Making Plain Bagels

I work with some people who are from the New England area. When they first arrived they used to go on and on about how much better things were up there than down here. One of the things they've still not gotten used to are the bagels. Apparently bagels from the north are much better than this "hard round bread" we make down here.

So one of these guys comes back from PA last week and in hand he has some northern bagels. He says to me "Hey, come try this." So I did. They were right. Northern bagels are really good. I've never been a big bagel eater anyway, so I've never been offended nor do I care to say that southern bagels are crap beacause compared, they are.

Then I had the idea that maybe I could make good bagels too. So I did a little searching and came up with some recipes to try and set to the task this past Tuesday evening. This is what I came up with.

Step 1

Dissolve 2 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast in 1 1/2 cups of warm water in a large bowl.

Step 2

Add 2 Tbsp of granulated sugar, 1/2 tsp of salt and 4 1/4 cups of flour the stir to form a soft dough.

Step 3

Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead until it is smooth. It takes about 10 minutes. (This photo was taken after about 7 minutes of kneading. The initial consistency is more dry and broken apart, just keep at it.)

Step 4

Cover the dough with a lint-free towel and allow to rise for 15 minutes.

Step 5

Flatten the dough, then roll it out to a thickness of one inch, and about 12 inches long and 6 inches wide. Cut it into strips 12 inches long and one inch wide.

Step 6

Roll the strip between your hands into a cylinder about one-half inch thick.

Step 7

Cut each cylinder in half crosswise so you have 12, 6 inch pieces.

Step 8

Form each 6 inch piece into a ring, and fold one end over the other pinching it tight to form circles.

Step 9

Cover the bagels again with a towel and allow to rise for 20 minutes.

Step 10

Place the bagels, four at a time, into 16 cups of boiling water.

Step 11

Reduce the heat and simmer for 7 minutes. I turned the bagels over about halfway through the simmering.

Step 12

Remove the bagels and drain well.

Step 13

Place them on baking sheets.

Step 14

Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown in a preheated 375° oven.

Step 15

15 minutes through the baking.

Step 16

Voila!
They're not half bad. They aren't northern bagels though and the only thing that makes them southern are the fact that they were baked from scratch in my Texas kitchen by myself who is born and raised Texan.

So whatever, they're good. I can't impress my work friends with them though I'm sure, but they're feeding me and my honey well enough this week and that's good enough for me.