Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Bagels:
This is adapted from a recipe by Mark Bittman. It is completely vegan, relatively cheap, and actually quite easy. I have used this recipe at least 40 times, and I have never once ended up with something I wasn't excited to eat.

You need:
3 1/2 cups of flour (I do between 2-2 1/2 white flour and 1 cup whole wheat, and while I wouldn't use completely whole wheat because, I assume, these are bagels you plan on successfully digesting, you can up or lower that amount if you want to)
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp yeast (about half a package, but I suggest you buy yeast in bulk)
1 cup of water or so
2 tablespoons of molasses
Any toppings you'd like to add (poppy seeds, dried onions, sesame seeds, etc)

1. Mix the yeast with about 1/4 cup of lukewarm water (not exceeding 115 degrees- that will kill the yeast) and let it sit for about 5 minutes. This gives the yeast a chance to wake up and get acclimated before you command it to do work for you.

2. Mix in molasses, salt, and one cup of water. Mix very well.

3. Add flour 1/2 cup at a time. Wait until it is completely absorbed before adding more. You should be able to get at least 3.5 cups into this mix- if it gets a little dry, add a small amount of more water, but you shouldn't need more than 1.25 cups total. You should end up with a smooth, round, slightly sticky ball of dough.

4. Knead for about ten minutes, adding in more flour if possible.

5. Let rise in a bowl covered with saran wrap or a kitchen towel for about two hours. When you poke the dough ball and the indent stays, it is ready.

6. Punch down the dough ball and knead for about a minute. Then form bagels by taking out small balls of dough, rolling them around, pushing a hole through the center, and flattening out. You should make 6-8 bagels from this batch. They will look small- don't worry, they will grow.

7. Let the bagels rise, covered, on the counter for about 45 min- 1 hour. In the meantime, preheat the overn to 375 and begin to boil a large pot of water.

8. Drop each bagel, one at a time, into the pot of water. They will sink and then float up to the top. Flip over after one minute. The longer you keep them in the boiling water, the thicker the bagel skin will be. This process is what makes them bagels, not buns. I really suggest only doing one bagel at a time because otherwise you forget which one you flipped when.

9. Place bagels on a baking sheet either greased or covered in cornmeal to prevent sticking. Using a spray bottle, spray the tops of the bagels and then sprinkle on whatever topping you want. If you are doing something like onion flakes, you may want to work them into the dough itself, which you should do after it's initial rising. Do not do this with garlic. Garlic kills yeast and should only be applied to the tops of the bagels right before being baked. Other variations include cracking an egg into the mix at the beginning, which makes it much lighter and more challah-like, or adding in cinnamon and sugar instead of or in addition to the molasses in the beginning.

10. Bake them for 20-25 minutes, until they are dark brown on top and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Impress all of your friends, and forever become "the one that bakes bagels" in their minds.