Bagels

After a recent article on Slate about making staples from scratch, I decided to make some bagels.

Bryan: When did bagels turn into staples?
Em: I like bagels.
Bryan: I like bagels too. That's not my point.

I used this recipe, as recommended in the article. It was pretty easy, despite the number of instructions.
Ingredients

• 3 1/2 c. flour (I used whole wheat)
• 2 pkgs dry yeast (about 4.5 tsp? Check your yeast container)
• 3 T. sugar (I used brown)
• 1 T. salt
• 1 1/2 c. hot water (between 120-130 degrees F.)
• 3 Quarts water
• 1 1/2 T. sugar
• cornmeal

As you can see, I skipped the egg glaze, because I don't have any eggs in the house. The ingredients are in three colours because the recipe has three parts. Clever, innit?
Methodology

1. Put 3 c. flour and the other dry ingredients (from the part in RED) in a bowl and mix. Add the hot water (also in red) and stir. Add the last half cup of flour a little at a time. Eventually the dough will get thick and heavy and you won't be able to stir it with a spoon anymore, so turn it out onto a floured counter and knead it for about ten minutes, until it is firm and solid as pinched, adding flour as necessary.
2. When the dough is ready, put it in an oiled bowl and cover it. I stuck it in a humid microwave. Leave it to rise for about an hour, until it is doubled.
3. Bring three quarts of water to a boil and add the sugar (this is the orange part). Reduce the water to a very slow simmer.
4. Punch the dough down and divide it into 10 pieces. Make each into a ball (see picture on left). Let them stand for a few minutes to relax, then flatten and make a hole (I cut an "x" in the center with a knife, then opened it up and squished the edges a little). Cover and leave the bagels to rise about 10 min. - this is called a half proofing, I think.
5. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease baking sheets (probably two of them) and sprinkle with corn meal.
6. Drop bagels 2-3 at a time into the simmering water. I used a stir fry spatula for this, since I don't have any deep frying baskets or nonsense. They will sink and rise again in a few seconds (or if you left them too long, they will not sink). Flip them about 30 seconds after they rise again and let them simmer another 30 seconds (total 1 min.) Scoop out and drain on paper towel, then put on the cookie sheet.
   
7. If you're doing an egg glaze, do it now.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until brown. When the tops are brown (about 12 min in), you can flip them. A long chopstick is ideal for transferring bagels to a cooling rack.

Notes

*That was pretty easy, and the bagels are delicious.
*Difficult to tell when whole wheat bagels are browned, since they are, um, already brown.
*I don't really have any changes to the recipe. Seriously delicious after a long run. Eat them with cream cheese. Mmm.