TWD: Bagels!

You know what I am enjoying most about being a part of the Tuesdays With Dorie baking club?  I'm challenged to bake things I'd never otherwise even consider trying.  For example, bagels.  Panera makes perfectly scrumptious bagels!  I'd never thought to try making them on my own!

Yesterday, I did.

It was my kinda fun.  I'm a home-body.  I love to spend the day in the kitchen, working on fussy recipes like this one.  The results are typically out of this world, and so worth the time and effort!

This recipe, while not super complicated, has lots and lots of steps.  I had to read the recipe over and over again to make sure I got everything straight and in order before beginning.   Measuring cups, ingredients, sheet pans, pots of boiling water, etc. etc. etc.   And time.   Plenty of uninterrupted time.

Begin by mixing the dough ingredients and kneading, either by hand or with a strong stand mixer.   The dough is set aside to rise for an hour, then punched down, and placed in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours to rest and chill.

The dough is divided and formed by hand into smooth balls.

 The balls of dough are then shaped into rings, beginning by poking a finger in the center and gently stretching and pulling.   They rest on a floured tea cloth while the boiling water is prepared with a little sugar and baking soda.

The bagels are boiled for 1-1 1/2 minutes on each side.  (I had two small pots of water boiling at the same time to speed things up a bit.)

After being patted dry, the bagels are placed on a corn-meal dusted baking sheet.  A glaze of egg white and water is brushed on, followed by a sprinkling of toppings.  (I had coarse sea salt, poppy seed, sesame seed, and re-hydrated dried onion flakes.)



The bagels are baked in a super hot oven with a steam bath (a few ice cubes tossed into a pan on the bottom of the oven) for 25 minutes.  The oven is turned off and the bagels sit another 5 minutes with the oven door shut, followed by an additional 5 minutes with the oven door opened.

They are removed to cool completely on a wire rack, sitting there, tempting you, taunting you.  They are glossy and smell scrumptious and you can't wait to bite into one!!

Finally, you cut into a bagel and revel in your accomplishment.  The texture is chewy and perfect!

I enjoyed this onion bagel with a slathering of cream cheese for lunch yesterday.  Perfectly bagel-licious!

My hubby enjoyed a warm bagel sandwich for supper last night with turkey and pepper jack cheese.

My daughter enjoyed a plain bagel with raspberry jam and butter for breakfast today.  Needless to say, we're all impressed with this recipe and we're enjoying the "fruits" of my labor!

Today's host for Tuesday With Dorie is Heather at Heather's Bytes.   Please visit her blog for the complete recipe and directions.

I will definitely be making this recipe again.  I'd like to try a sweet variety of bagels, perhaps a cinnamon-raisin, or orange-cranberry bagel.  I do wonder about a blueberry bagel, which my kids love.  Should I mix fresh blueberries into the batter in the first step of mixing?  Should I knead them in when forming the dough into balls?  Any suggestions from fellow TWD bakers??

Thanks for visiting!  Again, please visit here to find the recipe.