A homemade bagel recipe for when you’re craving the real thing
Moving away from the Northeast meant I was leaving a handful of important things behind:
- My family
- My friends
- My city (shout-out to Boston, I miss it constantly)
And also….
New York bagels.
UGH, why are they so good?! Is it the water (maybe), is it the attitude (who knows), is it the residents’ lifelong goal to make the best bagels in the world (could be)?
Whatever IT is, it’s d*mn good.
I grew up in Connecticut, the last town in southwest Connecticut before you cross the state border and end up in New York. Ah, the land of the big apple, aggressive drivers, and the best bagels ever.
This love of bagels has been instilled at such a young age. I’ve loved bagels for as long as I can remember. When I get a craving for a bagel it DOES NOT go away until I have one. Or three.
I’m known to talk about them constantly, too. It’s not like this love exists only within. It’s external, my friends and family all know how much I love bagels.
So when I realized that I could make them at home – I immediately thought: No way in heck am I going to ruin the bagels’ grand reputation by attempting to make them at home.
It simply wouldn’t do.
And here I am, telling you I did it. These babies may not be straight out of Brooklyn, but they’ll get me by until my next trip back up north.
While I’ve tried a few recipes for making bagels at home, this one is my favorite. It seems the most…similar to bagels you’d buy at a bagel shop up north – like my personal favorite, the bagels from a little spot called Bagelman where the bagels are hot and the cream cheese is plenty.
I’ve also enjoyed making Skinnytaste’s bagels, but those are a bit further from the NY-style bagels that I know and love. Different strokes for different folks, right? So, this last time I used Sophisticated Gourmet’s new york-style bagel recipe and boy oh boy is it delicious.
So delicious, in fact, that I had to share it here with you. Again, please note that the recipe below is not my own – it’s from Sophisticated Gourmet and I simply wanted to share it here with you all 😊.
Homemade Bagel Recipe
Recipe originally featured on Sophisticated Gourmet
In ½ cup /120ml of the warm water, pour in the sugar and yeast. Do not stir. Let it sit for five minutes, and then stir the yeast and sugar mixture, until it all dissolves in the water
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture.
Pour 1/3 cup / 90ml of the remaining warm water into the well. Mix and stir in the rest of the water as needed. Depending on where you live, you may need to add anywhere from a couple tablespoons to about ¼ cup/60ml of water. You want a moist and firm dough after you have mixed it.
On a floured countertop, knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Try working in as much flour as possible to form a firm and stiff dough.
Lightly brush a large bowl with oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
Carefully divide the dough into 8 pieces (I used a scale to be extra precise, but it’s not necessary). Shape each piece into a round. Now, take a dough ball, and press it gently against the countertop (or whatever work surface you’re using) moving your hand and the ball in a circular motion pulling the dough into itself while reducing the pressure on top of the dough slightly until a perfect dough ball forms (as pictured below). Repeat with 7 other dough rounds.
Coat a finger in flour, and gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring to about ⅓ the diameter of the bagel and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Repeat the same step with the remaining dough.
After shaping the dough rounds and placing them on the cookie sheet, cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425ºF.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce the heat. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to lower the bagels into the water. Boil as many as you are comfortable with boiling. Once the bagels are in, it shouldn’t take too long for them to float to the top (a couple seconds). Let them sit there for 1 minute, and them flip them over to boil for another minute. Extend the boiling times to 2 minutes each, if you’d prefer a chewier bagel (results will give you a more New York Style bagel with this option).
If you want to add toppings to your bagels, do so as you take them out of the water, you may use the “optional toppings” (listed below) to top the bagels and if you’re risky like me, make a combination of the toppings to top the bagels with. However, before hand, you will need to use an egg wash to get the toppings to stick before putting the bagels into the oven.
Once all the bagels have boiled (and have been topped with your choice of toppings), transfer them to an oiled or parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until golden brown (I usually err on the side of 20 minutes). Cool on a baking rack and enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
In ½ cup /120ml of the warm water, pour in the sugar and yeast. Do not stir. Let it sit for five minutes, and then stir the yeast and sugar mixture, until it all dissolves in the water
Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture.
Pour 1/3 cup / 90ml of the remaining warm water into the well. Mix and stir in the rest of the water as needed. Depending on where you live, you may need to add anywhere from a couple tablespoons to about ¼ cup/60ml of water. You want a moist and firm dough after you have mixed it.
On a floured countertop, knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Try working in as much flour as possible to form a firm and stiff dough.
Lightly brush a large bowl with oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
Carefully divide the dough into 8 pieces (I used a scale to be extra precise, but it’s not necessary). Shape each piece into a round. Now, take a dough ball, and press it gently against the countertop (or whatever work surface you’re using) moving your hand and the ball in a circular motion pulling the dough into itself while reducing the pressure on top of the dough slightly until a perfect dough ball forms (as pictured below). Repeat with 7 other dough rounds.
Coat a finger in flour, and gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring to about ⅓ the diameter of the bagel and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet. Repeat the same step with the remaining dough.
After shaping the dough rounds and placing them on the cookie sheet, cover with a damp kitchen towel and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425ºF.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Reduce the heat. Use a slotted spoon or skimmer to lower the bagels into the water. Boil as many as you are comfortable with boiling. Once the bagels are in, it shouldn’t take too long for them to float to the top (a couple seconds). Let them sit there for 1 minute, and them flip them over to boil for another minute. Extend the boiling times to 2 minutes each, if you’d prefer a chewier bagel (results will give you a more New York Style bagel with this option).
If you want to add toppings to your bagels, do so as you take them out of the water, you may use the “optional toppings” (listed below) to top the bagels and if you’re risky like me, make a combination of the toppings to top the bagels with. However, before hand, you will need to use an egg wash to get the toppings to stick before putting the bagels into the oven.
Once all the bagels have boiled (and have been topped with your choice of toppings), transfer them to an oiled or parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, or until golden brown (I usually err on the side of 20 minutes). Cool on a baking rack and enjoy!
g.
