Bagels

Instructions

1. Prepare the dough: Whisk the warm water and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment

2. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes

3. *If you don’t have a stand mixer,simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula in the next step.

4. Add the flour, brown sugar, and salt

5. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes

6. The dough is very stiff and will look somewhat dry.

7. Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 6-7 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 6-7 full minutes

8. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Doughvideo tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough

9. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough

10. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft

11. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise

12. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it

13. Hold it up to a window or light

14. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise

15. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.

16. Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray

17. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil

18. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a clean kitchen towel

19. Allow the dough to rise at room temperaturefor 60-90 minutes or until double in size.

20. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.

21. Shape the bagels: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles

22. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces

23. (Just eyeball it—doesn’t need to be perfect!) Shape each piece into a ball

24. Press your index finger through the center of each ball to make a hole about 1.5 – 2 inches in diameter

25. Watch video below for a visual

26. Loosely cover the shaped bagels with kitchen towel and rest for a few minutes as you prepare the water bath.

27. Preheat oven to425°F (218°C).

28. Water bath:Fill a large, wide pot with 2 quarts of water

29. Whisk inthe honey

30. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high

31. Dropbagels in, 2-4 at a time, making sure they have enough room to float around

32. Cook the bagelsfor 1minute on each side.

33. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash on top and around the sides of each bagel

34. Place 4bagels onto each lined baking sheet.

35. Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through

36. You want the bagels to be a dark golden brown

37. Remove from the oven and allow bagels to cool on the baking sheets for 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

38. Slice, toast, top, whatever you want!Cover leftover bagels tightly and store at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.