Chewy Bagels
Starter
2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup warm water
pinch of yeast (1/16 tsp if you have that measure)
Before going to bed mix these ingredients together thoroughly in a med/large mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter overnight to work its magic!
In the morning, add the following to the bowl...
2.5 cups of unbleached flour
1.5 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp salt
1 tbs malted milk powder or non-diastatic malt (if you can find it, carnation malted milk is easier to locate)
1/2 cup water
I also added some dough enhancer and vital wheat gluten according to the directions on the respective containers.
You can mix by hand but this is a stiffer dough and if you are unused to doing a lot of kneading it would probably make your arms sore, but a good workout right?! I was lazy and used my Kitchen Aid set on 2. Kneading time is 10-15 min if kneading vigorously by hand or ~10 min if using a mixer. It is important to knead the dough enough so that the gluten is properly developed. Once the kneading is done, place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, covered, until it is noticeably puff. 60-90 min, I recommend checking it at 60.
Depending on how big you want your bagels, divide the dough into either 8 or 16 pieces. Take each piece and roll into a ball. Place the balls of dough on a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let them rest for 20-30 min. They will puff a bit.
Ok, now that you have puffy balls *snicker* take them up one at a time. Use a finger to poke a hole in the middle of the ball. Instructions I have say to twirl it on your finger until the hole is 1.5", however they wouldn't really twirl on a single finger for me, so I would use my two index fingers, both through the hole and rotate them around to stretch the hole. Once you have holed all your balls, place them back on the baking sheets and cover with plastic wrap again. this time let them rest for 30-45 min.
During the last 10-15 minutes of the bagels resting is the time to prepare their bath. Into a large enough pan put in...
2 qts water
2 tbs malted milk or brown sugar or barley syrup
1 tbs white sugar
Bring this to a gentle boil then turn down to a gentle simmer. Don't overcrowd your bagels in their bath. I did 8 bagels out of this and used my pasta pot so could only comfortably fit 2 at a time. Let the bagels simmer in the bath for 1.5-2 min on each side. Take them out of the bath and place on your baking sheet.
Might want to preheat your oven before you start bathing your bagels, I'm in UT so with the high altitude baked them at about 375° for around 20 min. Start checking on them at 15 though and add minutes as needed until you get the golden brown you desire.
Let the bagels cool enough to slice and enjoy!
Variations:
add any mix-in's such as dried onion or herbs or dried fruit during the last 5 min of kneading
toppings. after 15 min baking take the bagels out, spritz lightly with a cooking spray or brush with beaten egg then sprinkle on the poppy seeds, etc.. return to the oven for 3-5 min.
