It should be known, I am a major bagel snob…major. I like my bagels to be crunchy on the outside, with a little struggle for the bite and a good chewy texture. I am not a fan of “bready” bagels with a “bready” taste. Finding a good bagel has always been a challenge and I thought I had to settle with mediocre bagels available around me. Well it turns out I don’t have to anymore. My sister came to visit and over the weekend we made Peter Reinhart’s bagels. These are flippin’ good bagels – perfection, the best bagels ever, so worth the time.
I never would have thought to attempt making my own bagels, thinking it would be too difficult and not worth all the effort. Boy was I wrong. Peter Reinhart’s recipe is easy to follow. At first glance, the recipe can appear daunting. Don’t let that scare you. While there are several steps, they are pretty simple. You do have to set aside time to make them because it’s a two day process. In order to achieve good flavor and texture, the bagels have to ferment in the fridge at least 12 hours.
If you are a bagel lover like me, in search for the perfect bagel…this recipe is for you, a must try!
Pinnable Image
NOTE: When I share a tried & true recipe, I always credit the source and often will send you to the site for the directions. All you need to do is click on “Print Recipe” below and it will take you to the full recipe. One extra step for an awesome recipe, that’s it! It’s important to me to share the love and send you to the original source.
Peter Reinhart’s Bagels Recipe
Sponge
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 4 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
- 2½ cups water, room temperature
Dough
- ½ teaspoon instant yeast
- 3¾ cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
- 2¾ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons malt powder or 1 tablespoon dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting
Directions:
TIPS
- We made smaller bagels, 2.25 ounces (28 bagels). We used a kitchen scale, weighing the dough before forming each bagel. Having the bagels all the same size allows them to bake uniformly.
- When baking the bagels, be sure not to crowd them, this will allow for them to bake evenly and get that perfect crunchy texture all around.
- We boiled the bagels for two minutes on each side instead of one minute. We prefer a bagel with a nice crust and chewy texture – the additional boil time helps to achieve this.
- My sister likes to add 1/2 cup of honey along with the baking soda when boiling the bagels. This adds a nice sweetness to the bagels and helps to allow the toppings to stick.
- When making onion bagels or everything bagels, be sure to re-hydrate the dehydrated onions. This can be done by soaking them in a small bowl with a little water. Re-hydrating the onions prevents them from burning while baking.
- The recipe allows you to ferment the bagels up to two days. We formed the bagels on Friday night and they sat in the refrigerator until Sunday morning, when we boiled and baked them – they were prefect.
- These bagels freeze well.
- For high altitude (I live at high altitude, above 6000 ft), we reduced the yeast by 1/4 for both the sponge and the dough and they turned out perfect.
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Cheers!
On my blog you will find my favorite recipes along with tried and trues from cherished cookbooks and admired sites and magazines.