Egg Bagels
- 6 cups bread flour
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
- 2 envelopes dry yeast ( 1/2 ounce or 5 teaspoons)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 or 3 teaspoons sesame, poppy, or caraway seeds, or a mixture (optional)
- Sift flour into mixer bowl or another large bowl.
- Make a well in center of flour.
- Pour in 1/2 cup lukewarm water.
- Sprinkle yeast on top and add 1 teaspoon sugar.
- Leave 10 minutes until yeast is foamy.
- Add another 2 teaspoons sugar, oil, 3 of the eggs, remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, and salt to well in center of flour.
- Mix with dough hook or with a wooden spoon until ingredients begin to come together into a dough.
- If using mixer, beat dough until smooth.
- If mixing with a spoon, when adding flour becomes difficult, mix in remaining flour with your hands.
- Knead dough vigorously on a work surface about 10 minutes or until very smooth and no longer sticky.
- Put dough in a clean oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until light but not doubled.
- Shape bagels (see Shaping Bagels.
- below).
- Then, preheat oven to 400F.
- To boil bagels, bring 2 quarts water and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar to a boil in a large saucepan.
- Add 3 or 4 bagels and boil 1 minute.
- Turn them over and boil 1 minute.
- If holes begin to close, force them open with handle of a wooden spoon.
- With a slotted spoon, transfer them to a cloth or to paper towels.
- Repeat with remaining bagels.
- Put bagels on 2 or 3 lightly floured or greased baking sheets.
- Beat remaining egg with a pinch of salt.
- Brush egg over bagels.
- Sprinkle with seeds, if using.
- Bake bagels about 20 minutes or until browned; if baking sheets dont fit on center rack, bake them one above the other and switch their positions after 10 minutes.
- If not serving them right away, cool them on a rack and wrap them
- To Shape Bagels:
- Make bagel dough and let it rise.
- (If you prefer, you can make the dough 1 day ahead, let it rise 30 minutes and punch it down.
- Then cover it with a damp cloth or plastic wrap so it doesnt dry out and refrigerate it overnight.
- Let it come to room temperature before shaping bagels.)
- Knead the risen dough lightly.
- Roll dough into a thick log.
- For every cup of flour, cut into 3 pieces with a floured knife to make 3 bagels.
- (4 cups of flour yields 12 pieces.)
- Roll each piece of dough into a very smooth ball by holding it under your cupped palm on an unfloured surface, and rolling it over and over while pressing it firmly on the surface.
- The more the dough is rolled, the more evenly shaped and smooth the final bagel will be.
- Flatten one ball slightly.
- Make a hole by flouring your index finger and pushing it through the center of the dough ball.
- Twirl the dough around your finger on the work surface to stretch the hole; then insert 2 fingers and continue twirling until hole is about 1 inch in diameter and evenly round.
- Gently pull the edges to even out the shape of the bagel.
- Transfer the bagels to a floured board.
- Cover and let rise 15 minutes.
- Boil and bake them as directed in each recipe.
bread flour, water, yeast, sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, salt, sesame
Taken from www.cookstr.com/recipes/egg-bagels (may not work)