B.A.G.E.L.S (Bagels Are Great Everyday Little Snacks)

Written by GRP Rower Luke Rein

Ah, bagels.

Sweet halos of chewy dough, dense and carby and glutenous. Is that why we love them? Maybe. Will people from New York ever admit that they can be good anywhere else? (“No,” says Webster.) Maybe. (“gumawnin gumawnin gumawnin gumawnin,” says Webster.)

As someone who has been criticized for not being able to cook the same loaf of bread twice, this recipe has been remarkably repeatable for me and has been popular with our house. This recipe makes 8 medium sized bagels or 6 larger bagels. It scales up easily, and best of all, doesn’t require that much attention outside of the boiling.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cups water

• 4 1/2 cups flour

• 1 tbsp yeast

• 1 tbsp salt

• 2 tbsp oil

• 3 tbsp sugar

• Additional 3 tbsp sugar

• Optional: Anything you’d like to try putting on a bagel. Seeds, garlic, onion, etc.

Equipment

• large pot

• stand mixer (optional, but highly recommended)

• baking trays

• parchment paper (you can make do without, but this will make the baking a lot nicer)

Steps:

1. Activate your yeast in 1/3 cup of water with 1 tbsp of sugar mixed in. If you’re using instant yeast, you can skip right to mixing ingredients.

2. Mix all ingredients in the stand mixer. Let it go for a while - the longer it works, the better developed the gluten will be, and consequently the chewier your bagels will be. (New York Note: “Those places just leave the thing running for 30, 45, minutes, I dunno, it’s just always running” - Webster)

3. Place the dough in an oiled bowl to rise until it’s approximately doubled in size. Great time to go do a workout.

4. It’s time to cook. Preheat your oven to 450° and start boiling a pot with 4-5” of water. Add a few tablespoons of sugar or honey to the water to help the bagels crust nicely in the oven

5. Split dough into 6 or 8 pieces and start making bagel shapes. I’ve found that it’s easiest to make the bagel shape by wrapping a long string of dough around your hand, then rolling it off your hand to leave the approximately bagel-shaped ring behind. Your first ones probably will look something like this, though.

6. Boil the bagels. Lower them gently into the pot; when they float to the surface, flip them once and boil for 3 more minutes.

7. After boiling, place the bagels on parchment paper or another non-stick baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes.

8. Take them out, let them cool, and immediately text everyone you know from New York that you’ve made bagels.

9. Store them in an airtight container (2-3 days) or freeze for later toasting use.