New York Bagels

Its a rainy Saturday in Atlanta so I decided it would be a perfect day to try my hand at homemade New York Bagels!  Not before I ran out and dodged the rain drops to snap a few pictures.  Rain is so pretty.

I've made bagels before and they turned out pretty good but when Cook's Illustrated comes out with a bagel recipe - it's definitely worth another try. 

I thought I was really prepared for my bagel day.  After several failed attempts to buy vital wheat gluten and malt syrup this week, I finally located both products in a specialty food market.  I started my dough last night and had the bagels formed and resting in the frig overnight so they would be ready to bake up nice and fresh this morning. 

Unfortunately, I made one vital flaw - I just assumed that an 8 hour overnight stay in the frig would be sufficient.  Looks like I should have started my bagels yesterday morning because these bagels needed to be refrigerated 16-24 hours!  Looks like its bagels for lunch today!

New York Bagels
1 1/4 cups ice water
2 Tablespoons malt syrup
2 2/3 cups bread flour
4 teaspoons  vital wheat gluten
2 teaspoons yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon baking soda

Stir together ice water and malt syrup until fully dissolved.

Process flour, wheat gluten and yeast in food processor for 2 seconds.

With processor running, slowly add ice water mixture and process until dough is just combined.  Let stand for 10 minutes.

Add salt to dough and process until dough forms a shaggy mass that clears the sides of the bowl.  Transfer dough to unfloured counter.

Knead dough for 1 minute.

Divide dough into 8 pieces and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

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Working with one piece at a time, roll dough into smooth rounds. Let rest for 15 minutes.

Sprinkle baking sheet with cornmeal.  Working with 1 piece at a time, lightly coat dough with flour.  Use rolling pin to roll dough into a 5 inch round.

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Roll into a tight cylinder.

Starting at the center of the cylinder and working towards the ends, gently stretch into an 8 or 9 inch rope. 

Twist rope to form a tight spiral.  Wrap rope around your fingers, overlapping ends 2 inches.  Press and roll seam on counter to seal.  Transfer rings to baking sheet.  Let bagels stand at room temperature for 1 hour. 

Cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate 16-24 hours. 

Place baking stone in oven and preheat to 450.  Bring 4 quarts of water, sugar and baking soda to a boil. 

Set wire rack in baking sheet and spray with baking spray.

One at a time, transfer bagels to boiling water and cook for 20 seconds.  Using a skimmer, flip bagels over and cook 20 seconds longer. 

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Using a skimmer, transfer bagels to wire rack with cornmeal side facing down. 

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Place sheet with bagels on baking stone and pour 1/2 cup water into bottom of sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  Flip bagels and bake 10-12 minutes longer. 

Remove sheet from oven and let bagels cool at least 15 minutes. 

Want to see my yummy bagel lunch creations?

Turkey, lettuce and avocado bagel sandwich - so delicious.  Next time, I'll start my bagels 24 hours before I want to eat them and I just might be able to have them ready for breakfast. 

Ciao!

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