Homemade bagels!!

My friend Carolyn had posted on Facebook recently about homemade bagels!  I decided it was something I needed to try!

The recipe is SO simple (much easier than other recipes I saw online....)

Here we go (in picture form for the second half!)

The Recipe

1 Tablespoon instant yeast
4 cups unbleached bread flour
2 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups luke warm water 

The Method

Mix everything together and knead well.  Sit in a bowl and let rise in a warm place for about an hour.  

Dough that has been risen for an hour

Divide the dough into balls and smooth them over as best as possible.  Let them rise for another 10 minutes

Dough balls have risen for 10 minutes!

Punch holes in the balls (as you can see, I didn't do a good job of making the balls equal size....)  Let rise for another 30 minutes

Bagels have risen for another 30 minutes and are now ready to be boiled!

Bring a pot of WATER to a light boil and add 1 Tbsp white sugar and 2 Tbsp Brown Sugar (this helps with the browning process when baked)  Boil for 1 minute on EACH side and then remove to a baking sheet lined with foil/parchment paper and corn meal

 

The boiled bagels are ready to be baked!  The parchment paper/foil helps prevent sticking and the corn meal with also help with bottom crunchiness

Bake the bagels for 22 minutes at 425*

Before baking - while the bagels are still wet, you can add any kind of topping you want.  I added granulated salt...

ENJOY!! - 12 bagels = 4 points plus each!