While I liked my first take on the recently posted water bagel recipe, I felt it could be so much better. I didn’t change the dough itself, but I changed how I boiled it, and we went higher for the baking temperature. Comparing recipes, 375° seemed low. But that is the beauty of baking bread. The ingredients are not expensive, and trying is half the fun. It’s a science experiment,
I also added an egg wash for that shiny coat that bagels need. The recipe I used these two times was from a vintage breadmaking cookbook for bread machines. However, being an older book, it reflects the time when artesian bread making was far away.
It did call for barley malt syrup for the water bath, but after much research, I found that honey also works. And considering I have so much honey from our bee-keeping years, I’d rather use that than buy something new. In my research, I also found that I should add baking soda and salt to the boiling water.
The end result?
This version is so much better tasting. And deeper in color. Worth the extra steps.
Bagels are shaped and rested for 15 minutes before boiling. The bottom ones were shaped the traditional way, the upper row I made donut style, with punching a circle in the middle.
Water Bagels Version 2
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups water
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 510 grams of all-purpose flour*
- 1 Tbsp dry active yeast
Water Bath:
- 2½ tsp (15 grams) fine sea salt
- 2½ tsp (15 grams) baking soda
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp (30 grams) honey
Egg Wash:
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tbsp water
Directions:
Add to a Zojirushi bread machine in the order listed, starting with water and ending with flour. Sprinkle the yeast on top, ensuring it doesn’t touch the liquid. Set the machine for the “Dough” setting. It will take 1 hour and 50 minutes in this machine.
If using other brands, follow the directions as called for and the temperature of water needed.
See the notes section below and watch if the dough needs more flour during the first kneading cycle.
Fill a large pot halfway with water and boil near the end of the dough cycle. You want a wider pot rather than a tall one.
Preheat the oven to 425° and line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Take the dough and divide it into eight sections.
Roll each section gently into a ball.
If you want rolled ones, shape into a log about 8″ long. Turn into a circle and pinch the ends together.
Otherwise, punch your finger through the center of the ball and form a hole, gently widening the hole by gently stretching.
Let bagels sit for 15 minutes.
Add to the water the salt, baking soda, and honey. Return to a full boil.
Add half the bagels to the boiling water, let simmer for a minute on each side, then remove and drain carefully (use a large slotted spoon). Transfer to the baking sheet. Repeat with the other half.
Whisk the egg and water together with a fork, then brush it on the top of the bagels.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden on the top.
Take out and lift off the pan with a thin spatula, and let cool on a wire rack.
Once cooled, store the bagels bagged up or wrapped and freeze for later.
It’s best if eaten in a day or two, at most.
The traditional method, pr rolling the dough into a log, then forming. They make a smaller bagel, but it’s properly shaped and dense, at least to me.
The donut-style ones were bigger in size; I think they rose more due to being handled less before the boil. They are softer than the traditional ones.
But both are equally tasty. So, really, it comes down to preference.
Notes:
*The flour you need depends on the type of flour used and the humidity.The brand can even play into it. This is why I weigh out, rather than scoop flour.
Start with 510 grams and add a bit more as needed. You want the dough not to be wet or sticky but tacky when pressing a finger against it. Bagel dough is denser than regular bread dough.
Makes 8 bagels.
~Sarah