Our (authentically Jewish) friend Danny has a very talented sister called Lisa Roukin; Last year she reached the final of Gordon Ramsay's F-Word competition and has a beautiful website. Lisa has kindly shared her bagel recipe for the perfect New York bagel. It is hard work but the results are fantastic. Indeed, we have had a 100% approval rating from our sample audience of one Jewish friend who tasted the final product. Bagel making seems likely to become a weekend ritual in our home and Steve should now be happy because our suitcases no longer need come home smelling of garlic!
Makes 10
Ingredients
- 12g instant yeast
- Lukewarm water
- 630g strong white bread flour
- 60g caster sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 egg
- Sunflower oil
- 1 tablespoon golden syrup or 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 egg - beaten with a dash of water
- Sesame seeds or poppy seeds
- Semolina
- In a medium size bowl combine the yeast with 100ml lukewarm water. Leave to one side for five minutes in order for the yeast to activate.
- Sieve the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl (or if you are using an electric dough hook sieve directly into the mixing bowl).
- After 5 minutes pour another 260ml lukewarm water to the yeast mixture. Now add the yeast to the flour along with the egg. Knead for approximately 10 minutes.
- If necessary, add a bit more flour until you have a soft and springy dough.
- Brush the dough and the inside of a clean mixing bowl with a bit of oil. Cover the bowl with cling film or a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place until the dough doubles in volume - approximately fifteen minutes.
- After the dough has risen, "punch" the air out while it is still in the bowl. Next, carefully collect the dough, separating it from the sides of the bowl and place on a floured surface.
- Knead it for a few minutes pushing out all the air bubbles, and using the palm of your hand, continue kneading for 5 minutes, then let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
- Work the dough on a floured surface and divide it into 10 equal parts.
- Work each part into a smooth ball. Form a strip approximately 15 centimetres long from each ball. Pinch the two ends of each strip together to form a ring. Squeeze the formed bagels to even out the thickness, with a 2-inch hole in the centre.
- Place the rings on a sheet of baking paper that has been greased with a little oil.
- Cover the rings with a clean kitchen towel and then let them rise again in a warm place for approximately 20 minutes.
- Set the oven to 200°C (350ºF/ gas mark 4)
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to the boil. Standing back, CAREFULLY add 1 tablespoon of golden syrup or 2 teaspoons baking soda. Reduce the heat slightly and gently drop 4 bagels at a time into the water, allow them to float to the top for 1 ½ minutes each side. Cover a tray with parchment paper and add a layer of semolina. Remove the bagels with a slotted spoon and place on the semolina. Using a brush, coat the surface and sides of each bagel with the beaten egg and water. Sprinkle them with sesame seeds or poppy seeds.
- Place the bagels in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven when golden brown. Cool on a wire rack, slice and serve.
- Bagels are great topped with cream cheese and smoked salmon, or peanut butter and jam! Well in fact the list in endless… you can add different variations of toppings, chopped onions, multigrain, salt, poppy, sesame and garlic.
- If you have a few bagels left over after a few days thinly slice them into 6 – 8 slices and toast and make bagel thins!
- The Cinnamon-Sugar Bagel – I must admit, this one's a bit nostalgic. When I was growing up, we always had a little Tupperware container of cinnamon-sugar mixture in the pantry, at the ready for my dad's perfect cinnamon toast. It transfers quite nicely to a bagel: Spread each bagel half with a generous amount of butter. Top with cinnamon-sugar mixture (about two parts sugar to one part cinnamon), toast in the oven until the topping gets bubbly and crunchy. Enjoy!
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