Bagels

By RedZinger

Ingredients

• Sponge:
• 1 teaspoon of instant yeast
• 4 cups of unbleached high gluten or bread flour
• 2 1/2 cups water
• Dough
• 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 3 3/4 cups unbleached high gluten or bread flour
• 2 3/4 slat
• 2 teaspoons malt powder, honey or brown sugar
• To Finish
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting

Preparation

Step 1

To Make Sponge:
Stir the yeast into the flour in a 4 quart mixing bowl. Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and leave at room temp. for approximately 2 hours, or until it becomes very foamy and bubbly and double in size.

To make Dough
In the same mixing bowl add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir.Then add 3 cups of the floru and all of the salt and malt. Stir until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining 3/4 cup flour to stiffen the dough.

Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes or for 6 minutes by machine. The dough should be form, stiffer than French bread dough, but still pliable and smooth. There should.dl be no raw flour! The should pass the windowpane test and register 77 to 81 F. If the dough seems too dry and top add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If the dough seems tacky or sticky add more flour.

Immediately divide the dough into 4 1/2 ounce pieces for standard bagels. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for about 20 minutes. Line 2 baking pans with baking parchment and mist lightly with spray oil. Place each of the shaped pieces 2 inches apart and mist the bagels very lightly with the spray oil and slip each pan into a food grade plastic bag or with plastic wrap. Let the pan sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Check to see fi the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the float test. Fill a small bowl with cool water and if the bagels float they are retarded. Pat dry and cover the pan and place in the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat oven to 500 degree with the two rack set in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the baking soda. Gently drop the bagels in the water and flip after 1 minute. While bagels are boiling sprinkle the same parchment lined sheets pan with cornmeal or semolina flour. When bagels are boiled place the pan in the oven. Bake for a about 5 minutes then rotate the pans and lower the temperature to 450 degrees. Continue to bake for about 5 minutes or until golden brown.