Boiled Bagels Food

BAGELS

Steps:

• Mix starter or poolish ingredients in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Leave to ferment at room temperature for 7 to 8 hours until bubbly and swollen in size.
• Add the starter or polish to the mixing bowl of a mixer or to a large bowl. To that add the water, honey, flour, salt (on one side of the bowl) and yeast (on opposite side of the bowl.
• Using a dough hook on the lowest setting (or by hand), mix all ingredients until well mixed (2 to 3 minutes) and turn off the mixer. Cover the bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.
• Knead with the dough hook on the lowest setting (or by hand), for 5 minutes and tip out onto a lightly floured counter. Stretch the dough into a large rectangle and fold letter-style, top to middle, bottom over top and side to side.
• Place in an oiled, straight-sided clear container and cover.
• After 15 minutes, repeat the stretch and fold procedure and cover again.
• Let rise at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes until the dough is 1 1/2 times as large as it was initially or doubled in volume.
• Divide into 16 equal pieces and roll each into round balls.
• Preheat the oven to 450°F.
• Press each ball with thumb and forefinger to form a hole and use fingers to roll and stretch the bagels until the holes are about 2 inches in diameter. Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper sprayed well with vegetable oil spray. This prevents the wet bagels from becoming one with the parchment.
• Cover with oiled plastic and let rise for 15 to 20 minutes or until one of the bagels floats in a bowl of cold water.
• Meanwhile prepare the boiling bath by mixing all ingredients and bringing to a light boil.
• Also bring out the sesame seeds, rehydrated onion flakes, poppy seeds or whatever the toppings are you choose. I like to rehydrate onion flakes and toast the sesame seeds before making the bagels.
• Boil each bagel (4 to 5 at a time if you can without crowding the pan) for 1 minute and flip the bagels with a slotted spoon to boil on the opposite side for 1 minute as well. Remove with the slotted spoon and return the boiled and swollen bagels to their parchment paper.
• Put toppings on the wet bagels and bake at 450 F for 6 to 7 minutes, rotate the pans and bake for another 6 to 7 minutes being careful not to over-brown the bagels. Bagels should be dark golden in color.
• Place bagels on a cooling rack and let cool before slicing.

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.

THE REAL NEW YORK BAGEL RECIPE

Steps:

• In a medium/large bowl or pot, stir the sponge together with a whisk or wooden spoon. Make sure to get all dry materials mixed in well.
• Cover with plastic wrap and keep at room temperature for 2+ hours.
• After sponge is bubbly with small holes at the top and about 2 hours have gone by, pour sponge into your mixing bowl.
• Attach dough hook. Then add all ingredients listed for dough. Flour can be added gradually as mixer is going.
• Knead with dough hook for approximately 10 minutes or until dough looks smooth and is not too sticky. Dough should be quite stiff (add more flour if needed).
• Turn out on counter and knead by hand for a few minutes. (More if your mixer couldn't handle the kneading for very long). Make sure dough does not stick to fingers to get to proper consistency.
• Divide dough with a knife into 12 equal pieces about 4.5 oz. each. make into "balls". Cover to rest with plastic wrap for 20 minutes.
• Shape each ball into a bagel by pushing your thumb(s) through the middle.
• then using your two index fingers in the hole, make fast circular motions, stretching the hole out a bit. Don't worry if they are not perfect.
• Place bagels on sheet pans or cookie sheets that have been sprayed with cooking spray oil. Leave an inch or so on all sides.
• Let rise under plastic wrap for 20 minutes then place in refrigerator.
• Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
• Pull pans from fridge, get a large pot (4 quarts) of water on the boil and preheat the oven to 500 deg. F. move racks to the top of the oven.
• Add 1 T. baking soda to water (this increases the color depth and flavor of the bagel while baking).
• When water is boiling, pull 2-3 bagels at a time gently and place them upside down in the water.
• Boil for 30 seconds then flip over with a large slotted spoon or similar and repeat for other side. (if perchance your bagels have had time to warm up from the fridge the boiling time decreases--if your bagels are coming out of the boiling water looking too flat, decrease the boiling time on each side but always go a minimum of 15 seconds per side).
• Remove each bagel with spoon and slide off on to a large clean cotton cloth (flour sack type material not terry cloth) for draining.
• Repeat with all other bagels.
• Place parchment paper in your sheet pans or cookie sheets.
• Spread corn meal evenly and lightly on parchment paper.
• Place moist, warm bagels gently on corn meal. You can place them touching one another. Sometimes we like our bagels plain with no toppings, if you do, skip the next couple steps --.
• Make an egg wash with 1 egg mixed with approx 1/2 cup of water and when well-mixed, brush across tops of bagels. If you don't like a slightly eggy taste, you could brush with just egg whites mixed with a bit of water. This will help hold topping on.
• Sprinkle with desired toppings (I like toasted sesame seeds and poppy seeds the best, but this could include a dizzying number of different toppings-whatever you like).
• Turn oven down to 450 deg F. as you place pan(s) in oven.
• Bake for 5-7 minutes then turn pan around and switch pans on racks as necessary.
• Bake for another 5-10 minutes turning as necessary and repeat this until all bagels are evenly deep golden brown. Total cooking time will be 20-25 minutes until all are evenly deep golden.
• Remove from oven, let cool on pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack for at least 15 minutes (ok, 5 minutes!) before devouring.