Simple bagels

[Dan Lepard]

Simple bagels

Think of this as a starting point on your road to bagel excellence. Reducing the yeast by half and letting the bagels rise slowly overnight in the fridge once shaped will produce a more even and chewy texture. Makes 6.

400g strong bread flour
1 1/2 tsp easy-blend yeast
2 level tsp salt
2 tbsp caster sugar
for the dunking pot:
2 tbsp malt extract or brown sugar
seeds or salt flakes for the top

Combine the flour, yeast salt and sugar in a bowl and add 225ml very warm (38C, about blood heat) water. Stir together to a firm dough, cover the bowl and leave for 10 minutes. Very lightly flour the worksurface and knead the dough lightly for 10 seconds. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave 10 minutes then repeat the light knead twice more at 10 minutes intervals before returning the dough to the bowl, cover it and leave for 30 minutes. Divide the dough into 6 pieces, each just over 100g. Shape each into a smooth ball, cover with a cloth and leave for 20 minutes. Then shape you bagel. The easiest but least authentic way is to stick your finger in the centre and stretch the dough outward with your fingers. That's what I do. Set a pot with 2 litres water on to boil and add the malt extract. Drop each bagel in, leave it for 5 seconds, then flip it over and leave a further 5 seconds, no more. Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan-assisted). Place the poached bagels on an oiled tray, sprinkle seeds or salt on top, and bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

[breadandwine]

Hi Dan!

Browsing through the site I came across this recipe and wondered about the amount of water - 225ml to 400g of flour.

My starting point for a bread dough is 250ml for that amount of flour and I often add more. Surely 225 will create a very tight dough?

I shape bagels just as you do, but when I first came across them the recipe said to roll out a length of dough about 9-10" long and join the ends to form a circle.

Invariably they came undone in the water! Much better to poke a hole through as you say.

BTW, noticed a typo you may want to correct:

" (380C, about blood heat) water"

Obviously that's 38 degrees - be quite difficult to get it to 380!!

Thanks for the vote of confidence on the BBC Food boards today!

You might like to know that for the first time yesterday I taught a class to make bread using the 500g:350ml ratio.

I used a mix of techniques to make focaccia and a fruit loaf. Everyone was well pleased with the results.

Cheers, Paul:)

[Dan Lepard]

My starting point for a bread dough is 250ml for that amount of flour and I often add more. Surely 225 will create a very tight dough?

Yes you're right and yes it does, though softer than you think because of the very warm water. You can try this out by putting 400g white flour in each of two bowls, then pour 225ml water into each but mix one with water at 38C (thanks, have corrected the typo) and one at 18C. The one mixed with warmer water will feel much softer and moister than the one mixed with cold water

The reason behind the tight dough is that I had a particular "gold standard" bagel in mind, one I remember from a small bagel shop in Stoke Newington, desperately unprofitable as they only seemed to make about 50 bagels a day and sold nowt else and my guess would be that it closed down long ago. But the bagels were wonderful, they were very small, with a slightly shiny biscuity crust, and firm but moist inside. Nothing like the bagels in the supermarket and I suspect my recipe won't even get close. But they were made with a very, very tight dough.

Dan

[breadandwine]

Thanks, Dan, I'll certainly give it a go.

Homemade bagels are a different animal altogether from a s/m 'bagel'. I don't know how they can call them bagels to begin with!

A homemade bagel has a hard, crisp outer and a soft, moist interior, just as you describe.

The s/m ones...don't!

I simmer mine for about 60 seconds each side, so I'll have to try them your way. I'll let you know the results.

Cheers, Paul

[Dan Lepard]

Do, but reduce the yeast to half or a quarter. I'm always trying to introduce the quick and easy brigade reader to more complex ideas and tend to, as a rule, keep the yeast a bit high. It's like with a pita, I'm not certain that much yeast is really necessary.
Dan

[breadandwine]

Hi Dan!

I finally got around to doing some bagels this week.

I compared my method - simmered for 60 seconds each side; with yours - simmered for just 5 seconds each side.

And I didn't notice any difference!

However I couldn't bring myself to make the tight dough you specify in your recipe.

I prefer a light, moist - even fluffy - inside, rather than a dense, close interior. To my mind it gives a greater contrast to the hard, shiny outside.

But each to their own.

BTW, in the bagel session we made spicy onion bagels, fruit bagels and plain ones. Great fun!

Cheers, Paul:)

[Fivenations]

I made these this evening - my first ever attempt at bagels and the result was..interesting! I thought I had made a large enough hole but they still came out of the oven without one and rose higher than expected. They smell great though and youngest son , a bagel freak, is itching to taste them once they cool down.

I admit I lost my nerve and added a little more water than the recipe stated as the dough seemed too stiff. Could this be the problem?

Next time I wil let them prove overnight.

Thanks for the recipe.

[Fivenations]

Thumbs up! It's a keeper!

[iLikePie]

yup, more thumbs up here

I was in a hurry and so made the recipe as stated, with the full yeast. they looked mighty ugly after the poaching but ended up fairly nice and smooth after baking.
And my mum took one into work and just emailed me :
"Louisa said they are the food of here ancestors and the texture is perfect!! (and everyone else loved it)".

I quite liked the fluffiness of it though i thought they were meant to be a bit denser... perhaps that's just cause i've had bad ones in the past