New York Bagels – (Quick version)

INGREDIENTS
10 Gr. – 1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast – I use a small envelop
482 Gr. Bread flour or All purpose flour (4 Cups)
1 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon (14g) Brown sugar, or barley malt syrup if you can find
303 Gr. Lukewarm water – 1 + 1/3 cups

Water bath
2 quarts (1814g) water
2 tablespoons (28g) brown sugar or barley malt syrup
1 tablespoon (14g) granulated sugar

METHOD
In a bowl of a stand mixer, stir in the yeast, the sugar and water let the mixture sit for a few minutes, to ensure your yeast is still active.
Combine all of the other dough ingredients and knead for about 15 minutes, using a stand mixer.
It is important to take the time to knead properly, as we are using bread flour and it requires longer to develop the gluten. The dough will be quite stiff and should hold its shape in the mixer.

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and set it aside to rise until almost double in size and quite puffy, although not necessarily doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Lightly grease two baking sheets, or line them with parchment and grease the parchment. Transfer the dough to a work surface, and divide it into eight pieces.

Working with one piece at a time, roll it into a smooth, round ball. Place the balls on one of the prepared baking sheets. Cover the balls with plastic wrap, and let them rest for 30 minutes. They’ll puff up very slightly.

While the dough is resting, prepare the water bath by heating the water, malt, and sugar to a very gentle boil in a large pan.
Preheat the oven at 180 Degrees Celsius

Use your index finger to poke a hole through the center of each ball, then twirl the dough on your finger to stretch the hole until it’s about 5 cm in diameter. Place six bagels on each of the baking sheets.

Transfer the bagels, four at a time if possible, to the simmering water. Increase the heat under the pan to bring the water back up to a gentle simmering boil, if necessary. Cook the bagels for 1 minute, flip them over, and cook 1 minute more. Using a skimmer or strainer, remove the bagels from the water and place them back on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bagels. Sprinkle with Sesame Seeds, Black Sesame seeds, black onions seeds, dried garlic or dried onion or a combination of all.

Bake the bagels for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they’re as deep brown as you like, turning them over about 15 minutes into the baking time (this will help them remain tall and round). Remove the bagels from the oven, and cool completely on a rack.

You will be tempted to eat them right away… just wait 30 minutes and … indulge !

TIP DU JOUR : Try not to use 00 type flour – the lack of gluten in the flour makes for a runny dough which lacks structure.