Bagels

Skip the deli and try your hand at homemade bagels!

I grew up eating whatever breads my parents purchased at the market or local bakery. We always had pan de sal (Filipino bread rolls) and white sandwich bread on hand.

It wasn’t until I was about 10 or 11 that I started having interest in learning about the other breads available out there.  As my knowledge of breads grew, sourdough and pumpernickel became my favorites.  

I tried a couple of bagels here and there but I did not like them.  Bagels from the market were rubbery and tasted like plastic.  Bagels from bakeries were way too chewy and sometimes too hard.  It wasn’t until a visit to NYC with my BFF that I saw bagels in a new light.

I have yet to find bagels of the same magnitude in Los Angeles.  There is something really special about New York style bagels.  

Homemade Bagels

Since I can’t just fly to NYC every time I have a bagel craving, these homemade bagels are more than decent and worthy of the name.

Making bagels takes some time, but its well worth the effort.  It requires a handful of ingredients– just flour, salt, yeast, and water!

Tips for working with yeast:

Many home bakers are fearful of working with yeast because of bad experiences or failed baking attempts. Have no fear. When working with active dry yeast, the thermometer is our hero.  

Yeast needs the proper temperature to active and do its job. It is best to use warm water between 90-110 degrees F. Anything over 130 degrees F will kill the yeast and you’ll have to start over.  

Adding some type of sugar to the water-yeast mixture is also helpful. The sugar provides the yeast with food to stimulate activity and cause the mixture to foam and bubble, indicating that the yeast is alive and well.

How to shape bagels:

Once the dough has rest and risen, divide it into 8 equal portions.  I like to use a kitchen scale to measure out the pieces and be more precise, but you can also do it by eye. My portions weighed out at 4 ounces each.

Roll each portion into a loose ball. There are two ways to form the bagels. You can roll out the ball into a tapered rope and then pinch the ends together. Professional bakers usually prefer this method.  

I prefer the easier method of slightly flattening the ball and using my thumb to puncture a hole in the middle. Holding the dough with both thumbs in the hole, gently rotate the dough and gradually stretch it until the hole is about 2 inches in diameter.

After shaping the bagels, lightly mist them with oil or cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap and let the bagels chill in the fridge overnight.

The following morning, test a bagel in a small bowl filled with cold water.  If the bagel floats to the top that means its ready to be cooked.  If it sinks, the dough needs more time to proof.  

You can either let it rest at room temperature for 15-30 minutes or place it back in the fridge.

Bagels are unique breads that are first boiled in water and then baked in the oven.  This two-step process gives bagels its chewy interior and its shiny exterior.  

After the bagels have passed the float test, you are ready to boil them.  The poaching liquid is a mixture of water, barley malt syrup, baking soda, and salt.  The bagels spend about 2 minutes in the hot liquid and then get placed in a very hot 500 degrees F oven.  If you’d like to add any toppings to your bagels (poppy seeds, sesame seeds, etc), sprinkle toppings as soon as the bagels come out of the water bath.  It is best to brush the tops of the bagel with a little egg white to ensure the toppings adhere.

Bake the bagels for 16-18 minutes, until bagels are golden brown.  Let bagels cool slightly on a wire rack, then split the bagels in half and enjoy them with cream cheese.  I like to take my bagels to the park across the street (at Silver Lake Meadows) and pretend I’m at Central Park while I munch on my delicious snack.