I don’t know why it has taken me so long to try making bagels, but I will never go back to store bought again! They are so delicious and they would be a fun activity to do with kids. They are a little time consuming and take several steps, but trust me, totally worth it! The interesting thing about this recipe is that you simmer your baby bagels in water, which sounds weird, but don’t skip this step or they won’t plump up and you will have very sad bagels. Vegan lover rejoice, since these are also animal free!
Ingredients:
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 pkg quick rise yeast
- 1/2 C warm water, add more by the Tbsp if the dough is too dry
- 1 1/2 T sugar
- 1/2 T salt
Directions:
- In a big bowl, combine the flour and salt. Make a separate yeast mixture with the water, sugar and yeast, and let it sit for a few minutes. Add the water and yeast mixture to the flour and mix together. Knead on a floured surface until smooth. This step might take several minutes, but you want those bagels to be nice and uniform. Put the dough back in your mixing bowl and cover with a warm dish towel to let it rest for 15 minutes.
- After your bagels have rested, pull the dough into six pieces. (This recipe only makes six bagels, but you can double it for a bigger family. We like to eat them fresh, but you can definitely store extras). Shape those portions into smooth balls and then punch a hole in the middle of each ball. Pull at the center of the hole to form a bigger hole, making a bagel shape (they might be small, but they will get bigger!)
- Once they are sufficiently bagel-shaped, cover them again with a warm towel for another 20 minutes. While they are resting, bring a big pot of water with 1 gallon of water and 1 Tbsp sugar to a boil.
- After the 20 minute rest (and once your water is boiling), turn your water down to a simmer (you don’t want them to boil or they will get too dense and be ruined). Drop those baby bagels into the water, three or four at a time, and let them simmer for seven minutes. I usually turn them once or twice while they are simmering to make sure they are heated evenly. Pre heat your oven to 375*
- After seven minutes, pull them out of the water, and let them drain on a cooling rack. Start the next four bagels in the water and repeat until all the bagels have had a nice warm bath.
- Place your bagels on a greased baking sheet, and bake at 375* for 30-35 minutes. Enjoy!
