Bagels are not difficult to make, but they do require some time and the ability to deal with the fact that the dough is pretty stiff. That's the way it's supposed to be. The payoff--biting into these asiago cheese bagels--is totally worth the work!
1teaspoonactive dry yeast(you can also use instant which is what the original recipe calls for)
18ozbread flour(I used King Arthur)
20.3ozfiltered water at room temperature(it is very cold in my kitchen right now, so I heated my water to about 80F)
For the Dough
all of the sponge
½teaspoonactive dry yeast(or instant. See above)
15ozbread flour
2 ½teaspoonskosher salt(yes, you need this much. Don't skimp on the salt)
1Tablespoonmalt syrup(or honey or dark corn syrup)
6ozasiago cheese cut into small dice(or shredded)
To Finish
wide pot of water
1Tablespoonmalt syrupdark corn syrup, or honey
5ozasiago cheeseshredded
Instructions
For the Sponge
Combine the yeast, flour and water in a large bowl. Stir well to combine completely. It will be the consistency of a thick batter.
Cover and let rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours, or until it has more than doubled in bulk and is very, very bubbly. It should be so bubbly that it collapses if you give the side of the bowl a whack. How long it takes to achieve this will depend on the temperature in your kitchen, but it will probably take at least 2 hours.
For the Dough
Combine the sponge and the rest of the ingredients except the cheese in the bowl of your heavy duty stand mixer. (Unless you're making the dough by hand, do not try this with anything but a powerful stand mixer. My poor old 5 quart KitchenAid became alarmingly hot during kneading and threatened to die. The motor even momentarily would stop turning the dough hook. This dough is Serious.)
Mix on low speed until all the flour is incorporated and then turn the mixer up to medium-low speed and knead for 6-8 minutes. The dough will be firm yet supple. At the end of kneading, it should be very smooth and very extensible and not at all sticky.
Give it the windowpane test to make sure the gluten is good and developed.
Knead in the cheese by hand. This might take awhile, but just go for it.
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Mine scaled out at 4.75-4.8oz each.
Form each into a smooth ball and let rest, covered for 20-40 minutes. (20 minutes for a warmer kitchen. 40 for a cooler kitchen. My kitchen is currently about 65F during the day)
After the rest, shape the bagels.
To Shape the Bagels (See NOTES for a simplified method of shaping)
Press one of your pieces of dough down flat so it looks sort of like a tortilla about 6" diameter.
Fold two of the "sides" in about an inch and pat down.
Roll up the piece of dough like a burrito and place it back on the sprayed baking sheet, seam side down.
Repeat with the rest of the dough.
Then starting with the first piece of dough, roll it out into a snaked about 10-12" long.
Wrap the dough around your hand, overlapping the edges by an inch or two. Have the overlap be on the palm side of your hand.
Put your palm down on the counter (with the bagel still wrapped around it) and roll the overlapped part of the bagel firmly back and forth on the counter to make sure the dough sticks.
Place the proto-bagel on a sprayed baking sheet.
Put six bagels on one tray and six on another.
Lightly spray the tops of the bagels with cooking spray, cover them with plastic wrap and let them sit for 20-30 minutes (again, depending on the temperature of your kitchen).
You don't want to see any more rising, but you'll know they're ready for a rest in the fridge when they float in a dish of water. Just test one. If it sinks, give it a few more minutes of rest time (but do dry that guy off with a paper towel) If it floats, it's a witch. No. If it floats, it won't be like lead when you bake it. So once your tester guy floats, dry him off, re-spray and then put all the bagels in the fridge for a nice, long rest.
Refrigerate the bagels for at least five hours and preferably longer, up to about 36 hours. I went with about 16 hours and they were glorious.
To Finish the Bagels
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 500F with a rack in the center of the oven. Put your pizza stone in the oven to preheat. You'll be baking directly on it.
Heat the water to a boil and add the malt syrup or corn syrup.
Pull one tray of bagels out of the fridge and leave the other in there.
Have your baking stone heating in the oven
Boil the bagels, two at a time, for about 10-15 seconds on each side. I started with the top side up, then flipped so the top side was down. I fished the bagels out of the water with a skimmer, let them drain for a couple of seconds and then flipped them over onto the cornmeal-dusted pan so the top side was up again. Tada!
Right after boiling, liberally sprinkle the top of each bagel with some of the shredded cheese.
Once all six bagels are boiled and topped, use a metal spatula to transfer each to the baking stone and bake for 8 minutes at 500F.
Turn the pan 180 degrees and bake another 8 minutes. You're shooting for an internal temperature of about 200F, so keep an eye on them. NOTE If you like a bagel with a bit less color, turn the heat down to 450 for the second half of the bake.
When done, use a metal spatula to remove them from the baking stone to a cooling rack.
Cool the bagels on the rack for at least fifteen minutes before slicing and serving. I prefer to let them cool all the way so the structure has a chance to completely firm up before slicing and toasting.
Boil and bake the second tray the same way as the first.
To keep them very fresh, cool them completely, slice them (or not), and then store them in heavy-duty zip-top bags in the freezer. They thaw in about 25 seconds in the microwave.
Video
Notes
An Easier Way to Shape the Bagels
Poke your pointer finger into the very center of the top of one of your smooth balls of dough. Poke it all the way through and then have your other pointer finger join the first one. Pull your fingers apart and rotate them, gently stretching the dough as you go. I stretched mine out so my fingers were probably 4" apart.Once you shape the bagel, place it on the sprayed tray and press it down just a bit. Repeat with the rest of the balls of dough.
Variations
Leave the cheese out of the basic recipe, and then you have a great bagel dough you can turn into plain bagels, Everything Bagels, salt bagels, or poppyseed bagels.