Adventures in baking | Bagel making

Let me share, making bagels easier than you think.

There are many reasons my hands have turned to baking in this season, some I can name and some are beneath the surface beyond the reach of my words. It has been a long while since I’ve made bread and since dough has been a part of my life, but as of late, I’ve been drawn to it. A few years ago, making sourdough bread was a weekly rhythm. Between writing my book and building our home, commuting to two different schools and less time spent nurturing my routines, convenience was a key to our day to day lives, and so store bought bread became an important component. In this season of our lives, however, I turned back to baking out of convenience. Living out in the country, our nearest grocer closed and not wanting to drive eighteen or so minutes into town, I pulled the canister of flour off the pantry shelf and rummaged for some yeast in my spice drawer. Creativity born from necessity.

As spring slowly unfurls here in the midwest, as the seeds of our summer dreams to come emerge on the windowsill, the occasional dusting of snow stills the ground. With my head and heart consumed with sadness, grief, anger and of all the injustices raging in the world. I cannot stop; my worry nor my actions, I've needed to busy my hands; a means of processing. Bagel making is a new ritual I've taken on with fervor, sharing the adventures with friends and family as an act of community and care. 

This need of mine reminds me of a description from a tarot course I took a few years ago and the Five of Pentacles card. Lindsay Mack of Tarot for the Wild Soul describes this cards as “an experience of material contraction” when we feel a “sense of lack, scarcity, panic about fearing we won’t get what we need in this life…what we do in this card, rather than panic with it…rather than be out in the cold, is try to be active with our hands…when consumed with worry…were invited to work with our hands to keep our energy in the present moment, to keep active and busy, even when we’re feeling tight and waiting for the actions that are out of our hands. Working with the hands can help ground the worry about what we cannot control in what we can.” I’ve called my représentatives, voted, attended local gatherings in solidarity, donated, witnessed, cries, i will invariably keep doing those things i can but also make bread…

The birds chirping and fighting each other for seed and the bagels in my hands are keeping me tethered to the present moment. I’m also here to tell you it is not as hard as it seems and there is pleasure in trying, failing and trying again. I’ve tested a few different recipes, made a few batches, tried bagel shaping with a variety of suggested methods. I’ve found poking a hole in the ball of dough to be the most satisfying as well as holding its shape the best in the water bath. 

Progress over perfection.

A few weekends ago, I brought my market basket full of flour, seeds, and mixing bowls to my dear friend's house on a cold Sunday morning and by doubling this recipe, we made the perfect batch of bagels for our respective families for the week. Watching our kiddos run inside and outside, collect the chickens eggs, gather around the table for lunch while the dough proofed. Sipping coffee, laughing and crying onto each other’s shoulders, we caught up on each other's lives, shaping little bagel babies, these moments became about more than just bagels, we were filling each other’s cup. Each of us went home with a paper bag filled with homemade treats and hearts filled with nourishment. We are hoping despite hectic schedules, baking Sundays becomes a more regular part of our rhythms. 

Recently, I’ve been seeing the health effects and outcomes of highly processed foods in the news. As well as a rise of incidents of diabetes and cancer cropping up in my family and circle of friends. Instead of being riddled with fear, I'm seeking ways I can contribute to better health outcomes in our family. At this moment, it is honoring shifts in perspective about what we “need” One such shift is purchasing locally made sourdough once a week from our local bakery, making buns and bagel, instead of buying ultra processed items from the grocery store as a staple. We are making it when we can, looking for locally sourced, more whole food options instead of highly processed, or forgoing it altogether. Opting for vegetarian options over meat is another way we are shifting our mindset for our health and the environment. Only purchasing organic and local meat and preparing it more sparingly in our weekly meal planning, opting for more vegetarian alternatives.

HOMEMADE BAGELS

This recipe is adapted from three different recipes i’ve used and tested.

Ingredients

• 1 ½  cups (360ml) warm water (between 100-110°F)

• 2 ¾ teaspoons instant or active dry yeast*

• 4 cups (520g) bread flour*

• 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar 

• 2 teaspoons salt

• coating the bowl: 1 tablespoon olive oil

• egg wash: 1 egg white beaten with 1 Tablespoon water

  *Bread flour is a must for chewy bagels. I’ve been using a regionally milled flower from Meadowlark 

For Boiling

• 4 quarts water

• 1/4 - 1/2 cup honey

• 1 teaspoon baking soda 

Everything Bagel Toppings

• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds

• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds

• 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic

• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon dried minced onion

• 2 teaspoons  flaked sea salt or coarse salt

Mix all ingredients together in a clean, glass jar.

Instructions

Preparing the dough: whisk the warm water and yeast together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Cover and allow to sit for 5 minutes. *If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon in the next step.

Add the flour, sugar, and salt. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes. The dough may be  stiff and somewhat dry. Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 6-7 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 6-7 full minutes.

If the dough is too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it bounces back, your dough is ready for the rise. 

You can also do a “windowpane test” to ensure the gluten has developed fully and dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (walnut-size) piece of dough and gently stretch between your fingertips until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If it tears immediately, the dough needs more kneading, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test. 

Lightly grease a large bowl with oil and place the ball of dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel.  Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 90 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 425°F-450°F (218°C) and line two large baking sheets with unbleached parchment paper or silicone baking mats. (note once magnolia picked the natural wax paper out of the drawer instead of the unbleached parchment paper and the it was not pretty)

Shaping the bagels: When the dough is ready, punch it down to release any air bubbles. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Press your index finger through the center of each ball to make a hole about 2 inches in diameter pulling and shaping the dough. Loosely cover the shaped bagels with a kitchen towel and rest and rise for 10 minutes on your baking sheet.

Water bath: Fill a large, wide pot with 4 quarts of water. Whisk in the honey and baking soda. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-high. With a slotted spoon, drop bagels in, 3 at a time, making sure they have enough room to float. Cook the bagels for 1 minute on each side, flipping. Remove bagels from the water bath with the slotted spoon.

Dip the tops of the wet bagels into the toppings of your choice (we usually do a plain batch lightly salted and one with everything topping)  Arrange them, seasoned-side up, on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt, if desired. Place 4-6 bagels onto each baking sheet, depending on the size of your sheet, lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the bagels begin to brown, rotating the pan halfway through. Remove from the oven and allow bagels to cool a bit, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Slice, toast, top with butter, cream cheese, lox and capers or a sunny side up egg. Store leftover bagels tightly, in a paper bag and store at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, you can even freeze a batch. But there are rarely any left!

these photos are from my second batch of bagels before I found the best method of shaping, the still turned out tasty!

up next, when everyone in the house feels better, i’ll be experimenting with a recipe out of my dear friend, Kayla from Under a Tin Roof’s new book The Cottagecore Baking Book!

i’d love to hear how you are holding up and if you’d ever try out making your own bagels?

xx, alyson