Sourdough’s Hard, Have You Tried Bagels?

One colleague-turned-baker tells us how.

The hashtag #sourdough brings up over three million Instagram results. The whole world – it feels like – has gone baking mad. Maybe it’s about reverting to purer projects from a simpler time… Maybe it’s about having some control in chaotic times. Whatever the reasons, we support this wholesome pass time. Lucy O’Donoughue from THE ICONIC’s Social team is quite the baker – in the days where we could be in the office, we lived for the Mondays when she’d whipped up dark chocolate pretzel cake on the weekend.

Of course, she has started on sourdough – it’s a long process, she’s going to tell us about that baby later – but this weekend’s project was fresh, delicious bagels.

Here she shares how it’s done...

“I admit, I’m one of the millions of amateur bakers who have recently taken to sourdough production during the C19 era. Would I sound like a total knob if I said I had toyed with the concept of sourdough before the pandemic?! Alas, like a hoggish sibling, all I needed was the push of everyone else playing with their pots, pans, starters and literal kitchen sinks first. Believe it or not, however, it apparently takes more than having Woman’s Weekly’s Complete Collection of Baking on your bookshelf to be able to whip up a loaf. So, stay tuned for when I get that under control.

In the meantime, inspired by Edd Kimber @theboywhobakes, I decided to attempt bagels (for the first time) for my household of three: me and two hungry, hungry hippos that disguise themselves as my roommates.

The good news is that they were a success and if I can make them, you definitely can, too. The bad news is that the process is long, so if you’re looking to “whip up some morning bagels” without having started the process the night before, Coles is your best bet.

To create eight @theboywhobakes bagels, you’ll need:

For the dough:

500g white bread flour
10g fine sea salt
4g dried fast action yeast
300ml cold water
2 tsp molasses*
Toppings of choice (I used black and white sesame seeds)

To boil your bagels:

2 tsp molasses*
1 tbsp baking soda

*I used Organic blackstrap molasses from The Source Bulkfoods. This is quite sweet and dark, and will make your bagels a wholemeal-y brown. You can use another syrup if you prefer. You just want something sticky to sweeten up your dough.

Method:

1. You want to start by making a low-hydration dough (just a tad wetter than pizza dough.) Place the flour, yeast, and salt into the bowl of an electric stand mixer with the dough hook attached. Mix to combine.

2. Dissolve by mixing the molasses in a jug holding the cold water, and pour the mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix on a low-medium speed for approximately 18 minutes. The dough is ready when you can stretch a tiny amount of it super thin and almost see through it (the windowpane test). Note: unless you have a high quality stand mixer, I would advise you knead by hand as this is tougher dough.

3. Flour your kitchen bench and tip out your dough onto your work surface. Form eight equal-sized tight dough balls and cover with a tea towel. One by one, create your bagel shape by poking a floured finger through the middle and slowly expanding the hole. You want the holes to be between 2-5cm wide.

4. Once you’ve created your bagel shape, place onto a tray lined with baking paper that’s lightly sprayed with oil. Wrap with cling wrap and pop in the fridge for 10-12 hours. (I prepared these at night to make the waiting game a little more bearable.)

10-12 hours later…

5. Preheat the oven to 200C.

6. Fill a large saucepan with the water and molasses. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer and add in the baking soda – whisk to combine.

7. Using a slotted spoon, gently dip in your bagels (don’t overcrowd the pot) and boil for one minute per side. Once boiled, transfer back to the baking tray and cover in the topping of your choice (if the bagels are still moist, the toppings should stick). If you like, you can flip your bagels over and also coat the bottom side (I did this because I love sesame seeds).

8. Once your baking tray is full of bagels, bake for 18-22 minutes. I found that mine were ready at around 19 minutes. You want your bagels to be golden brown. Bagels are a bit like a boiled egg and their texture is up to your preference. I like mine to be quite crispy on the outside but still soft on the inside. If you’re unsure, give them a poke to test their firmness.

9. Allow to cool before serving.