Anela has created the perfect bagel recipe here. I swear this tastes exactly like a bagel you’d get from a deli in New York. She used her sourdough expertise to develop the beautiful crust and chewy inside.
This bagel tastes like the real deal, and I say that as a New Yorker. The crust was perfect, with the inside chewy, soft and moist enough. It was the perfect texture, paired with smooth cream cheese and salty everything seasoning.
Top tips from me:
1) Your starter needs to be strong! Feed it about 3 hours before you want to mix the dough to make sure its doubled in its size. Try the float test in some water to confirm it’s ready to use.
2) The kneading is the most important part of this recipe. Set a timer for at least 8 minutes, throw on some music and get to a slow and steady pace of kneading.
3) Second most important part: the window pane test. Anela demonstrates this on her site, but basically, after kneading, you rip off a small piece and stretch it from the edges. Hold the piece up to the light, and if it stretches without tearing, and you can see light through it, then the dough is set to use with developed gluten.
4) The dough needs to sit for many hours, between 8 and 10, but Anela says you just need to make sure it has doubled in size.
5) If you want to incorporate an ingredient into the dough like I did, after the rise is the time to do so. Here is when I mixed my dehydrated and roughly chopped berries into the dough by hand, but you could try cinnamon or chocolate chips.
6) After letting the bagels set under a damp towel after shaping, it is essential to make sure they are ready to bake. The best way to do that is a float test with cold water. If the bagel floats, it’s ready to bake; if not, it must rest for 25 minute intervals until it floats.
7) Anela says it’s essential that your water is at a roiling boil when boiling the bagels. Do 30 seconds on each side and use a slotted spoon to flip them.
8) Put the everything seasoning on immediately after removing the bagel from the water. I bought Trader Joe’s infamous everything but the bagel seasoning, though you can make your’s homemade.
9) Make sure to move the try to evenly brown the bagels by flipping the tray halfway through baking.
Time:
It will take about 12 hours total to make the bagels. The dough rests for 8 to 10 hours, then another 15 minutes and 30 minutes to an hour. This makes 8 bagels.
Ingredients:
150 grams sourdough starter at 100% hydration — 235 grams water — 20 grams honey — 500 grams bread flour or high protein flour — 9 grams sea salt — about 1/4 cup everything seasoning
Did you make this recipe and have any suggestions? Make sure to leave a comment!
The Sunday Roast 