My Washington Cooking Adventures: Bagels

I've been trying out some homemade breads and baked goods lately with Splenda, and this time I thought I would make some bagels (without Splenda this time) to see how they turned out. They came out pretty good, with a few exceptions - next time I will let the dough rise longer and in a warm spot (perhaps preheating the oven) because they took WAY to long to rise! I had made the mistake of leaving them on the kitchen table, which was not all that warm of a spot, and the dough just wasn't rising until I put it near the oven. Also, I will let the formed bagels sit on flour or oil so they don't stick while they rise. Other than that, turned out well.

Here's the recipe.

Boiled Bagels (click here for the recipe)

Ingredients

4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
Directions

In large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour and yeast. Mix water, 3 tablespoons sugar and salt together, and add to the dry ingredients. Beat with a mixer for half a minute at a low speed, scraping the sides of the bowl clean. Beat at a higher speed for 3 minutes. Then, by hand, mix in enough flour to make a moderately stiff dough.
Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes). Cover, let rest for 15 minutes.

Cut into 12 portions, shape into smooth balls. Poke a hole in the center with your finger, and gently enlarge the hole while working the bagel into a uniform shape. Cover, let rise 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, start a gallon of water boiling. Put 1 tablespoon of sugar in it, mix it around a bit. Reduce to simmering.

When the bagels are ready, put 4 or 5 bagels into the water, and cook 7 minutes, turning once. Drain them. Place on a greased baking sheet, and bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven, eat hot or cold.

Broiling option: For a glossier surface, place raised bagels on an ungreased baking sheet prior to boiling them. Broil them five inches from heat for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes on each side. Then put them into the hot water to be boiled as above. Note: do not bake broiled bagels as long as non-broiled ones, 25 minutes should be long enough.

Letting the dough rise... at first I had a damp dish towel over them, placed on the table. After 2 hours they didn't really rise, so I covered them with plastic wrap coated with cooking spray and moved them to the stovetop, preheating the oven to 375 degrees. They rose quickly after that.

Boiling the bagels - 7 minutes total, for around 3.5 mins per side. Easy! I drained them on a wire rack after boiling. They look funny on the bottom here because they stuck to the pan they were rising on. Next time, I will flour or oil the pan.