.................. Cooking with Barry & Meta: Easy Homemade Bagels, New York Style

I discovered this recipe on Facebook through a Red Star Yeast Bakers group. Someone posted a photo of their finished product with a link to an YouTube video. There was no written recipe, so I took notes as I watched (and re-watched) + then added a few extra notes of my own as I made the bagels. Planned to post a link to that video along with the written recipe but when I looked for a video by Larry called

Easy Homemade Bagels, New York Style, I found several guys that made bagels but not the original video I watched.

The bagels go into a honey bath (vs. soda) and that helps deepen their color and adds to the overall taste. Like Larry, I sprinkled ours with Everything Bagel Seasoning Mix (recipe follows) but will try other versions in the future. The recipe also starts with a overnight sponge, a poolish (typically a wet mixture made with a one-part-flour-to-one-part-water ratio by weight) or preferment that adds to the overall flavor and hydrates the dough. Generally done overnight, I started mine early morning and then made bagels in late afternoon, allowing it to ferment about 8 to 10 hours or until it had expanded and the surface was bubbly (Poolish is fermented at room temperature, and therefore it can't have high levels of added yeast, or it may over-ferment! Ideal fermentation time for poolish is 15 to 18 hours. Poolish will look a big shaggy ball when just mixed, then it will transform into a very soupy, liquidy, almost batter-like dough).

Another thing I like about this recipe is that it makes just eight; the perfect amount for smaller households like ours.

Although there are lots of steps, this is a relatively easy and fun recipe to make.

Easy Homemade Bagels, New York Style Makes 8 bagels

Overnight Sponge or Poolish (see notes above for more details)

1cup bread flour

1 teaspoon dry active yeast

1 cup warm water (about 105-115°)

The night before, mix bread flour and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add water and stir to combine.
Cover with plastic wrap and let set overnight at room temperature.

Above: Poolish after being mixed.
Below: Fermented poolish ready to use.

Bread Dough

(Suggested things to do before you start in on this process: Line a baking sheet with parchment. / Fill a pot with 3 quarts of water. / Set out cooking rack; I set mine on a sheet of waxed paper. Pre-measure honey and prepare egg wash. Make homemade Everything Bagel seasoning if using. / Make sure oven rack is located in middle of oven.)

1/2 cup warm water (about 105-115°)

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar

1 3/4 tablespoons dry active yeast

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Up to 3 cups bread flour

Finishing Bagels

1/4 cup honey

Egg wash (1 egg white mixed with 1 tablespoon water or use whole egg mixed with water)

Toppings if desired (I used a homemade versions of Everything Bagel seasoning mix; recipe follows)

Next morning . . . to the poolish in the mixer bowl, add water, brown sugar, yeast and salt. Mix with flat beater of stand mixer.
Begin adding flour 1 tablespoon at a time as dough continues to mix.
When it begins to come together and leave sides of bowl, switch to dough hook. (I had added about 2 cups of dough at this point.)
Knead on medium speed, adding more flour 1 tablespoon at a time if dough becomes sticky. Knead 4 to 5 minutes.
Remove dough from bowl and hand knead on a lightly floured surface for 3 to 5 minutes; incorporate just enough flour from bread board to prevent a sticky dough.
Oil or butter a bowl; add kneaded dough, turning to cover all sides with oil.
Cover with plastic wrap and let set in warm place 60 to 90 minutes or until dough has doubled in size.

Above: Kneaded dough added to a bowl, oiled and ready to rise.
Before: Dough after 90 minute rise.
Punch dough down to remove large air bubbles.
Divide dough into 8 equal pieces.
Cup your hand around one piece of dough and roll around on bread board or work surface to create a ball shape.
Using fingers from both hands, pull dough to underside of ball; pinch to form a seam underneath bagel.
Use thumbs or fingers to make a little hole in center and then stretch and twirl bagel with fingers to open center to at least 1 1/2" . . . as it will close up some during cooking process.
Place prepared bagel on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat process with remaining 7 pieces of dough.
Cover bagels with a towel or a piece of plastic wrap that has been sprayed with pan release while preheating oven to 425° and brining 3 quarts of water to a rolling boil. (I let bagels set for about 20 minutes before proceeding to next step.)
Reduce water to a slow boil; add 1/4 cup honey and mix (this helps create caramelization).
Add 4 bagels to water and boil 1 minute per side; flip using a spoon or spatula and 1^st minute.

Above: Bagels just added to water.
Below: Bagels have been flipped after 1 minute and will continue to cook another minute.
Transfer bagels to a cooling rack to partially dry as they are removed from water.
Cook last 4 bagels and drain.
Brush tops and sides of bagels with egg wash — this will help seasoning to stick and help create shiny, golden brown bagels. Sprinkle bagels with topping.
Transfer bagels back to parchment lined baking sheet being sure they are not touching one another.
Place baking sheet in oven and bake 20 minutes; internal temperature should be 190° . (I rotated sheet after 10 minutes.)
Remove finished bagels to cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes.

Everything Bagel Seasoning Mix

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1 tablespoon dried onion flakes

1 teaspoon dried garlic flakes

1 teaspoon kosher or coarse sea salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional

Mix to combine.
Sprinkle on top of bagels or other breads, meats, casseroles, etc.
Store leftover mixture in an air-tight container.

Recipe without photos . . .