bagels from scratch

bagels are one of those things i've shied away from making because i've always assumed they were just too hard or too time consuming to be worth it. i wish i would have tried them sooner! they are super easy to make and not any more time consuming than bread or rolls. they may not be perfectly symmetrical, but they are tasty. i stop buying bagels today.

i used the ingredients from allrecipes.com and the instructions for preparing and baking from cdkitchen.com

ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 1/4 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

*for whole wheat bagels, substitute some of the flour for 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup of oats and then you can substitute honey for the sugar.

optional toppings

Sesame seeds
Poppy seeds
Minced fresh garlic
Minced fresh onion
Caraway seeds
Coarse salt

directions:

In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the butter, sugar, salt and egg yolk; mix well. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Shape into 8 balls. Roll into 6in logs, bring together and pinch. Cover and let rise 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450. In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Drop bagels, one at a time, into boiling water. When bagels float to the surface (about 30 seconds), remove with a slotted spoon and place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets generously sprinkled with cornmeal.

Bake bagels plain or sprinkle with a topping of your choice. Place in the hot oven, immediately reduce heat to 425 degrees F, and bake about 17 to 25 minutes. Cool on wire racks.