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La Belle Cuisine
Bagels
 
Baking with Julia: Sift, Knead,
Flute, Flour and Savor the Joys of
Baking with America's Best...
Contributing Baker Lauren Groveman
by Dorie
Greenspan, based on the PBS Series
hosted by Julia Child, 1996, William
Morrow and Co.
Makes 10 large
bagels
“Like
croissants, bagels have transcended their origins to become all-American.
These are chubby bagels – boiled, then baked – with a cakey, open sponge;
they
are not heavy, stretchy, or chewy. They are made with high-gluten
flour, the
kind you local pizza maker uses. He might give you some, or you
can order the
flour by mail, but don’t let not getting your hands on this
stop you from
bageling – you’ll like what you get if you use bread flour or
unbleached all-
purpose flour.
Keep in mind that you can top your bagels with anything – one of the joys
of
making bagels at home – and you can bottom them too: Sprinkle the peel
or baking sheet with any or all of your favorite toppings for around-the-
bagel
flavor.”
The Bagels
2 tablespoons (approximately) unsalted butter, melted
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/4 cups tepid water (80 degrees to 90 degrees F)
2 tablespoons (approximately) sugar
3 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper (optional)
6 cups (approximately) high-gluten flour, bread flour,
or unbleached all-purpose flour
Brush the inside of a large (about 8-quart) bowl with some of
the melted butter; set aside. Reserve the remaining melted butter for
coating the top
of the dough.
Mixing and Kneading Whisk the yeast into 1/4 cup of
the tepid water.
Add a pinch of sugar and let the mixture rest until the
yeast has dissolved
and is creamy.
Pour the remaining 2 cups water into a large bowl and add the
shortening.
Add the yeast mixture along with 2 tablespoons sugar, the salt,
and the
black pepper, if you’re using it, and stir with a wooden spoon to
mix.
Stirring vigorously with the wooden spoon, add the flour, 1/2
cup at a
time, stopping when you have a soft, sticky dough that is difficult
to stir.
(You will probably use almost 6 cups of flour, but the dough will
still be
soft and sticky – and that’s just the way it’s supposed to be.)
Turn the
dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 to 6 minutes,
until it is smooth and elastic. Add additional flour as needed to keep
the
dough from sticking to your hands and the work surface.
(To make the dough in a mixer, proof the yeast in 1/4 cup of
the warm
water in the mixer’s bowl. Fit the machine with the dough hook and
add
the remaining 2 cups water, the sugar, shortening, salt, and the pepper,
if
using it; mix on low to blend. With the machine still on low, gradually
add
5 1/2 to 6 cups of the flour, mixing for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the
ingred-
ients are blended. Increase the mixer speed to medium and knead for
about 6 minutes, adding additional flour by the tablespoon until the dough
is smooth and elastic. At this point, the dough may still be slightly sticky
and it may not clean the sides and bottom of the bowl completely –
that’s
OK.)
Rise
Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to
the buttered mixing bowl.
Brush the top of the dough with a little melted
butter, cover the bowl
with buttered plastic wrap, and top with a kitchen
towel. Let the dough
rise at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until it
doubles in bulk.
Chilling the dough
Deflate the dough, cover as
before, and refrigerate for 4 hours, or, if it’s
more convenient, overnight.
At this point, the dough can be well wrapped
and refrigerated for up to 2
days.
When you’re ready
to make the bagels, position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and
preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. If the bagels are
to bake on a stone,
preheat the baking stone too and generously dust a
peel with cornmeal. If
they will bake on baking sheets, brush the sheets
with vegetable oil (or
spray them) and dust them with cornmeal. For
added flavor, use one or all of
the suggested topping ingredients [below]
in combination with the cornmeal
to dust the peel or the sheets. (To
create steam in the oven, you’ll be
tossing ice cubes and water onto the
oven floor. If you don’t think your
oven floor is up to this – it can be
tricky with a gas oven – put a heavy
skillet or roasting pan on the oven
floor and preheat it as well.)
While the oven
preheats, fill a stockpot with water and bring the water
to a rapid boil.
Line 2 baking
sheets or trays with kitchen towels. Rub flour into one of
the towels and
place both sheets close to your work surface.
