Bagels - Made easy!

That's right.

Bagels.

You probably never realized it, but it's been this easy to make bagels all along.

That familiar, chewy interior, encased by that perfectly crisp, golden shell -- with your favorite topping of choice, of course. All of it, made in the comfort of your own kitchen, with only a few simple ingredients.

I began baking regularly about a year ago, and for whatever reason was always intimidated by bagels. It seemed like not only did it require a lot of time, since most recipes suggest that you let the dough ferment overnight, but I couldn't get the idea that the New York water was partially responsible for the quality of their bagels -- and living in the great Los Angeles desert, water and/or quality are always a question.

But one day, I decided, f--k it.

So I made some bagels, and I'm here to share with you how I did it. I used a lot of recipes as reference, but I like the one over at sophisticated gourmet.

STEP ONE

Ingredients

3 cups Bread Flour (I use King Arthur Brand)
2 tbsp Dry Active Yeast
1 1/2 tbsp Sugar
1 1/4 tbsp Salt
1 1/4 cups Warm, but not hot, water
1 Egg (For egg wash, before baking)
Toppings (Sesame Seeds, Poppy Seeds, Mince Garlic, Minced Onion, Course Sea Salt)

In a medium bowl, add yeast and sugar to 1/2 cup of the warm water; let sit for 5 or so minutes until foamy.

In a large bowl, whisk flour and salt together. Add the yeast/sugar mixture and mix with a wooden spoon, adding the rest of the warm water until a shaggy dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface until it becomes a smooth elastic dough.

Shape it into a ball and place it into bowl coated in olive oil. Roll the dough around so it's lightly coated in olive oil as well and cover the bowl with a slightly damp dish towel. Let the dough rest in a cool dry place for 1-4 hours until almost doubled, or place it in the fridge to rest overnight.

STEP TWO

Remove the rested dough ball from the bowl onto a slightly floured surface and divide into 8 equal sized portions.

Roll each portion into a ball and place on a greased baking sheet. Cover with a slightly damp kitchen towel and let rest 10 minutes.

STEP THREE

Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil.

Using your index finger and your thumb, create a hole in the center of each ball, and pull around the sides of the hole until it's about a third of the diameter of the ball.

Boil each bagel about 1.5 minutes each side, 2 minutes if you want a chewier bagel. Place on baking sheet to cool.

STEP FOUR

Preheat oven to 475° F / 245° C.

Beat an egg thoroughly and brush onto the cooled bagels.

Sprinkle on your toppings of choice and place in the oven. Cook 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on the outside.

Enjoy!