Bagels I Food

NEW YORK CHEWY BAGELS FOOD PROCESSOR MIXING METHOD

Steps:

• Combine the water, malt syrup and yeast in a small bowl. Stir to dissolve the yeast.
• Place the flour and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Using an instant-read thermometer, adjust the water temperature so that the combined temperature of the flour and the water is the base temperature for your food processor, between 130°F and 150°F. (We have found that 145°F works well for most machines.) With the machine running, pour all the water through the feed tube. Process for a total of 45 seconds.
• Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface. It will be relatively firm. Knead it by hand a few times then form it into a tight ball. Place it in a bowl, cover and let rest for 30 to 45 minutes.
• With a dough scraper or kitchen knife, divide the dough into six or seven equal pieces. To form the bagels, take each piece of dough and roll it into a ball. Flatten the ball of dough, then fold it in half. Seal the edges of the dough with your fingertips. Then fold the dough again to form a tight cylinder.
• Roll the dough into a tube about 9 inches long. Wrap this piece of dough around the palm of your hand overlapping the dough by about 3 inches. Pinch together the dough where it overlaps to form a smooth ring. The hole in a bagel formed this way will be the right proportion once the dough is proofed, boiled, then baked. Transfer the formed pieces of dough to the baking sheet spacing them 2 inches apart.
• Sprinkle the top of each piece with flour then cover the sheet loosely with plastic wrap. (Or place the entire baking sheet into a food grade plastic trash bag.) The flour will keep the plastic wrap from sticking to the dough as it ferments. Place the formed pieces of dough in the refrigerator for 12 to 16 hours, preferably overnight.
• One hour before baking, put the oven rack on the second shelf from the bottom of the oven and place the baking stone on the rack. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
• Take the formed dough from the refrigerator. Remove the plastic wrap and let the pieces proof at room temperature, 70°F to 72°F, for 30 to 35 minutes. (The dough should reach an internal temperature of 58°F to 60°F.)
• While the formed dough is proofing, bring a large, 4-quart pot of water to boil. Add the baking soda and malt syrup. Sprinkle a baking sheet with rice flour or fine cornmeal. Sprinkle some sesame seeds, poppy seeds, caraway seeds and other garnishes into individual plates.
• Test to see that the dough has proofed. Insert an instant-read thermometer into the center of one of the formed piece of dough to check the internal temperature. It should measure between 55°F and 60°F.
• Set a colander in the sink. Drop one formed piece of dough in the boiling water. If it floats this means the dough is proofed and ready to be boiled and baked. Add two or three more formed pieces of the dough into the boiling water. Boil them for 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to turn them over and boil for another 30 seconds. Transfer the boiled dough from the boiling water to drain in the colander. Boil the remaining pieces of dough, in the same manner, then drain them in the colander.
• Quickly dip each boiled piece of dough into one of the seeds or garnishes, if using. Dip the other side too if you like. (Or, while the boiled pieces of dough are still moist, sprinkle then with the seeds and garnishes.)
• Transfer the coated dough to the baking sheet spaced two inches apart.
• Place the baking sheet of dough into the oven. Reduce the heat to 425°F and cook the bagels for about 10 minutes. Open the oven and rotate the tray of bagels so that they brown evenly. Continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes until the bagels are uniformly browned.
• Remove the baking sheet from the oven and transfer the bagels to a wire rack to cool. Serve the bagels warm from the oven or let them cool completely before storing. Store the bagels in a pager bag for up to 24 hours. For longer storage, put the bagels in a plastic bag and store in the freezer.

BOILED BAGELS

Steps:

• 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.

BAGELS

Steps:

• Mix the yeast with 300ml lukewarm water. Put the flour, sugar and 1 tsp salt in a large bowl and mix together. Pour over the yeasty liquid and mix into a rough dough.
• Tip out onto the work surface and knead together until smooth and elastic - this should take around 10 mins.
• Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a piece of oiled cling film. Place in a warm area and leave until doubled in size, about 1 hr, then uncover and tip onto your work surface.
• Divide the dough into 10 portions and form into balls - I like to weigh them to make sure that they're all the same size. Line up on 2 parchment-lined baking trays and cover lightly with cling film.
• Leave for around 30 mins or until risen and puffy, then remove the cling film.
• Use a floured finger to make a hole in the centre of each bagel, swirling it around to stretch the dough a little, but being careful not to knock out too much air. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add the bicarbonate of soda to alkalise the water (see tip, below left). Place 1-2 of the bagels in the water at a time and boil for 1 min (2 mins if you want a chewier bagel), turning over halfway through. Using a slotted spoon, lift out the bagels, drain well and place back on the baking tray.
• Brush the bagels with the egg white and sprinkle with your chosen seeds. Bake for 20-25 mins or until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool before eating. They will keep for 3-4 days, or freeze for 2 months (see How to freeze, below left).

