Molly's Homemade Bagels Recipe

Chewy, soft, delicious bagels are one of breakfast's greatest treasures. Once you've tried such a bagel, the ones sold in six-packs at the store will never quite live up. This recipe is designed to make 24 bagels, but since they should be eaten within a few days, you can easily cut this recipe into thirds to make just 8 at a time. 

Ingredients:

• 10 1/5 cups of bread flour (do not use all-purpose! The extra gluten in bread flour is crucial to developing the bagel's signature chew). To get an accurate measure, make sure to sift, scoop and then delicately scrape away excess. 
• 3 Packets of Active Dry Yeast
• 4 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp of sugar
• 4 cups of warm water, divided. (You want water between 110-120 degrees. If you don't have a thermometer you can tell that the water is the right temperature when it feels warm, but not hot to the touch)
• 4 1/2 tsp of salt
• 2 tbsp neutral oil such as avocado, sunflower seed, or a light olive oil. Do not use coconut oil or canola.
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 1 egg

Directions:

1. In 1 1/5 cups of the water, add the sugar and then the yeast. Do not stir it. Allow to sit for five minutes, and then mix until the sugar dissolves. 
2. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl. If you have a stand mixer, use the stand mixer's bowl. 
3. Carefully pour the yeast/sugar mixture into the flour. Using a wooden spoon or silicone spatula, mix. Add another cup of the warm water and mix until incorporated. Continue adding water, a few tablespoons at a time, mixing them in thoroughly, until you have a moist, firm dough. It's okay if the dough is a little sticky. 
4. If you have a stand mixer, using the bread hook attachment, mix the dough until it is smooth and elastic, taking care that the dough doesn't come out the top of the mixer. If you don't have a stand mixer, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic (this will take approximately 10 minutes of high-quality kneading by hand. Make sure to get good-quality kneading down by pressing the dough firmly away from you with the palms of your hands, folding the dough over, rotating it 90 degrees, and repeating the process. It is a serious forearm work out!)
5. Grease a large bowl with the oil, and place the dough inside, rotating it around a few times to cover it in the oil. It's important the bowl you use is big enough so that the dough will have room to double in size. 
6. Cover the bowl with a clean damp towel, and place it in a warm place to rise for one hour. (A great place to do this is your oven! With the oven OFF, put the bowl inside, and turn the oven light on. The oven light produces enough heat to get the oven warm and will help your dough rise, even in a drafty or cold house). 
7. After an hour, check the dough, it should be approximately double in size. Punch down the dough, then allow it to rest for ten minutes. 
8. Turn your dough out onto a clean counter. The dough will not be sticky at this point, so there is no need to flour your work surface or your hands. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough in even quarters. Cut each of these quarters in half. Cut each of those halves into thirds. This will leave you with 24 evenly sized pieces of dough. Allow the dough to rest while you complete the following steps.
9. Meanwhile, fill a large pot with water, with a few inches of room at the top, and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, add 1/4 cup of honey. 
10. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
11. Crack the egg into a shallow bowl, mix thoroughly with a fork and then add a few tablespoons of water. 
12. Now it's time to form your bagels. Take each piece of dough, and using both hands, pick it up, pull it into a ball shape, so that it has a smooth, round top, and a folded/crinkled bottom. Firmly tap the folded/crinkled side onto the counter, and holding the ball of dough onto the counter with one hand, roll it into a more perfect ball, keeping the folded side down by stabilizing the dough lightly with your index finger, while controlling the arc of rotation with your pinky. When a good quality dough-ball is formed, using your thumb, press into the center of the ball gently. When you press through to the other side, use the index finger of your other hand to poke from the bottom to the top, rotating your thumb and index finger around each other to widen the hole. 
13. Once formed into a bagel shape, allow the dough to rest on a baking sheet, covered with a clean damp towel for at least 10 minutes. 
14. Working in batches of however many bagels will fit in your pot without touching (this was three at a time for my 6-quart pot), carefully lower your bagels, top side down, into the boiling water. 
15. Allow to boil for two minutes before flipping by pressing one side of the bagel gently down with a wooden spoon. Boil on the other side two minutes before removing carefully with a slotted spoon. Place bagels on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (or a silicone baking mat). They should not be touching, but can be rather close. 
16. Repeat for all the bagels. (You can begin further steps as you wait for bagels to boil, just be mindful to flip or remove them on time.)
17. Brush the egg-wash lightly on each bagel. If you want toppings on your bagels, put them on immediately after the egg-wash. Parmesan cheese, poppy seeds, and even cinnamon sugar make great toppings. 
18. Bake the bagels at 400 degrees for ten minutes. Remove from the oven, egg wash again, and rotate before baking for an additional five minutes. You will know they are finished when they are golden-brown. Keep a close eye, as every oven is calibrated differently. Trust your intuition, if they look done sooner, take them out, if they don't look finished, add more time!
19. Transfer bagels to a wire cooling rack, allowing them to fully cool.
20. Slice, and enjoy with softened butter or cream cheese!

Note: Don't skimp on the resting time after working this dough. The reason we used bread flour specifically was for it's high gluten content. Gluten is a protein, and one that's essential for making chewy bread. The proteins in this bread are like elastic bands, and when you work the dough, it's like you're stretching them out. You must allow the "Rubber Band" to contract, so to speak, in order for the dough to maintain it's chewy integrity in the final product.