Zingerman’s recipe

Experience

On 11/12/2021, I’ve made it 3 times. They look professional. It was a lot of fun to do the workshop, and I learned a lot.
On 08/04/2022, made it. I proofed it after shaping in the fridge over 2 nights, and that didn’t work out very well, although not terribly bad either. Maybe this recipe needs more yeast. I would say more water and/or more yeast because it’s very dense.

Ingredients

• 458 g (2 cups + 2 tbsp) water, room temp (neutral to the touch), a bit warmer will grow bagels faster
• 51 g (2 tbsp 3/4 tsp) honey (originally barley malt)
• 11 g (2 1/4 tsp) demerara sugar (some nicely caramelized brown sugar)
• ~3 g (3/4 tsp) instant yeast (could be more I guess)
• 922 g (6 1/2 cups) bread flour (12-13% protein, whole wheat can be used but water may need to be adapted)
• 15 g (1 tbsp) sea salt

Recipe

1. In a bowl add the water, barley malt, demerara sugar, and yeast. Stir together with a wooden spoon.
2. Add half of the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until the mixture looks like a thick pancake batter.
3. Add the remaining flour and salt (so salt doesn’t touch yeast) and incorporate the ingredients together until the dough is a shaggy mass. Not all the flour will come in.
4. Turn the bowl over the counter and empty, scraping sides.
5. Knead the flour, picking up the dry bits with a bench scraper and pushing them into the dough with the other hand.
6. Once everything is roughly incorporated, knead for 3 minutes: push the dough away with one palm (not stretching the dough too intensely though) and fold it over itself.
7. If making onion bagels, cut off 454 grams, set aside covered.
8. Knead the main dough another 5 minutes. It will still look a bit shaggy and clumpy on the outside.
9. Spray a container with oil (really do it, otherzise the dough will stick and tear. Put the dough in, cover with plastic, ferment 1 hour.
10. Without flour on the bench, divide the plain bagel dough into 12 pieces (8 if making onion bagels, and divide onion dough in 4) and cover with plastic.
11. Have a bowl of water and put a dab on the counter to make the surface a bit sticky.
12. First roll with the fingers of one hand, then with both hands, to make a strand 8-10 inches long with bulges at the end (the measure of my hand from thumb to pinky).
13. Wrap the strand around the hand, with both hands meeting on the palm. Roll to lock the ends together.
14. Place the bagel on a baking paper with flour, cover with plastic.
15. Proof for 1-1.5 hours until poke test passes. I have found that my bagels take even longer than that. This stage can be carried in the fridge for 8 hours no longer. If the bagels overproof, they will deflate while boiling and baking.
16. Oven: 230°C, preheated 30 min before.
17. Boil a large pot of water 15 min ahead or so. They don’t put honey or baking soda in there, Rachel puts rosemary and honey though.
18. Add the bagels to the simmering water and boil for one minute, turning around regularly. If they sink they are underproofed. Do not crowd the pot.
19. Spray a baking sheet with oil. Remove the bagels from the water, letting most of the water drip, sprinkle or dip into toppings (sesame seeds, pavot, everything, rosemary, cinnamon, salt, cheese, even some of these can be stuffed into the bagel).
20. Bake for 6 minutes. Flip the bagels and continue baking for 10 to 15 minutes or
    until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a cooling
    rack.

Sourdough recipe

Experience

• 08/2022: it was good, grew well, really fluffy. Like it.

Ingredients

• 450 g bread flour
• 50 g whole wheat flour
• 10 g salt
• 200 g sourdough starter (build: 100 g starter + 50 g whole wheat flour + 150 g bread flour + 170 g warm water, mixed 4 hours before)
• 250 g warm water
• 30 g honey
• toppings

Recipe

1. Mix all ingredients in a stand mixer. 5 min, medium speed, until smooth. By hand: 10 minutes.
2. Ferment covered 2-3 hours.
3. Divide into 140g pieces and form a small log with them, rest under a towel.
4. Roll out bagels until they are about the length of hands from pinky to pinky, with thumbs touching. Wrap dough around hand and press down on the seam. Roll a few times back and forth to seal it and put onto a parchment lined sheet pan.
5. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap (!!) and cold ferment in fridge for 48 hours.
6. Boil water with malt or honey and a pinch of baking soda.
7. Preheat oven to 230ºC. Boil bagels for 1 minute, cover with seeds and bake with 15 minutes or until you get a deep color. (It actually took closer to 30 min for me the first time).

from artisanbryan

Noa’s recipe

Experience

• 10/02/2021: worked well but the bagels were small. I was told by a friend (Rachel) that she put rosemary and honey in the water and it was very flavorful.

18 bagels (but quite small, would make 12 nice big breakfast bagels)

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 tsp dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 3 tsp salt
• 5 1/2 to 6 cups flour
• 1 tbsp sugar + 2.8 L water
• cornmeal
• 1 egg yolk + 1 tbsp water

Recipe

1. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in sugar and salt.
2. Gradually mix in 4 cups flour. Smooth batter.
3. Mix in 1 1/4 cups to make stiff dough. Knead until smooth (10-20 min, or use a machine), adding flour as needed.
4. Place in greased bowl. Rise until doubled, 40 min.
5. Knead briefly to release air. Divide into 18 equal pieces. Form a smooth ball.
6. Poke thumbs through and work in a round to shape bagel.
7. Place on a floured baking paper. Cover, rise for 20 min.
8. Boil water – sugar mixture gently. Boil bagels turning often, 5 min.
9. Place on baking sheet. Beat egg lightly with water. Brush. Add sesame seeds, poppyseeds or dried onions, or cinnamon sugar for a sweet take.
10. Oven: 400 °F = 205 °C.
11. Bake for 25-30 min.

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from my Israeli colleague Noa