Bagels

Ingredients
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 ¼ cups warm water
5 cups all purpose flour
¼ cup lye^* or ½ cup of baking soda
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon oil
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
Options
¼ cup poppy seeds or
¼ cup sesame seeds

Yield: Makes 10 bagels

Directions
1. Put the yeast in the bowl of a standing mixer.
Add 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water and allow the yeast to activate, about five minutes.
Add remaining ingredients, except lye, and mix at low speed for five minutes using the dough hook.
Cover the dough and allow to rise at room temperature for about two hours.

2. Punch the dough down and shape into a rough rectangle about 1 to 1½ inches thick, and about two times longer than it is wide.

3. Cut the dough into 10 pieces of about 3 ounces each.
Roll each into an 8-inch-long snakelike shape, tapering the dough at each end.
Circle the dough around your hand, pinching the ends together and rolling under your palm once or twice to seal.
Put the bagels on a Silpat or parchment paper on top of a baking sheet.
Cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 10 hours, or up to 24 hours.

4. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Bring a large non-aluminum pot containing 5 cups of water to boil, add 1 teaspoon of salt and ¼ cup lye into the boiling water
Remove the bagels from the refrigerator.

5. Dip formed bagels into the lye solution and then return to parchment covered baking sheet
(You may substitute ½ cup baking soda instead of lye.)
CAUTION: If using lye, add the lye to water, not water to lye.

6. OPTIONAL: Pour poppy or sesame seeds into a bowl wider than the bagels.
Working very quickly, remove the bagels one by one and dip them into the topping before placing on parchment paper.

7. Bake on the second to highest shelf of the oven for eight to 10 minutes.
Then flip the bagels, rotate the pan and continue baking for about eight minutes, or until they are golden brown
.

Return to the Fullbean Recipes Main Page