Lesson 3: Bagel

Guys...

I remembered your faces when we discovered that the Bagel King outlet in Avenue K was closed last year when we visited it. So frustrated since we were thinking of celebrating the last day before ramadan by eating the bagel. Then I promised myself that we will cook our own bagel, which we did using the recipe that I stumbled upon in the allrecipe.com site.

Till now we do not have a clue where is the next Bagel King outlet in KL after the one in Avenue K was closed last time we went there.


Kosher Bagel Ingredients

For this recipe, you will need:
·1 package active dry yeast
·1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
·3 tablespoons sugar
·1 tablespoon salt
·4 cups all-purpose flour

Prepare the Dough
First, add the sugar and the yeast to the water. Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the salt into the flour. Once the yeast is activated, pour the mixture into the flour and mix well. You will need both hands to knead the dough until it's soft and smooth. If the dough seems too sticky, add some more flour. If it's too dry, wet your hands and knead some more.

Cover the Dough
Next, we need to let the dough rise. Cover dough with a cloth and leave in a warm place for 20 minutes. You'll see it's grown quite a bit. Now, punch the air out of the dough.

Roll Out the Dough
Prepare a rolling surface with some flour. Roll out the dough into one-inch thick rectangles, about 4 x 6 inches. Now, with both hands, roll each rectangle into a 1/2-inch thick log. With wet hands, seal the ends of the roll together to form the bagel's shape. Place the bagels on a floured cookie sheet. Before we cook them, first we cover them again and let them rise for another 20 minutes.

Boil the Bagels
While you are waiting, fill a large soup pot with water and heat the water almost to a boil, but not quite. When the bagels are ready, place them into the hot water, three to four at a time, depending on your pot. Simmer them in the water for about seven minutes. I like to flip them about halfway through. Pull each bagel out of the water, and drain them on towels. Do this for all the dough.

Bake the Bagels
While they are drying a bit, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Also, grease some cookie sheets to bake your bagels. Once all your bagels are ready, place them on the cookie sheets. Bake them for about 40 to 45 minutes, or until they are a nice, golden color.

Ibu.