The Perfect Bagels (Peter Reinhart adaptation)

I am currently obsessed. with BAGELS. I have been dreaming about bagels since my first real New York City bagel last March. About 4 weeks ago, I tried to make my own through a simple, quick, online recipe. They ended up pretty good, but then a week later I went to NJ/NYC again, and what do you know, I had some more bagels. On the flight back home, I decided that I was sick of being stuck in the middle of Illinois without access to these fresh deliciously soft and chewy pillows of wonderfulness. My quest for the perfect bagel recipe began, and through a quick google search, Peter Reinhart’s famous recipe popped up. Seeing all of the amazing reviews, I knew I had to give it a try.

I now owe so much to this magical bagel man, because these bagels not only satisfy my intense craving, but they make me want to make and eat these bagels 24 hours a day for the rest of my life.

The recipe is below, with my notes and tweaks.

I got the recipe from this link, which is a slight adaptation from Mr. Reinhart's famous recipe.

I also made a batch of everything bagels the second time I made these bagels and wow were they delicious. I’ve included my recipe for the everything topping after the bagel recipe.

Some notes before you begin:

*You definitely don’t need to get high gluten flour; they will be just as delicious with regular old bread flour.

*I used malt barley syrup in both the bagels and the boiling water, which I HIGHLY recommend. Honey and brown sugar are supposed to work too, but I just think barley syrup has such a unique body and flavor that is essential.

*Amazing bagels are a two day excursion. No exceptions. You just can’t get the same end result without the time.

*If you are like me and always have a stuffed fridge, make some room, because you will need it.

*Be prepared for some tedious kneading…I mean so tedious that your arms might feel like they will fall off, but persevere, you can do it!

These bagels might seem like a lot, but trust me people, these things are worth all the work.

Peter Reinhart’s Bagels:

Yield: 18, 100g (or 3.5 oz) bagels

Part 1: The Sponge

{
1 tsp instant yeast* /
4 cups bread flour / 2 1/2 cups water, room temperature }

Part 2: Dough

{
1/2 tsp instant yeast*
/ 3 3/4 cups unbleached bread flour /
2 3/4 tsp salt /
2 tsp malt powder or 1 tablespoon dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar }

*make sure that you use instant yeast, or the recipe will not work. It is also sometimes called Rapidrise yeast. 

Part 3:Boiling and Baking

{
1 Tb baking soda / 2 Tb malt barley syrup }

Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting

1. To make the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in a 4-quart mixing bowl. Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a thick batter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly. It should swell to nearly double in size. {If you leave it for over 2 hours it will be fine, I had to leave mine for 6}

2. To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. Then add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and malt. Stir (or mix on low speed with the dough hook) until the ingredients for a ball, slowly working in the remaining 3/4 cup flour to stiffen the dough. {A stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment is VERY helpful when making these}

3. Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes (or for 6 minutes by machine). {I continued with machine} The dough should be firm, stiffer than French bread dough, but still pliable and smooth. There should be no raw flour – all ingredients should be hydrated. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77 to 71 degrees F.If the dough seems too dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If the dough seems tacky or sticky, add more flour to achieve the stiffness required. The kneaded dough should feel satiny and pliable but not be tacky.

{Okay so getting the correct consistency of dough yet having it pass the windowpane test was probably the trickiest part of this recipe. I had to knead it for far over 6 minutes. Maybe about 20 in total, with breaks in between to check if it passed the test. I also had to add about ¾ cups of additional flour than the recipe said, because my dough was so sticky. You do not want your dough to be so sticky that you can’t touch it without getting it all over your hands. Your dough should be smooth and not very sticky, if at all. Also keep in mind that the more flour you add, the more you will have to knead it after you add it because the gluten has to develop each time you add flour. If it breaks right away when you try the windowpane test, persevere and keep kneading. The windowpane test doesn’t have to be perfect, but you need to be able to stretch it somewhat thinly without it breaking to ensure that the gluten has developed.}

4. Immediately divide the dough into 100 g pieces (or 3.5 oz) {Even though it is tedious, I definitely recommend weighing the dough so that you get even bagels. They will be more uniform, bake more evenly, and look better!} Form the pieces into rolls.

5. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes.

6. Line 2 sheet pans with baking parchment and mist lightly with spray oil. Proceed with one of the following shaping methods:

Method 1: Poke a hole in a ball of bagel dough and gently rotate your thumb around the inside of the hole to widen it to approximately 2 1/2 inches in diameter (half of this for a mini-bagel). The dough should be as evenly stretched as possible (try to avoid thick and thin spots.)

Method 2: Roll out the dough into an 8-inch long rope. (This may require rolling part of the way and resting if the pieces are too elastic and snap back, in which case, allow them to rest for 3 minutes and then extend them again to bring to full length. Wrap the dough around the palm and back of your hand, between the thumb and forefinger, overlapping the ends by several inches. Press the overlapping ends on the counter with the palm of your hand, rocking back and forth to seal. {this is the method I used, which is the favorite of professional bagel bakers}

7. Place each of the shaped pieces 1 inch apart on the pans. Mist the bagels very lightly with the spray oil and slip each pan and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

8. Check to see if the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the “float test”. Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. The bagels are ready to be retarded when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water. Take one bagel and test it. If it floats, immediately return the tester bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (it can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float. Return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. The time needed to accomplish the float will vary, depending on the ambient temperature and the stiffness of the dough. {I did not have a problem with my bagels floating, they didn’t even sink}

9. The following day preheat the oven to 500 degrees F with the two racks set in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the wider the pot the better), and add the baking soda two tablespoons of barley syrup. Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.

10. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds). After 1 minute flip them over rand boil for another minute. If you like very chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling to 2 minutes per side. {I tried both boiling times; they are both delicious so it is all up to personal bagel preference.} While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-lined sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you decide to replace the paper, be sure to spray the new paper lightly with spray oil to prevent the bagels from sticking to the surface.) If you want to top (see note below) the bagels, do so as soon as they come out of the water. You can use any of the suggestions in the ingredients list or a combination.

{When I baked the everything bagels I used an egg wash (one egg and a splash of milk) brushed over the bagels and then sprinkled on the topping after boiling}

11. When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the 2 middle shelves in the oven. Bake for approximately 6 minutes, then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180-degree rotation. (If you are baking only 1 pan, keep it on the center shelf but still rotate 180 degrees.) After the rotation, lower the oven setting to 450 degrees F and continue baking for about 6 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown. You may bake them darker if you prefer. {I baked them for slightly longer, just watch them and look for color}

12. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.

Sachi’s Everything Bagel Topping:

{ 1 Tbs poppyseed / 1 Tbs sesame seed / 1 Tbs dried onion flakes / 1 tsp garlic powder / 1 tsp coarsely ground salt }

Mix all of the ingredients together. You can save any leftover mix and keep it for your next batch!