Looking for a Bagel Recipe that’s soft, chewy, crispy on the outside, brushed in melted butter? Well then you’ve clicked on the right blog post. This small batch recipe of Homemade Soft NYC bagels is a staple recipe in my household when we want a quick and easy lunch idea.
But what makes this recipe so great?
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What Makes this Bagel Recipe so Good?
Brown Sugar
Bread recipes are typically made from a dough of yeast, white sugar, water and flour (+ maybe a bit of salt). However, I have found that bagels can be a bit bland or too savoury for my tastes which is why I deduced to incorporate brown sugar into this recipe.
And no, this bagel recipe is not a ‘sweet bagel’ like a donut. It is still very much a chewy, fluffy and delicious savoury bagel that you can serve with cream cheese and smoked salmon, whenever you would like.
The reason for me adding brown sugar here is for a number of factors:
- Adds a slight touch of sweetness to the dough- not too much but enough that you get a slight hint of caramel which complements savoury toppings, perfectly
- More moisture- brown sugar is made out of molasses which adds a touch more of moisture into the dough
- Deeper colour and flavour- brown sugar adds a slight darker brown colour to the dough as well as a slight deeper more rich flavour
Olive Oil
This recipe contains a considerable amount of olive oil. Similar to pizza dough, the addition of olive oil helps the dough stretch and maintain its hydration but also gives it an added flavour. Adding fat to our dough also creates a softer and smoother dough, developing more gluten and resulting in a more chewier and crispier bagel.
Butter
The finishing touch and cherry on top of this bagel recipe is the last step. Brushing melted butter all over them, straight out of the oven. And not just any old butter. Salted Butter. Salted butter adds a tremendous amount of flavour to the bagels and perfectly complements the fillings of a bagel sandwich e.g. smoked salmon cream cheese.
What Equipment will help me to Make Perfect Bagels?
These are just extra fun gadgets that I wanted to share with you, definitely not essential.
This mould can be helpful when baking, transferring and shaping perfect bagels. If you want to impress your friends with flawless bagels, this is the gadget for you.
Another non-essential baking gadget but it’s pretty cool right! Tired of slicing bread? Me too. But it’s loads of fun with this bagel slicing tool.
Softest Homemade Bagel
Ingredients
For the Bagel Dough
- 1/2 Cup Warm Water
- 1 Tsp Yeast
- 1 Tsp Brown Sugar
- 1 Cup Plain Flour
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 2 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
For the Bagel Water
- 1 Tbsp White Sugar
- 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda
Instructions
For the Bagels
- Add your warm water, sugar and yeast in a bowl and mix until combined
- Mix in your flour and salt until a rough dough forms
- Knead your dough for 10 mins
- Gradually knead in 2 1/2 tbsps of olive oil into your dough until the dough is smooth
- Let your dough rest in a warm, dry place for 1 hour
- After your dough rises, cut your dough in half and roll into two dough balls
- Preheat your oven to 210ºC
- Shape your dough into a bagel shape by piercing a hole in the middle of each dough ball
- Place a pan of water on medium heat (add white sugar and baking soda)
- Boil your bagel for 1 min on each side
- Bake in your preheated oven for 15 mins
- Brush your bagels with salted butter straight out of the oven and enjoy!
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