Homemade Bagels

My son LOVES bagels. I enjoy bagels too, but certainly not to the point of begging for store-bought ones. We are fortunate to have a very good bagel shop locally, but it's on the other side of town and I rarely seem to make it down there, and even when I do think of buying some, they're closed already. Which is what happened last night.

We were finishing dinner and my son asked about having bagels for breakfast. He knew full well that I hadn't bought any, and I think it was probably just a random thought thrown out there. So I made some. I've actually made them once before, so I knew they're not as difficult as they seem, and they work out perfectly for a quick breakfast because the dough is mixed and formed the night before and left to retard overnight in the refrigerator. All that's left to do is boil them for a few minutes and bake for a short period. This recipe is very tasty. It's different than traditional Jewish bagels; I don't have any lye to boil them in! Baking soda makes for a chewy, shiny, golden exterior, and the texture on the inside is very good.

Whole Wheat Bagels (adapted from The Fresh Loaf)

Mix together 1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast, a pinch of sugar, and 2 1/2 cup very warm water. Let stand until foamy.

Pour yeast mixture into 4 cups whole wheat flour; stir to combine. Cover and let stand 2 hours.

Add 3 tsp kosher salt (or 2 1/2 tsp salt), 3 cups unbleached bread flour, and one of the following: 2 tsp malt powder OR 1 tbsp malt syrup or honey.

Mix until very stiff; adding about 3/4 cup additional bread flour as you knead. The dough should be very stiff and almost dry; I kneaded mine by hand because it was making my mixer work pretty hard! Knead until it's somewhat smooth and elastic.

Immediately divide into 12 pieces, rolling each into a ball. Cover with a damp towel and let rise 20 minutes.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly grease. Poke a hole in the center of each ball (bagel shapes!) and place on prepared baking sheets. Cover with plastic and place in the refrigerator overnight.

The next morning, preheat oven to 500 degrees. Boil a large pot of water and add 1 tbsp baking soda. Sprinkle parchment-lined sheets with cornmeal (I remove the bagels and re-use the paper.)

Boil bagels 1 minute per side, using a spatula to gently turn them over and place on the baking sheets. If you want to top them, do so as they come out of the water, while they're wet (poppyseeds, sesame seeds, cinnamon sugar, etc).

Bake 8-10 minutes, or until shiny and golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and let cool.

My son had school this morning, so I prepared only one sheet and left the other in the fridge until after I'd dropped him off. We ate our bagels warm, so the total prep time for breakfast was only about 25 minutes. That's about the same as muffins! They freeze well, and even though this recipe makes a large quantity, you will have some on hand for easy snacks or meal later on. Or just make half a batch!