Fri 17 Apr 2009
{ Poppy seed bagels }
Posted by Julia Tuomainen under Baking, Bread
[12] Comments
After almost five years of living in Boston, and about 500 bagels later!, I returned to Brisbane to find no fitting substitute for this chewy and delicious bread. I suffered terrible bagel withdrawal, but quickly learned to re-familiarise myself with the local offerings instead.
In Boston, I was spoiled for bagel choice. There were a number of good independent Jewish bakeries around, but Finagle a Bagel was my favourite, most convenient, bagel destination. Every visit I practically ordered the same thing. Egg bagel :: toasted :: plain cream cheese. Simple and delicious. Occasionally I was tempted by the sweet selections of the chocolate chip and raisin cinnamon varieties. Either way, my favourite part was watching the bagel selected for you whizzing down the conveyor to be unceremoniously cut by a massive circular saw.
Recently remembering my bagel-y breakfasts in Boston, I jotted down these chewy breads on my to-do list. With my focus now on baking bread for the month, they have soared to the top of the list.
I am no a stranger to baking bread and have sporadically baked a loaf or two over the last 10 years when time permits. During that time, however, I have never *boiled* pre-baked bread dough. And that is exactly what you need to do for bagels. The characteristic chewiness of the bagel is produced by a quick one minute dip of the pre-shaped bread in boiling water. (Imagine ‘old school’ round doughnuts frying in a pot of oil, and you get the picture.)
I researched a few recipes and they all seemed similar. I ultimately decided to go with an adaptation from Martha Stewart as many of her yeasted bread recipes have worked a treat for me in the past. The process seems quite long, but it is really quite simple. The time you need to factor, like for nearly all bread making, is for the proofing process.
The end result? They were no Finagle a Bagel, but they were good. They were chewy and slightly dense and delicious with a healthy helping of cream cheese on top.
{ Bagels } adapted from Martha Stewart
* Ingredients *
3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1-2/3 cups warm water
3 tablespoons sugar
4 ½ cups bread flour
1-1/2 tablespoons table salt
* Directions *
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the yeast and water. Let stand for 5 minutes until foamy. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the dough hook and with the mixer on low speed add the sugar, flour and salt. Knead for about 1 minute until slightly tacky dough forms. You may need to add more flour or water depending on what you find. Continue to knead dough for about 5 more minutes then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 2 hours (until doubled in bulk). Divide dough into 10 equal pieces. Cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let rest for about 20 minutes. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil; set aside. With lightly oiled hands, roll each piece of dough into a 6-inch rope. Form a circle around your hand and then press the two ends together to seal. Place the bagels 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Cover with a piece of oiled plastic wrap and let rest until puffed (about 20 minutes).
Preheat the oven to 500 F or 260 C with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Fill a large stockpot with water and bring to a boil. Gently drop bagels into the water (as many as will comfortably fit without touching each other). After 30 seconds, use a slotted spoon to gently flip the bagels over — simmer for yet another 30 seconds. Then, using the slotted spoon again, return the bagels to the parchment-lined sheets. Top them with the seeds or salt . Place sheets in the oven. Bake for 5 minutes and then rotate the sheets and reduce the temperature to 350 F or 180 C. Bake until golden brown for about 10 minutes. Then flip the bagels over. Continue baking for another 5 minutes. Transfer bagels to wire rack to cool.
{ A little hint … }
:: I used poppy seeds for my bagels as I had them on hand, but take inspiration from Finagle a Bagel for the many flavour combinations available. The choice is limitless.
P.S. I am submitting these poppy seed bagels to YeastSpotting, the weekly showcase of yeasted baked goods and dishes. To find out more, click here.
This work is licensed under a
I make bread every other day, and yet, still haven’t tried to make my own bagel. You just inspire me. Thank you.
Cheers,
elra
Come visit us at our dough facility (and wholesale bagel bakery — the retail bagels are boiled and baked in the stores) and we’ll be happy to give you a tour. We make all our dough fresh everyday. The secret: The very best ingredients, boiled by hand in kettles, hand-seeded, burlap sticks and hot oven stones.
We’d love to show you around.
All the best and thanks!!
Laura B. Trust
Owner & President
Finagle a Bagel
Oo they look great! I love poppyseed bagels. Also used to have blueberry bagels for breakfast during my Uni days, but I’m definitely more of a savoury breakfast eater these days.
mmmm … they look delicious
!!!
Elra – I look forward to seeing your bagels. I’m sure they’ll have the right combination of chewiness and denseness. I am still blown away by your croissants. I am making some myself this weekend!
Y – mmmmmmmmmm, blueberry…….. Like a muffin, but less fat! Well, if you don’t count the butter or cream cheese you may add.
How very cool – putting them in boiling water for a minute, never would have thought about doing that
. They look great! Good luck with any future missions for the perfect bagel 
True bagels are so good aren’t they. Some stores and supermarkets here just sell a roll with a hole in the middle of it and call it a bagel which is terrible and nothing like a boiled bagel. They look fantastic!
Mmmmmm… fresh bagels are the best! I’ve never lived in a place that I couldn’t get good ones, so it never occurred to me that there may be places in the world where they weren’t available. Glad to see you were able to take matters into your own hands:-)
Laura – next time I am in Boston, I will definitely take you up on that offer. I would love to tour the dough facility of Finagle a Bagel!
Anita – yes, crazy but you boil them. I had no clue until I started to get interested in bagels when I was living in America. Before then, they weren’t on my radar.
Lorraine – interesting, I would have thought Sydney would better than Brisbane. Funny you say that though. I knew a girl from Boston who studied for a semester at UQ in Brisbane. Her only gripe was how ‘these things they call bagels in Brisbane are not bagels at all but simply a roll with a hole in the middle’.
Marc – thanks for visiting. When I was younger there were many things that you couldn’t get here in Australia. But now we really are spoiled for choice (from imported and home grown produce etc.). It is rare we can’t get our hands on something, but bagels seem to be one of those rare things. But I guess you can get inventive and give it a go yourself when you hit an obstacle like that!
I just love bagels, Thanks for the lovely recipe and instructions. We are lucky in Melbourne as we have a good supply of bagels due to the large Jewish community.
Mmm, bagels and lox – Sunday morning tradition of my youth, and still now when I go back to my grandparents’ house in NY. I actually lived in Boston before moving to Zurich, and there was a Finagle a Bagel just down the street, perfect! No offense to Laura above, but there’s nothing like New York bagels!
I’ve been talking about making bagels with a friend lately. We’re waiting to get malt powder back in NY though… Great post, I am back from my travels and excited to catch up on your bread baking series here! Thanks for these great recipes, and as always – superb photography.