Ingredients:

  • 2 cups warm water
  • 1¾ tsp. yeast
  • 1½ tbsp. oil
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 4 tbsp. + ½ tsp. sugar
  • 6 cups flour

Directions:

  1. Pour yeast, ½ tsp sugar and ½ cup warm water into a small bowl. Allow the mixture to sit for 5-10 min until the thick and frothy.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients into a large bowl and add yeast mixture. Mix. Knead for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. If the dough is too sticky, add slightly more flour.
  3. Place the kneaded dough back in the bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel and put it somewhere warm to rise for 1 hour.
  4. After the dough has risen, punch it down and let it rest for a couple of minutes before rolling into a long strand. Wrapping the dough around four fingers at a time, form into bagels (see video).
  5. Place bagels on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise another half hour.
  6. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and drop the bagels into the water for 45 seconds on each side.
  7. Remove bagels from water, return to cookie sheet, sprinkle with sesame/poppy seeds and bake at 500°F (260°C) for 15-20 minutes. Let bagels cool before cutting open.

Yields: 15 bagels