Homemade Bagels and Cream Cheese

I’m a sucka for a good bagel. It’s one of my favorite meals to eat for breakfast. I like to spread a little butter over it and stick it in the oven on broil for about 1 minute then lather it in cream cheese, specifically, the mixed berry cream cheese from Philadelphia. Pair it with a side of red grapes and oh my gosh, it’s the best thing ever! So simple but so satisfying.

I’ve been in my baking bag lately so I decided to try my hand at homemade bagels. This recipe is inspired by Jennifer from Beyond The Butter. Check out her original at https://beyondthebutter.com/easy-homemade-bagels/.

Here’s What I Did:

I whisked together my warm water, instant yeast, and granulated sugar. I let that sit about 10 minutes.

When the mixture looked foamy, I added bread flour and salt, then transferred to my stand mixer and used a dough to mix until a a dry and scaly dough formed. I plopped my dough down onto a lightly floured cutting board and kneaded with my hands.

I shaped my kneaded dough into a ball and placed into a bowl greased with vegetable oil. I let that rest for 60 minutes.

Then, I prepped a baking sheet with lightly sprayed parchment paper.

After that, I started my honey bath by boiling a large pot of water along with baking soda and honey. Per Jennifer’s instructions, I also prepared my egg wash mixture.

Next, I used a serrated knife to cut my bagel dough into 8 equally sized pieces. I rolled each section of dough into a ball on an unfloured surface.

Here’s What I Learned:

I over kneaded my dough. But, in my defense, the process brought my inner child out. This ball of yeast and flour became Play-Doh and I couldn’t resist. Thus, I kneaded into oblivion. Jennifer’s recipe calls for 5-7 minutes. I think I would have been good with 5 or 4 minutes of light kneading.

The error of my ways were most obvious when I tried to roll each of the 8 sections of dough into a ball. My dough was a tad too firm and didn’t create those smooth, perfectly round edges that bagels are known for.

After that, it was time to create the hole in the center, and I definitely overthought this part. The recipe says to create a hole using your thumb and index finger. Now, I’m not the most coordinated person in the world so this was a little tricky. I totally think you can make a decent hole using just your thumb or just your index finger. Don’t spend too much time trying to figure that out. Trust yourself and make the hole.

Alright, on to the next mistake.

I placed my bagels in the honey bath and removed them using tongues. I know, I know. Next time, I’ll place my bagels on individual parchment squares and then slide them right off into the pot. I’ll also use a mesh strainer to scoop them out and maintain the integrity of the bagels’ shape.