Chewy Homemade Bagels

These may not be the BEST homemade bagels, but they ARE fun to make and they taste pretty darn good too.

Truth check - This is the very first time I ever attempted making bagels.

I spent an afternoon watching pro chefs making their signature bagels on YouTube, and it looked like a lot of fun so I took notes on ingredients and procedures and came up with this. The base recipe is from Chef John's video with some minor tweaks I learned from other chefs.

And while I am usually pretty picky about what goes out to the blog, my wife INSISTED I post these, against my better judgment.

You see - I am EXTREMELY picky about what I post. And this is not what I would call a blog-worthy recipe. Sorry, it's just not. It's certainly not an EASY recipe, you really should use bread flour and kitchen scales, which I know a lot of people don't have, and be prepared to spend a lot of time in the kitchen if you try these yourself.

Honestly, I've had better bagels from the bakery. These are way too soft in my opinion, the shapes came out strange, and the texture, although close, is still not perfect.

But they are good, and with the seasoning, do taste like bagels.

I'm not trying to talk you out of this recipe lol, I just wanted you to know I am by no means a bagel expert and probably screwed a lot of things up in this recipe....

But as I said - they WERE fun and my wife absolutely LOVED them, so there is that.

So with all my disclaimers in place lol, if you still want to give these a go, scroll on dear friend, and let's try and make some bagels.

Chewy Homemade Bagels

Carefully measure 8 oz of Bread flour into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer.

I used my kitchen scales to weigh the flour. If you don't have kitchen scales, I highly recommend them for baking, and they are relatively cheap. Stores like Fred Meyer and Walmart should have them. But for reference, my normal "scoop and level" method using a 1 cup dry ingredient measuring cup weighed about 5.5 oz.

To the flour, add the warm water, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of molasses. Whisk until mixed thoroughly, cover, and let sit in a warm spot for 30 minutes. I like to turn my oven on, any temperature will do, for exactly 1 minute, then turn it off. It makes the perfect spot for proofing dough.

After the 30 minutes is up, add the salt and remaining 8 oz of bread flour to the dough. Attach your dough hook and knead for 10 minutes.

Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface and work it into a tight, smooth ball. Return it to the mixing bowl, cover, and place it back in a warm place for 60 minutes to let it rise.

Now separate the flour into 8 equal portions, and form each one onto a tight, smooth ball. Shoot for about 3 to 3.5 oz each. Using a well-floured finger and thumb, make the bagel hole and carefully stretch the dough to make a doughnut or bagel shape. Place these onto a well-floured sheet pan, then sprinkle the tops generously with flour, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 30 minutes in a warm spot.

Next, using a large pan, you want to boil 4 to 6 cups of water, the remaining tablespoon of salt, the baking soda, and the remaining molasses.

Working in batches, drop 2 to 3 bagels at a time into the simmering water, and cook for 2 minutes per side. Using a spatula, tongs, or a spider strainer - carefully remove the boiled bagels and place them on a cooling rack to drain.

Preheat your oven the 400° F.

Dust your sheet pan with cornmeal, then arrange your boiled bagels so they don't touch. Brush them with the vegan egg wash, which is just almond milk and maple syrup whisked together, and then sprinkle them generously with the seasoning.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until browned.

They taste delicious right out of the oven, or you can let them cool, slice, toast, whatever you like to do with bagels. I used my wife's homemade strawberry jam and I have to say - they were pretty darn tasty.

If you're adventurous enough to try this recipe, I'd love to see how yours turned out. Tag me on Facebook, in my Facebook Group, or on my Instagram.

That's it for this week - have an awesome weekend and we'll see you soon.

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