Cooking with Kids: Homemade Bagels!

A few months ago I came across this recipe for Bread Machine Bagels over at Clover Lane, and I copied it into my Evernote notebook. I tried making them for the first time the other night…. and all I can say is “WOW!” They are fantastic- and rival anything that I have purchased at our local bagel shop (and I live in New York people- where bagel shops know how to make a bagel!). I love that I can make them in a slightly smaller size- because does anyone really need to eat an entire giant NY-sized bagel for breakfast? They are fun and easy to make with the kids…. and especially delicious when paired with homemade strawberry jelly (and cream cheese, of course)!

Add these ingredients to the bread machine in the order listed, and then run the bread maker through the dough and first rise cycles (this takes my bread machine 1 hour and 40 minutes).

1 cup warm water
3 cups of bread flour
2 T white sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

After the dough has completed its first rise in the bread maker, take it out, and divide it into 8-9 balls. Flatten the balls into disks and then using your finger, poke a hole in the center. Place them on a floured surface, spacing them apart a bit, cover them with a kitchen towel and allow them to rise for an hour.

Now it’s time to begin cooking our bagels…. and I was surprised to find that the first step in cooking them is to boil them in water! This is what gives them their chewy goodness. I dissolved 3 tablespoons of sugar into a big pot of boiling water, and then placed 4-5 bagels in the pot for just one minute, turning them over after 30 seconds.

Using a slotted spoon, I removed them from the water and placed them on a kitchen towel to drain. They kind of look yucky like this, don’t they? All shriveled and doughy?

I then placed the bagels on a cookie sheet that was liberally dusted with cornmeal, and brushed the top of each bagel with an egg white wash (which is just an egg white in a bowl that has been beaten with a fork until frothy). I baked them at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Oh man…. I am telling you- these are so good!

Also from our summer camp at home “Cooking With Kids” series:

Sharons Signture Cooking with Kids: Homemade Bagels!