Shaping the
Dough
Deflate the dough and transfer it to a lightly floured work
surface. Divide
the dough in half; cover and chill one piece of the dough
while you work
with the other. Cut the dough into 5 equal pieces; work with
1 piece at a
time and cover the remaining pieces with a towel.
To form a bagel and develop the gluten cloak that will give it its
structure, draw up the dough from the bottom, stretch it, and pinch it at
the top.
Keep pulling the dough up and pinching it until you have a
perfectly
round, tightly packed ball of dough with a little topknot or pleat
at the
top. Turn the dough over so that the knot is against the work surface
and plunge your index finger into the center of the dough. Wiggle your
finger around in the hole to stretch it, then lift the bagel, hook it over
the thumb of one hand and the index finger of the other, and start rotating
the dough, circling your thumb and finger and elongating the hole to a
diameter of 2 to 2 1/2 inches. (At this point, the dough will look more like
a piece in a ringtoss game than a bagel, but it will soon boil to bagelhood.)
Put the bagel on the baking sheet with the floured towel, and cover with
another towel. Shape the remaining 4 pieces of dough into bagels. (You’ll
shape the refrigerated dough after you’ve completed boiling and baking
these
bagels.)
The Water Bath
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
Add the sugar and
baking soda to the boiling water. With a large slotted skimming spoon or
slotted spatula, lower the bagels, one at a time, into the
boiling water.
Don’t crowd them – the bagels should swim around in the
water without
touching one another; it’s better to boil them in batches than
to cram them
into the pot all at one time. The bagels will sink to the bottom
of the pot
when you put them in, then rise to the top. Once the bagels have surfaced,
boil for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side, flipping then over gently with the
skimmer. Remove the bagels, shaking the skimmer over the stock
pot to get rid
of some of the excess water, and put them on the baking sheet with the unfloured towel, keeping the smoothest side of the bagel up. (Do
not discard
the sugar water – you’ll use it again to boil the dough that is still
in the
refrigerator.)
Keeping the smoothest sides up, transfer the bagels to the peel or prepared
baking sheet. (Work quickly because the wet bagels have a tendency to
stick
to the towel.)
The Glaze and
Toppings
2 large egg
whites
1 teaspoon cold water
Sesame, poppy, and/or caraway seeds;
kosher or sea salt; minced onions
sautéed in vegetable oil; and/or
dried garlic chips or dehydrated onions
softened in hot water (optional)
Whisk the egg
whites and cold water together until the whites are broken
up, then push the
glaze through a sieve and brush each bagel with the glaze. Try not to let
the glaze drip onto the baking sheet or peel, or it will glue
down the
bagels. Don’t worry if the bagels look wrinkled – they’ll smooth
out in the
oven. Brush with another coat of glaze and, if you’re using a topping, or
more than one, sprinkle it, or them, evenly over the bagels now.
Baking the
Bagels
Put 4 ice cubes in a 1-pint measuring cup and add 1/4 cup cold
water. Put
the bagels into the oven and immediately toss the ice cubes and
water onto
the oven floor (or into the hot pan). Quickly close the oven door
to capture
the steam produced by the ice, turn the oven temperature down to
450 degrees F, and bake the bagels for 25 minutes. Turn off the oven and let
the bagels remain in the oven for 5 more minutes. Open the oven door and
leave the bagels in the oven for another 5 minutes. Transfer the bagels to a
rack and cool. If you’ve used a baking stone, sweep the excess cornmeal
from
the stone. Before baking the next batch of bagels, be certain to bring
the
oven temperature back to 500 degrees F.
While the first
batch of bagels is baking, cut and shape the remaining
dough. Boil, glaze,
and bake these bagels just as you did the first batch.
Storing
Cooled bagels can be kept for 1 day in a paper bag. For longer storage, pack
into airtight plastic bags and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw, still
wrapped,
at room temperature.
Bagel Chips
Cut stale bagels
into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Spread lightly with softened herb butter and
sprinkle with coarse salt. Place on a wire rack set in a jelly-roll
pan and
bake in a preheated 375-degree F oven until uniformly crisp and
golden
brown. Start checking after10 minutes; remove any chips that are
crisp and
keep baking the others. The chips will probably need about 15
minutes in the
oven, but some slow-crispers might take up to 20 minutes.
Cool on a rack and
store in an airtight tin.
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