New York Styled Bagels

Fresh baked bagels from a hot oven is definitely the way to go for future bagel eating. Simply, wow. The dough is airy and soft like a pillow. Its underside is a nice golden brown color and when you tear the bagel apart, it has that classic bagel-tearing-texture. How else to describe it..? I've never been to New York and I've always been skeptical of bagels sold west of New York state. The style has less to do with the ingredients in the dough than how the dough is prepared, specifically the boiling time of the bagels. This recipe was adapted from the Sophisticated Gourmet blog.

New York Style Bagels from Scratch

Ingredients

3 1/2 c all purpose unbleached wheat flour (minus 3 tbsp)
1 1/4 c warmwater (or whey), heated to 115 F
3 tbsp Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten
1 1/2 tbsp organic granulated sugar
1 tsp sea salt
plus more flour for kneading


Optional egg wash:
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp water

Directions

1. Add half the sugar and all the yeast to the warm water (or whey). Let sit for 10 minutes until the yeast froths at the top. Stir to dissolve the yeast before adding to the flour.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, salt, and the other half of the granulated sugar.

3. Add the yeast water to the flour and stir until a rough dough forms.

4. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth; about 10 minutes.

If you want to lightly grease a large bowl with oil you can, but I skipped this step.

5. Dump the dough back into the bowl that used to hold the flour and cover the bowl with a plate. I'm sure you could use plastic wrap but it's not necessary as long as the plate is large enough to keep the warmth in.

In about an hour, if your kitchen is at least 70 degrees F, the dough will double in size. Punch it down and wait 10 minutes before viciously hacking it apart with a pastry knife.

6. This made 1 lb 10 oz of dough. To make 8 portions, I used a digital scale to measure the portioned dough. Each portion contained 3 oz to 3.25 oz of dough. 

7.  Stick your finger in the center of the dough ball and use it to make an opening in the center. Try to go for a round-ish bagel shape as you are widening its center. Wait another 10 minutes and let the bagel shapes rest.

In the meantime, bring a large pot (I used an 8-quart stockpot) of water to boil. Since this step only takes about 6 minutes, you could preheat the oven to 425 F.

Cook bagels 1 minute on one side and 2 minutes on its reverse. Presumably, this is what aids the bagel in having a chewy texture. Use a slotted spoon to remove bagels to a cooling rack. I was able to parboil the bagels in two batches. The bagels will be sticky at this point and if you are going to coat them with a topping, use an egg wash before putting the bagel onto the baking tray.

For the sesame seeds, I just put the seeds in a shallow bowl and dipped the egg-wash-covered side of the bagel into the seeds. The bagel dough will stick to stainless steel or glass surfaces, so line your baking tray with a silicone mat or parchment paper.

8. Bake bagels for 20 minutes. Enjoy!

The finished goods, fresh from the oven!