homemade Bagels 😋”

  4. I have this love/hate relationship with your food posts. I love the content, then I hate myself for loving it and then I tell myself that I shouldn’t…the cycle goes on for a bit. It’s sad really. 😉 Throughout it all, I love you! Truly, I wish I could be part of your baking world. I’m really glad I’m not, but I want to be. Sigh…you see my dilemma! 🤗❤️🤗❤️🤗

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  8. Oooo I haven’t had bagels in ages, and never thought of making them at home. I love that they require a ‘bagel bath’, that made me chuckle. You’ve done a great job with the step by step guide, thanks. They look lush! 🙂
    Caz xxxx

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  13. These look so good Dee-Dee! With the salt and goat cheese it must had been divine. I have a fondness for any kind of bread and love bagels. I wish I had took you to the St-Viateur Bagel shop, a local-style bagels, which are hand rolled and wood fire baked! Their rosemary bagels are a must try. Next time you come to Montreal I will take you there. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I had no idea how to bake bagels.

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  15. Bagels are boiled? then baked? I didn’t know that. That’s pretty cool. I wonder if you added herbs to the bath rather than in the dough, how that would effect the flavoring. I find for myself that olives and rosemary are too strong a flavor for breads but it might be nice to get a lighter infusion of flavor. I’d like to try making bagels too. I do ok with cupcakes, muffins and scones so this would be a step up.

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