No-knead Bagels by Rohini

This recipe is from Artisan Bread in Five minutesI will list my alterations at the end.

Dough:
3 c lukewarm water1 1/2 T yeast
1 1/2 T salt
1 1/2 T sugar
6 1/4 bread flourTheBoiling pot:8 qt boiling water
1/4 c sugar
1 t soda
poppy or sesame seeds

mix all the ingredients for the dough and put a lid on the bowl/container. You can use your hand or a mixer. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours.

The dough can be used immediately after after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 14 days.Forming, boiling and baking the bagels:

Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 450 F, with a baking stone placed near the middle. Place an empty broiler pan on another shelf.

Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 3 oz piece of dough (about the size of a small peach). Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go.

Repeat to form the rest of the bagels. Cover the balls loosely with and allow to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Prepare the boiling pot: bring a large saucepan or stockpot full of water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the sugar and baking soda.

Punch your thumb through the dough to form the hole. Ease it open with your fingers until the hole's diameter is about triple the width of the bagel wall. Drop the bagels into the simmering water one at a time, making sure they are not crowding one another. They need enough room to float without touching or they will be misshapen. Let simmer for 2 minutes then flip them over with a slotted spoon to cook the other side. Simmer for another minute.

Remove from the water, using the slotted spoon, and place on a clean kitchen towel that has been lightly dusted with flour. This will absorb some of the excess wter from the bagels. Then place them on a peel covered with whole wheat flour. Sprinkle the bagels with poppy or sesame seeds.

Slide the bagels directly onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray, and quickly close the oven door. Bake with steam for about 20 minutes, until deeply browned and firm.

Break the usual rule for cooling, and serve these a bit warm - they are fantastic!


Rohini's notes:

I don't like to use a lot of yeast, so I just add a pinch (about 1/4 t) and leave the dough to rise overnight. I don't bother refrigerating it. I used about 1/3 white flour and 2/3 whole wheat. I added a T of cinnamon and a bunch of raisins for cinnamon raisin bagels for about half of that much flour (ie about 3-31/2 c). I also used brown sugar.

I formed the bagels after the dough roze, including the hole, and didn't make the hole so huge. After forming them, I left them to rise a little too long before boiling, because I was busy chatting with Rasa :) I liked them that way, though, they still had that characteristic chewiness. Of course with the little amount of yeast they rise slower, so it is not the same as leaving a dough with large quantities of yeast rise too long. And yes, they were fantastic, it is true.