Recipe Wednesday - just bagels

hot, by various brennemans.

These bagels are chewy yet crispy when baked, they are fantastic, don't even think you are making them to freeze cause there will be none left.

Just bagels
3/4 cup warm water
1/4 cup extra water for the dough if needed
(not needed if you put 100 grams berries in)
2 tsp (one sachet) dried yeast
1/2 cup (70g) caster sugar
2 1/2 cups (375g) plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
8 cups (2 lt) water, extra
1 egg yolk
1 tbs milk
1/4 cup (60g) white sugar
cream cheese, raspberries, blueberries to serve

0. Preheat the oven to 180 C.

1. Combine water, yeast and two tablespoons of caster sugar in a jug. (Berries if you're using them, too.) Set aside until frothy, which should take five minutes or so.

2. In a big bowl combine the flour, cinnamon and salt and make a well in the centre. Pour the yeast mixture into the well, and stir it until the dough just comes together.

Add slightly more water if needed. I found I had to add another 1/2 cup without berries, but it should not be wet at all, just right.

Now for an upper-arm workout: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead it. For ten minutes! Stop when dough is smooth and elastic. Put it in a really large bowl and loosely wrap with cling wrap. Find a warm, draught-free place and pop it there for thirty minutes, or until the dough rises by half. (So pay attention when you put it in the bowl how much there is, ok?)

3. Put the extra two litres water and remaining sugar in a large saucepan, put the heat on high bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, or whatever gives you a simmer.

4. Brush oil on a flat tray. Divide the dough in half three times, to get eight even portions. Roll each dough-eighth into a ball and push a gentle-and-lightly-floured finger through the middle. Bagels have holes, you know. Flatten the ball a little and put on the oiled tray. Leave aside for ten minutes to rise a bit.

5. Carefully pop a few of the bagels to simmering water, my pot holds four at a time. Use your judgement but don't crowd them. The need for three minutes on each side, use a slotted spoon to turn the little suckers over. Then use the same spoon to fish them out and return to oiled tray. Keep going until you've boiled every bagel.

6. Finally, in a medium bowl whisk egg yolk and milk together. Brush it over the bagels and sprinkle with sugar. Then into the preheated oven for twenty minutes or so, until they are the stereotypical "golden brown" and are cooked through. (You'll probably have no problems finding a guinea pig to see if one's cooked.)

7. Take them out of the oven and set aside to cool. Here I recommend either an electric fence of some barbed wire to keep little fingers out. Nothing less will work. Serve hot or toasted.