Bagels

I’ve always wanted to make bagels but always thought that they might be too much hassle. They are actually so easy to make and taste amazing! A great thing to make regularly at the weekend. When I was taking the photos for this recipe I halved the bagel, toasted it, covered it in cream cheese and made some coffee. Without even thinking I sat down and ate the bagel, forgetting to take the photo! They’re that good, they’ll make you forget what you’re supposed to be doing and concentrate on the gorgeous chewy crust and cold cream cheese!

300ml warm water

½ tsp salt

1 sachet (7g) fast action yeast

2 tablespoons sunflower oil

580g (1lb 4oz) strong bread flour

Sesame & poppy seeds

1 egg beaten

• Mix the water, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowl.
• Add the flour and oil. Mix until a dough forms.
• Knead for 10 minutes.
• Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces.
• Make each ball of dough in to a bun. Using your thumb make a hole in the middle and gently rotate to form a bagel shape.
• Leave to rise for 50 minutes or till doubled in size.
• Preheat the oven to 180C.
• Bring a large pot of water to the boil.
• Gently drop each bagel into the water, turn every minute or so.
• After 3 minutes of boiling carefully place each bagel on a rack to dry slightly.
• Place the boiled bagels on a greased baking tray and glaze with the beaten egg. Sprinkle with seeds.
• Bake for 15 minutes, turn over and bake for a further 5 minutes until golden
•