# Does anyone have a favorite bagel recipe?



## larry_stewart (May 12, 2020)

In the past month I've made Bagels twice.
I wouldn't call them failures, but not meeting up to my expectations.
The taste was good , the consistency was good, but living in New York, Ive had my share of great bagels, and these were not it.
I followed two different recipes , both with similar ingredients ( I think one was the King Arthurs site, the other from Youtube, suggested by a friend).  The techniques were slightly different, one was a mix all the ingredients, let it rise, the other was mixed thee water, yeast, sugar, let it bloom, then mix all together . let it rise ...


My issue is the bagels are not rising to my expectations.
I know the yeast is good and within expiration date ( ive tried with 2 different yeasts nought at different times.

The dough dos rise , then when I shape the bagels they do rise again.

After their quick water bath, there is no more rising ( although in both recipes, their bagels rise more during the baking process)

So, either what am I doing wrong, or is there a recipe that you like that I should try.

They are definitely edible, and just ok, but im looking for better than that.


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## msmofet (May 12, 2020)

Andy makes onion bagels often. Here's a link to his recipe. 

https://www.discusscooking.com/forums/f153/onion-bagels-76423.html#post1077759


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## Andy M. (May 12, 2020)

Hi Larry. That's an old version of my recipe. It makes 18 bagels and that recipe broke my KA mixer. Here is a pared down version. I try not to compare these to NY bagels. But I like them better than some of the bagel shops around here.

Quick questions. What kind of yeast do you use and how long do you boil the bagels?

ONION BAGELS

465 Gr	Warm Tap Water
1 Pkg	Active Dry Yeast
1 Tb	        Sugar
735 Gr	Bread Flour
2 tsp 	Kosher Salt
¼ C	        Toasted Onion Flakes
1½ tsp 	Onion Powder
1 tsp	        Oil
1 Tb	        Sugar 


Combine the water, yeast, and the sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (coat the top part of the hook with oil).  Stir and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes depending on room temperature.

Separately combine the flour, salt, onion flakes and onion powder.  Turn the mixer on to the lowest speed and gradually add the dry ingredients to the mixer bowl.  Mix until the dough comes together.  Continue mixing for 10 minutes at speed setting 2 until a stiff dough is formed.

Remove the dough from the bowl and oil the bowl.  Place the dough back in the bowl, turning the dough to coat it completely with oil.  Place plastic wrap directly onto the dough surface and let it rise in a warm spot until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 400º F. 

Bring 4 quarts of water and 1 tablespoon of sugar to boiling in the widest pan available (5½-qt. sauté pan).  Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper.

Remove the dough from the bowl and knead briefly by hand to deflate it.  Using a scale and a calculator, remove 1/12th of the dough from the bowl and form it into a smooth ball then poke your finger through the center of a ball and twirl it around your finger to enlarge it to a 3½-4-inch diameter.  Repeat for all the dough.  Place the shaped bagels on a floured surface and cover with a towel.  Allow them to rest and rise.

Place bagels top down into the boiling water 4 at a time and boil for 1 minute, flipping them over after 30 seconds.  Remove the boiled bagels to the baking sheet.  Repeat until the pans are filled with six bagels each.

Place the pans in the oven and bake for 33-35 minutes or until medium golden brown.   Move the pans around from shelf to shelf and turn them front to back during the baking time to ensure even baking.

Cool completely before wrapping for storage.


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## larry_stewart (May 12, 2020)

Hey Andy,

One recipe boiled 30 seconds on each side 
The other recipe was 1 - 2 minutes on each side, thats seemed long to me, so I kept it closer to 1 minute.

As far as yeast goes,   Im not sure %100, but it was the dry active yeast in those little packets.  One was likely Fleichmann's active dry yeast, the other was another brand I  usually dont use, I think it was a rapid rise.  Both were at least a year away from their expiration date.

The key issue I had is the lack or plumping up or rising.  The initial rise was acceptable, the second rise after the bagels were formed was minimal and absolutely no rise during the baking portion.   They tasted ok, but wish they plumped up a bit.  Mine definitely didn't look like the finished product in both recipes.

The one where I let the yeast solution bloom ( on the right) , was better.  The left ones were pathetic.


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## Andy M. (May 12, 2020)

How big was your recipe? Could you have used more yeast?


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## larry_stewart (May 12, 2020)

Andy M. said:


> How big was your recipe? Could you have used more yeast?



I did sprinkle a little extra yeast in he second batch ( which is possibly why they were a little plumper than the first).  Not sure of the exact recipe, id have togo back and look.


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