FOOLPROOF HOMEMADE BAGELS RECIPE

Steps:

• In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment (or in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook), pulse together the flour, salt and yeast (or, if using a stand mixer, stir on low). In a medium bowl, whisk together the water and the barley malt syrup. Add it to the food processor (or stand mixer) and immediately (see notes above for why) blend for 60-90 seconds, standing nearby the entire time - at any sign of the blade jamming, stop the machine. (If using a stand mixer, knead on medium speed for 90 seconds.)
• With oiled hands, transfer the dough from the food processor to the bowl. The dough will feel warm and sticky. With oiled hands stretch the dough up, then down toward the center several times to form a ball. (See video for guidance.) Lightly rub some oil over the dough to coat - this will prevent a crust from forming on the dough. Cover with a tea towel, cloth bowl cover or plastic wrap. Transfer bowl to the fridge for 12 hours or longer.
• Place a large pot of water on to boil. When it simmers, add a big glug (about ¼ cup) barley malt syrup. Preheat an oven to 425ºF. Line two sheet pans or one large pan one with parchment paper (see notes above). Prepare the egg wash if you haven't already. Place toppings of choice in shallow bowls.
• Remove bowl with dough from fridge. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. For perfectly even bagels, use your scale to portion the dough into 8 or 12 pieces, depending on the quantity of dough you made-if you weighed your ingredients, each dough ball should weigh about 105 to 110 g. Form each portion into a ball, using the pinky edges of your fingers to create tension. After all of the balls have been formed, dust your hands with flour and use your thumb to poke a hole into the center of each dough ball. Use your hands to stretch the dough into a donut-shape-don't be afraid to really tug outward and under, almost as if you were going to turn the dough inside out but stop before you do. Note: If you don't pull out and under, the bagels will puff into cone-liked shapes upon baking. Truly: Be aggressive with the shaping. Video guidance here.
• Line a sheet pan with a tea towel. Have a stopwatch (or your phone or a clock) nearby. Drop 4 of the dough rings into the boiling water at one time. Boil 30 seconds on each side. Use a spider or slotted spoon to transfer the boiled rings to the towel-lined pan. Repeat until all of the rings have been boiled.
• Brush each ring with the egg wash. If you are using any toppings, dip the egg-washed bagels into the topping-filled bowls, then transfer to the parchment-lined sheet pan. If you an extra large sheet pan (see notes), you can bake all 12 at once. If you have a smaller pan, bake 6 to 8 at one time.
• Transfer pan or pans to the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bagels are evenly golden all around. If you are using two pans, rotate the pans halfway through. Let bagels cool on sheet pans.

HOMEMADE BAGELS

Steps:

• Combine the water, yeast, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar in the bowl of an upright mixer fitted with a dough hook. Stir and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add 4 cups of the flour and the salt, and mix until the mixture comes together.
• Add 1 to 1 1/2 cups additional flour 1/2 cup at a time to make a stiff dough, either stirring with the wooden spoon or working with your hands. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and no longer sticky, about 5 minutes, adding just as much flour as needed. (Dough should be heavier and stiffer than regular yeast bread dough.)
• Grease a large bowl with 1 teaspoon of the oil. Place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until almost doubled, about 1 hour.
• Grease a baking sheet with the remaining teaspoon of oil.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and punch it down. Divide into 12 equal pieces, about 2 to 3 ounces each, measuring about 4 inches across. Form each piece of dough into a ball. Roll each ball into a 4 to 6-inch log. Join the ends and place fingers through the hole and roll the ends together. Repeat with the remaining dough. Place on the prepared baking sheet, cover with a clean cloth, and let rest until risen but not doubled in a draft-free spot, 20 to 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the cornmeal on another baking sheet.
• In a large, heavy pot, bring 12 cups of water and the remaining tablespoon of sugar to a boil. In batches, add the bagels to the water and boil, turning, for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Dip the bagel tops in desired toppings. Flip bagels onto the prepared sheet pan. Bake for 5 minutes, turn over and cook for another 30 to 35 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.