Plain bagel

I found a new recipe on bagels, which time in BBC GoodFood (issue February 2014), so I have been baking in my kitchen, while the weather is very rainy and windy outside just like Autumn !!!

One important tip, which I want to share with you, is, that the baking paper should be greased with oil, before the bagel dough is placed on the baking paper prior to the raising process. If you do this, you will be able to take the bagel off without destroying the shape after the raising process. If you not do grease the baking paper with oil, it will be very difficult to move the bagel into the boiling water, and you needed up with flat and strange looking bagels !!! This little trick is not mentioned in BBC GoodFood.

Plain bagel: - 10 bagels

• 300 g lukewarm water
• 10 g yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 500 gr wheat flour
• oil for glazing of the baking paper
• 1 tablespoon of baking soda for the boiling water

1. Stir the yeast into the lukewarm water.
2. Add salt and sugar into the water, mix together for 1-2 minutes on the stand alone mixer (speed 1).
3. Add the flour and knead the dough for 5-6 minutes on an stand alone mixer (speed 2).
4. Let the dough raise for 1 hour in the mixing bowl.
5. Cover a baking tray with baking paper, which is greased with a thin layer of oil.
6. Divide the dough into 90 g.
7. Cover the dough with tea towel, and let the dough raise for 30 minutes.
8. Insert a finger down the centre of each dough ball and make a hole. Hold your finger down on the kitchen table and move it so round, so the bun revolves around.
9. Heat up the fan oven to 180'C.
10. Heat up a large cooking pot with water to the boiling point incl. the baking soda. The baking soda should give shine and chew to the baked bagel.
11. Cook the bagel dough for approx ½ minute on each side. It is possible to cook 2 bagels at a time, if you use a large cooking pot. 
12. Place the cooked bagels on the baking tray covered with baking paper.
13. Bake the cooked bagels for 20-25 minutes at 180'C in the upper part of the oven, until the bagels are golden.
14. Cool the bagels on a oven rack.