Bagels, that's what. We love them here so why it's taken until now to have a go at making them I don't know. Maybe I've just assumed they were difficult to produce in a home kitchen, which they're not. They just take a bit of time. So, with the mister busy in the garden grappling with the roof of our new little summerhouse (more of that later), I dug out a recipe I'd copied ages ago and just made a couple of amendments.
Ingredients
1 2/3 cups warm water
3/4 tsp dry yeast (a little less than a 7g packet)
2 tbsp sugar
4 1/2 cups strong white (bread) flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
Olive oil for greasing
3 baking trays lined with parchment or baking paper
Toppings if you don't want them plain. I used sesame seeds, caraway seeds, cinnamon and crushed sea salt but you could also try grated cheese or poppy seeds or anything else that takes your fancy.
Method
1. Pour the water into a small bowl and sprinkle on the yeast followed by the sugar. Leave for about 5 minutes until it looks foamy.
2. Put the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms. Turn out onto a board or worktop and knead for 5 minutes until you have a smooth ball of dough. You'll find that the mixture is stiffer than normal bread dough.
3. Transfer the dough to a clean bowl greased with olive oil. Cover with cling film and leave until doubled in size. This might take up to 2 1/2 hours.
4. Remove the cling film and knock the risen dough back then turn out onto a board. Cut into 10 equal portions and form into balls. I find the best way to do this is to roll the piece of dough on an unfloured board in a circular motion with your hand until you have smooth balls of dough.
5. Place the balls of dough onto 2 of the baking sheets, making sure there's space between each of them, and cover with cling film and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
6. Poke a hole in the middle of each of the balls of dough using your finger or the handle of a wooden spoon and gently shape to form bagels. The dough will spring back but this is nothing to worry about. Cover with cling film and leave for a further 20 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 200C, 180C for fan assisted ovens.
8. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Carefully drop each bagel into the boiling water, 3 or 4 at a time depending on the size of your pan. Boil the bagels for 1-2 minutes, flipping them over with a slotted spoon or slice until they start to bubble and a skin forms. Then place on two parchment lined baking sheets using the slotted spoon or slice, shaking off any excess water. This is where the third prepared baking sheet comes in; place the first bagels on this one until the second tray is empty. You may need to use all 3 baking sheets depending on the size of the bagels at this stage.
9. Brush lightly with beaten egg and add any toppings. You can also use the handle of a wooden spoon to widen the holes in the bagels if you wish.
10. Bake in the oven for 20-25 mins until golden brown. Flip over and cook for a further 3 minutes to avoid soggy bottoms. The bagels are cooked if they sound hollow when the bottoms are tapped.
11. Remove from the trays and cool on wire racks.
12. Split, toast and spread with whatever floats your boat. Here, we go for cream cheese and almond butter.
They were very good (thumbs up from all three of us here), with that familiar bagel texture, and they'll definitely be on the menu again.