Bagel basic recipe

Ingredients for 12 servings:

• 330 ml milk
• 50 g butter
• 1 1/4 packs of yeast (dry yeast)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 660 g flour
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp sugar, for the cooking water
• 1 egg white, for brushing

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 45 minutes

Basic dough: Bring the milk to lukewarm in a small saucepan. Melt the butter in a second saucepan. In a large bowl, combine the yeast, sugar, and lukewarm milk, and let the pre-dough rest for about 3 minutes. Then add the flour, slightly cooled butter, salt, and eggs. Knead everything for 3-5 minutes until you have a light yeast dough. If the dough is too wet (which it never was for me!), add a little more flour a tablespoon at a time, but be careful not to use too much! Cover the yeast dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until it has doubled in size. Divide the yeast dough into 12 pieces and shape each piece into a round bun. Use the handle of a wooden spoon to make a 3cm hole in the center of each bun, then move it in a circular motion to form rings. (I always do it like this: first make a hole with a wooden spoon, then move it with your fingers to make rings, it’s easier!) Cover the yeast dough rings again with the kitchen towel and let them rise for 10 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Bring 4 liters of water to a boil in a saucepan and stir in 2 tablespoons of sugar. Add 4 bagels at a time to the hot water. The bagel rings will sink briefly (they don’t always) and then immediately rise to the surface. Turn the dough rings over and let them float in the water for 3 minutes. Turn the bagels over again, remove them from the pan, and let them drain on a wire rack (an oven rack will also work). Place the dough rings on the baking sheet and let them rest for another 5 minutes. If necessary, reshape the holes in the middle. Brush the bagels with egg white and bake in the oven (center, fan oven 180°C) for 20 to 25 minutes. So, here are the variations: Rye bagels: Instead of flour (type 405), use a mixture of 330g flour and 330g rye flour. Whole wheat bagels: Use the same amount of whole wheat flour instead of flour. Onion bagels: Knead 60g of roasted onions into the basic dough. Garlic bagels: Add 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and 2 crushed garlic cloves to the dough. Gourmet bagels: Stir 100g of your favorite seeds or kernels (poppy, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin, etc.) into the dough. Caraway bagels: Add 3 teaspoons of ground or 4 teaspoons of whole caraway seeds to the dough. Cheese bagels: Knead 100g finely grated Parmesan cheese and 3 teaspoons of water into the dough. Chili bagels: Add 3 teaspoons of chili powder to the dough. Rancher bagels: Knead 3 teaspoons of barbecue seasoning into the dough and spread the bagels with garlic or herb butter before baking.