New York Sesame Seed Bagels

In October 2009 I took a bus to New York, where I met up with my sister for a mid-term holiday. It's in the top 5 best things I've ever done. New York is every bit as amazing/surreal/scary/magical as you imagined when you were a kid, and then some. There's character and mythology crammed into every square inch of that place, and it was overwhelming - but at the risk of sounding corny, it made me feel alive. (Yeah... that was extremely corny).

Anyway, our hostel was in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and that place is seriously TEEMING with hipsters. And say what you like about them (*cough* pretentiousridiculoustryhards *cough*), where there are hipsters, there's usually good food. After being disappointed with the free breakfast at the hostel, my sister and I started going to Swallow Coffee on Bogart Street every morning before heading out to explore. They did coffee and takeaway breakfasts, as well as VHS video rentals. Of course.

Courtesy: Google Maps

I got a bagel with strawberry jam every time - you could tell the bagels were fresh and the jam was homemade. Quality sustenance for long (but awesome) days.

I found a bagel recipe that only takes a few hours - rather than a couple of days - to make. You could make them today and have your breakfast sorted for the week! Or freeze them for later. Or share them with your friends and smile smugly as you tell them how, yeah that's right, you make your own bagels. If nothing else, hipsters have taught us that a little smugness never killed anyone.

New York/Montreal -Style Bagels

Adapted from Kamran Siddiqi's post on The Sophisticated Gourmet 
(which I just realised is from October 12, 2009 - exactly when my sister and I were there! Oooh...)

2 teaspoons of active dry yeast
1 ½ tablespoons of granulated sugar
1 ¼ cups of warm water ( ± ¼ cup)
3 ½ cups bread flour, with plenty extra for kneading (I used whole wheat)
1 ½ teaspoons of salt

Sesame seeds for sprinkling on top
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons honey

In ½ cup of the warm water, add the sugar and yeast. Don't stir it; allow it to sit for about five minutes, then gently stir it to make sure everything has dissolved.

In a large bowl or food processor, mix together the flour and salt. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture. Pour about a cup of the remaining warm water into the well. Mix together, adding more of the water if needed. The dough should be firm and moist, not sticky or gooey.

On a generously floured surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes; keep adding flour to your board or countertop as the dough incorporates it.

Lightly oil a large bowl and turn your dough around in it to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel and let the dough rise in a warm place (I put it on top of the oven while I had other things baking) for about an hour. Punch the risen dough back down, then let it rest for another 10 minutes.

Separate the dough into 8 chunks and work them into ball shapes. Use whatever well-floured utensil you want (or just your thumb) to press a hole in the middle of each ball, then work it into a ring shape. Place the dough rings on a greased cookie sheet and cover them with a damp towel again, letting them rest for a further 10 minutes. At this time, set your oven to 425ºF  (220ºC) and bring a large pot of water with 2 tablespoons of honey to a boil.

Boil the bagels for 1 minute on each side, using a flipper or slotted spoon to maneuver them in the water. Once they're back on the cookie sheet, brush a bit of your egg wash on each and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds. Bake them for about 16-18 minutes, until golden.

Mmmm... carbs...