How to Make Homemade Everything Bagels - Making bagels is a boil and bake process that's simple and easy. These bagels are crisp on the outside, tender on the inside, and so delicious. I can't tell you the number of times I have tried and failed at making bagels, but I finally got it right, with a little help from Mark Bittman’s How To Cook Everything Cookbook. This book is an awesome reference it covers just about everything whether you're a beginner or a very experienced cook it has something for everyone. It gives you the basics and once you have the basics you can experiment and make each recipe your own.
The inspiration to give bagel making another try was finding this Everything but the Bagel seasoning blend at Trader Joe’s. We love everything bagels in my home and now it's so nice to make my own and not purchase them all the time.
What I like about basic recipes like this one is that it can be tweaked to meet your families needs, I used less salt, more yeast and a different sweetener. With this basic recipe I am able to make everything, cinnamon and cranberry bagels and I can make them the size I prefer, larger than a mini and smaller than a regular.
Using the food processor is the fastest way to make the dough, when it comes together it should be a tough and elastic dough. If you don't have a food processor, no problem, you can use your hands.
Allow dough to rise for 2 hours, deflate and let dough rest for 10 minutes, then divided into eight or 12 pieces.
Shape holes, cover and allow dough to rise for 30 minutes.
For the water bath I kept it simple and used water only. In some recipes honey or barley malt syrup is added to the water to aid in the caramelization of the bagels. When water comes to a boil, reduce to a soft simmer and boil bagels 2 to 3 at a time for 1 minute on each side.
Coat with toppings and bake 20 to 25 minutes.
This is a basic recipe for everything bagels, but you can easily change the toppings, add cranberries or raisins, simply make it your own. Be creative.
If you make this recipe tag @thewholeserving on Instagram and hashtag it #thewholeserving, I want to see your creations.
Must have cookbooks.