Bagels: New York Style

Who doesn’t love bagels ? Cinnamon and raisin, onion, poppy seed, blueberry…Living in Switzerland, however, makes it practically impossible to go into a shop and buy an endless selection of delicious bagels. This is why I decided to give it a go, I mean how hard can it really be?? The answer is, not that difficult at all !!

Makes approx 4-5 bagels
For the bagels:

• 250 g of wholewheat bread flour
• 20 g of yeast
• 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar (or regular sugar, malt syrup etc)
• 2 tablespoons of himalayan salt
• 300 ml of warm water

Water bath:

• Water
• 2 tablespoons of bicarbonate soda
• 2 tablespoons of coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon of salt

Toppings:

• Dried herbs
• Onion pieces
• Poppy seeds
• Dried fruit
• Sesame seeds

1. Put the yeast + 1 tbsp of sugar + 100 ml of warm water in a bowl and let it sit for 10 mins.
2. In a medium bowl combine the flour, the salt and rest of the sugar and then add the yeast.
3. Add some of the warm water and starting mixing the dough. Keep mixing with your hands until your can form a ball.
4. Remove the ball of dough from the bowl and place on a floured surface.
5. Knead the dough for about 10-15 mins or until the ball is smooth and feels elastic.
6. Place the dough back into the bowl, and cover it with a damp towel. Place the bowl in a warm place for about an hour or until it has doubled in size.
7. Take the dough and divide it into 4-5 smaller pieces. There are two ways to make the shape: either you roll each piece into a smooth ball and carefully create a hole in the middle. Or you roll each piece into a sausage shape and bring the two ends together and stick them together.
8. Once you have made your bagels, place them on a greased lined baking tray  and cover them in cling film. Let them sit for about 30 mins.
9.  Heat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.
10. Take out a saucepan and fill it halfway with water, place it on a medium heat.
11. Once it is bubbling away, put in the bicarbonate of soda, the sugar and the salt.
12. Take each bagel and place it delicately into the simmering water for two minutes and then flip them over for a further minute. Remove the bagel and repeat for all of them.
13. Place all the bagels back onto the greased lined baking tray and add your toppings.
14. Bake the bagels for 20-25 minutes or until they are nicely browned. If you wish, turn the bagels over 15 mins in to brown both sides.

Enjoy them warm!!