I've tried to make bagels before. They never came out quite right. They were never inedible. But they were somewhat disappointing in almost every attribute: shape, texture, rise, flavour. It was a lot of hassle to deal with boiling them before baking and the results were never pleasing anyway, so I sort of gave up on the idea of making good homemade bagels. But then TF encouraged me to try again. And I checked my trusty copy of the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book and found that they did indeed have a bagel recipe near the back. Finally, I can reliably make a good bagel!

Overall the recipe was pretty much perfect as written. I did have to substitute molasses for the malt syrup because I don't tend to keep malt on hand. But it still worked out great. The only issue I had was actually with the baking time and temperature. The original calls for baking these lovely little toroids at 425°F (220°C) for 35 minutes! This turned out to be both too hot and much too long. I tried baking my second batch at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes and that seemed to be just about right. Keep an eye on them the first time you make them and adjust the time and temperature as necessary.

Whole Wheat Bagels

Adapted from Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book

Ingredients

Dough

• 1/4 c. warm water
• 2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp. molasses¹
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2 c. water, divided
• 700g hard/high grade whole wheat flour
• 30g gluten flour
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Poaching Liquid

• 3L water
• 3 Tbsp. molasses²

Directions

1. Sprinkle the yeast into the warm water and set aside for 10 minutes.
2. Dissolve the molasses and honey in 1 c. of the water.
3. Combine the flours and salt and mix well.
4. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in the yeast mixture, the molasses mixture, and enough of the remaining water to make a stiff dough. (I started by adding ~1/2 c. and ended up working in an additional 1/4 c. during kneading.)
5. Knead the dough for 15-20 minutes. I found it easiest to achieve the desired texture by working in the last bit of water during kneading: Wet your hands, knead for a few strokes, then evaluate the dough and see if it still needs more water. The dough should be smooth and supple, but quite a bit stiffer and tighter than regular bread dough.
6. Place in an ungreased bowl, cover, and set to rise for ~1 hour³. (Rising time will vary depending on room temperature.)
7. Dissolve 3 Tbsp. of molasses in 3L of water and set to boil.
8. Divide the dough into three even portions.
9. Shape each portion into a ball.
10. Round the balls, stretching the gluten sheet taught across the top of each one. Cover (so they don't dry out) and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.
11. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and grease one large (or two small) cookie sheets.
12. Flatten one of the balls and cut into four equal portions.
13. Shape each portion into a smaller ball. Roll it on the counter under your cupped hand to get a good shape. Let the balls rest for a minute or so.
14. Pick up a small ball and push your thumb through the middle.
15. Turn the dough ring around your thumb, gradually increasing the size of the hole and evening out the sides.
16. Keep working the hole larger and larger until it reaches a size of 1.5-2" (4-5cm).
17. Repeat until you've made 12 bagels.
18. Place two or three bagels into the boiling water mixture.
19. Boil for 30 seconds, flip, then boil for another 30 seconds.
20. Remove from water and place on greased cookie sheet.
21. Continue boiling bagels in batches of two or three until all 12 have been boiled.
22. Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 20 minutes.

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Variations

Montreal-Style Bagels

Ingredients

Dough

• 1/4 c. warm water
• 2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp. molasses¹
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2 c. water, divided
• 700g whole wheat flour
• 30g gluten flour
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Poaching Liquid

• 3L water
• 1/4 c. honey

Directions

• When forming your bagels, stretch them a bit more. Aim for a 3" (7.5cm) hole. The bagel should be relatively skinny with a large hole.
• Bake at 425°F (220°C) for only 15 minutes.

NY-Style Bagels

Ingredients

Dough

• 1/4 c. warm water
• 2 tsp. active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp. molasses¹
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2 c. water, divided
• 700g whole wheat flour
• 30g gluten flour
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Poaching Liquid

• 3L water
• 1 Tbsp. baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt

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¹ If you have malt syrup on hand, use 2 Tbsp. of barley malt in place of both the molasses and honey. Alternatively, use 2 Tbsp. honey in place of the molasses (and leave out the extra 1 tsp. of honey). ^Back
2 Feel free to use malt syrup here as well if you can find it. ^Back
3 For really great, well-developed flavour set the dough to rise in the fridge overnight. ^Back