Bagel was one of my favorite type of bread ever since I had it in Canada; and I could have it for breakfast or afternoon tea every other day!
Now that I moved back to Hong Kong, it is not as easy to get a fresh bagel on the way to work.
If you like a food that much, you might as well made it your own!
Comparing to cake baking, making bagel does involve more steps, but overall the process is easy. I have to mention though, it requires some muscle strength kneading the dough! Especially, when you are making a big batch of them.
Serving Size: 4 mini bagel
Preparation time: 1 hours + 20 mins waiting time, 30 perp time
Baking time: 20 mins
Ingredients:
Bread Flour 250 g
Sugar 2 tsp / 10 g
Salt 1 tsp
Instant Yeast 1 tsp
Lukewarm Water 200ml
Optional:
Cheddar Cheese 2 Tbsp
Matcha Powder 2 Tbsp
Instruction:
1) In a bowl, add in yeast and sugar, pour lukewarm water in. Gently mix till dissolved.
2) In a bowl, place bread flour and add in salt, stir well. Make a well in the centre, slowly pour yeast mixture in while slowly mixing till yeast water is all poured in.
3) Dust fingers and countertop with flour, move the flour dough on counter top. Knead dough for abour 10 minute. Add lukewarm water in dough if too dry and not holding together. (I added about 100mL of water extra, depends on the moisture level in your area, the amount of water needed can vary)
* Tip --Place a baking paper between counter top the dough; it makes cleaning easier afterward.
4) In a bowl, place the dough in, and cover bowl with a damp cloth and let sit in room temperature for at least an hour until it double its size.
5) After an hour of waiting, punch dough with fist to allow air to escape, cover with damp cloth again, wait for another 10 minutes.
6) Remove dough, equally divide dough into 4 little pieces, use palm of the hand to shape dough into round shape. If you want to add anything in the dough, like nuts, seeds or seasoning flavour, you can add them in this step. (I added matcha power in the dough here, it gives a bit of green colour ) Use finger or a stick gently poke through the centre of the dough, to make a ring shape.
7) Cover with damp cloth for another 10 mins sitting on counter top.
8) Bring a pot of water to simmer. Drop bagel dough in for 30 seconds, flip over for another 30 seconds. This process is to harden the surface and gives a crisp texture on the outsize after being baked. At the same time, pre-heat oven to 220C.
9)Take out bagel. Place bagel dough on baking sheet. Add any topping on tops before baking, I add cheddar cheese and dash some basil on top.
10) Bake on baking pan for 20 min or until turn golden. Done!
Bagels taste best when it's fresh. Leftover bagel can be heated up in toaster before serving!
