Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water (112-115 degrees F)
2 tablespoons active dry yeast (3 packages)
3 tablespoons sugar
4 1/2 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon salt
8 cups of water, for boiling
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon water
Additionally, you can add one of the following (or be creative and come up with your own delicious addition to the recipe!):
cinnamon and/or raisins
poppy seeds
onions or garlic
sesame seeds
Instructions:
1. In stand mixer with dough hook, mix yeast, sugar and warm water together and let stand 10 minutes.
2. Add 3 cups flour, then salt, then the rest of the flour.
3. Knead dough on low until it comes together. Knead on high for 15 minutes. Add additional flour if dough does not clean sides of mixing bowl. Dough should be fairly smooth and somewhat firm. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until double. (about 20-30 minutes)
4. Punch dough down (if making cinnamon raisin bagels, add the cinnamon and raisins now -- knead just enough to swirl the cinnamon through the dough). Divide and shape into 12 balls. (For larger bagels, make only 8 balls.) Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
5. Bring 2 quarts of water to boil. Make a hole in each ball of dough and pull open about 2 inches, making a bagel shape. Place the shaped dough onto a cookie sheet and cover for 10 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Drop 2 or 3 bagels at a time into the boiling water for about 45 seconds, turning each once.
7. Drain cooked bagels on a wire rack. Mix egg white and water; brush tops with egg white mixture and top with optional toppings, if using. Place bagels on greased baking sheets.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Bagels will be lightly browned and shiny.
To make Everything Bagels, I put the following in a soup or pie plate – 1 Tablespoon each of dried, minced onion; dried, minced garlic; kosher salt; poppy seeds; and sesame seeds. Stir that up. After brushing each bagel with the egg wash (I used a whole egg instead of just the white), dip one side into the seed and spice mixture. Then bake as usual.
