Real Bagels

This Cooking Light recipe is called Real Bagels (as opposed to fake bagels?). However, perhaps the moniker is appropriate—my husband said I've made bagels before, but I've never made bagels before this recipe. The original recipe makes plain bagels, but I already have my list of ideas for flavor varieties.

Real Bagels
2 cups warm water (between 105ºF and 115ºF)
1 tsp. dry yeast
6 1/2 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp. barley malt powder
2 tsp. salt
Boiling Ingredients
12 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
Toppings
Chia seeds
Sesame seeds

Combine water and yeast in a warmed mixing bowl, and let stand 5 minutes. Add 6 1/4 cups flour, barley malt and salt. Mix dough on low speed 6 minutes. Turn dough onto floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, approximately 2 minutes. Add remaining flour as needed to prevent dough from sticking.


Place dough in a large bowl coated with non-stick cooking spray, turning once to coat top of dough. Cover, and let rise in a warm place free from drafts 30 minutes.

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, and divide into 12 equal portions. Working with one portion of dough at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), shape each portion into a ball. Make a center in the hole of the ball, and use your fingers to pull the center into a 1 1/2-inch hole. Place bagels on a cooking sheet coated with non-stick spray. Cover bagels with plastic wrap coated with non-stick spray. Let rise 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450ºF. Combine 12 cups water and 3/4 cup sugar together in a Dutch oven, and bring to a boil. Gently lower 3 bagels into the pan, and cook for 30 seconds. Transfer bagels to a wire rack coated with non-stick spray. Repeat the procedure with the remaining bagels. If toppings are desired, sprinkle bagels with seeds or roll bagels in shallow bowl filled with seeds immediately after the boiling step.

Divide the bagels between two baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 7 minutes, rotate pans, and bake for another 7 minutes until bagels are golden. Cool completely on wire racks. Makes 12 bagels.