I was having lunch on Thursday, and my fortune said this:
Who knew how right that would be…I didn’t predict I’d spend a rainy Sunday morning working on water bagels. I’ve wanted to master bagel making, as the boys like them in their lunches. It’s been one of the few things I don’t make from scratch, but why not I asked myself. It was time to get back to trying at it.
My Mom and I often made bagels when I was growing up. We usually made the vintage 1970s “water bagel” recipe from my Mom’s favorite bread cookbook. It was not a bad recipe, but it made a bagel like the ones you still find in the freezer section in grocery stores—so teeny-tiny bagels if you remember the Lender brand ones.
I found this recipe in a vintage bread machine cookbook from the late 1980s/early 1990s. It made a small amount of dough, so I doubled the recipe, making enough dough to be worth my time. I wanted to use the bread machine to get a good rise.
The dough was good, and it made a tasty treat.
However, being from that period, it isn’t a perfect recipe. While they were pretty tasty, I need to work on them more. For most people, this would be a great recipe, but I want them to be the dark hued, chewy water bagel. These were very, very delicious but were more like a chewy bagel roll.
Don’t get me wrong: They taste amazing. The boys loved them.
However, I will make a second version soon, where I work on the bagel crust.
The dough shaped and resting.
Just out of the oven.
Water Bagels
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups water
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 480 grams of all-purpose flour + 30 grams more, in case*
- 1 Tbsp dry active yeast
Directions:
Add to a Zojirushi bread machine in the order listed, starting with water and ending with flour. Sprinkle the yeast on top, ensuring it doesn’t touch the liquid. Set the machine for the “Dough” setting. It will take 1 hour and 50 minutes in this machine.
If using other brands, follow the directions as called for and the temperature of water needed.
See the notes section below and watch if the dough needs more flour during the first kneading cycle.
Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil near the end of the dough cycle. You want a wider pot rather than a tall one.
Preheat the oven to 375° and lightly oil a large-rimmed baking sheet.
Take out the dough and divide it into 8 sections. Roll each section gently into a ball and then into a log about 8″ long. Turn into a circle and pinch the ends together.
Let sit for 5 minutes.
Add half the bagels to the boiling water, let simmer for a minute on each side, then remove and drain carefully (use a large slotted spoon). Transfer to the baking sheet. Repeat with the other half.
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden on the top.
Take out and lift off the pan with a thin spatula, and let cool on a wire rack.
Once cooled, store the bagels bagged up or wrapped and freeze for later.
Best if eaten in a day or two, at most.
Notes:
*The amount of extra flour you need depends on the flour used and the humidity. Start with 480 grams and add a bit more as needed. You want the dough to not be wet or sticky but rather tacky when you press a finger against it. Bagel dough is denser than regular bread dough.
Makes 8 bagels.
~Sarah