During lockdown in 2020, I decided to not to follow the sourdough trend, instead learning how to make bagels. After a trying a few different recipes, and having had several requests, I thought I'd post my tried and tested recipe here.
1) Activate ~10g dried yeast with 1 teaspoon of sugar and 300ml warm water.
2) Mix together 500g bread flour, some salt, some honey (1-2 teaspoons), yeast mix.
3) Knead the dough for 10 mins.
4) Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover the bowl with a damp cloth, and leave for ~1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.
5) Once risen, fill a pot fairly deep with water, add some honey and bicarbonate of soda, and bring to boil.
6) While the pot's boiling, split the risen dough up into 7 or 8 balls, of between 120g and 130g each. Gently knead them using a cupped hand to make them into a smooth spherical shape.
7) Cover a finger in flour, and gently poke a hole through the centre of the balls. Stretch them out slightly so that the hole is smooth (you get an edge from poking through), and it looks like it's about half the size of the bagel you want. Leave to rest while the water gets up to a heathy boil. Turn the oven on to 180C.
8) Boil each bagel for a minute a side. They'll expand a bit while boiling. Once boiled, place on a baking sheet ready to bake. After they're taken out of the water, try to flip them occaisionally and make sure that they're not sitting on too much water - they won't bake as well if so.
9) Brush with beaten egg, and cover in your preferred topping.
10) Bake for 25 mins. Leave to cool on a rack, and enjoy!