recipe | new york bagels

bodacious bagels... There are a couple of foods out there, that when done well, can be the most blissful experience for your tastebuds and soul. For me, it's a really good bagel. When I was young, whenever we'd visit my grandfather's home in Little Neck, NY, we'd have to stop at the corner store and pick-up some fresh, hot bagels. Aside from seeing my Pop-Pop, the bagels were always a favorite part of the trip. We've made a lot of different bagel recipes over the years and still haven't been able to exactly recreate the bagel of my memories. I think the secret has to be in the New York water. This week, we visited the site Bagel Recipes and gave their New York Bagel recipe a whirl. Turned out quite tasty.

New York Bagels

2 quarts of water
2 large eggs
1 egg white
1 potato, peeled and quartered
1 packet of active dry yeast
4 cups of all-purpose flour
2 cups of boiling water
¼ cup o¾f vegetable oil
1 ½ tablespoons of sugar
½ tablespoon of salt
Cornmeal, to dust cookie sheet

Put the potato into boiling water and boil for fifteen mins. Discard the potato and allow the water to cool to about 110°F. Transfer one-third of a cup of the potato water to a small bowl; then sprinkle the yeast over top of water and stir to combine. Set aside for three minutes. Sift the all-purpose flour, salt, and ½ tablespoon of the sugar together into a suitably sized bowl; then add the yeast mixture. Stir in another 2/3 cup of the potato water and the vegetable oil. Add the eggs and stir to form a dough ball. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until the ball is firm. Place into a greased bowl, turning the dough so all sides are greased. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and set aside in a warm place for about 60 minutes until the dough has risen to about double its original size. Punch the risen dough down to flatten and remove from bowl. Cut the dough into eighteen equal pieces and shape each piece into a six-inch long, ¾-inch thick rope. Bring the ends of each rope together and pinch to close, using a little water on the ends to help secure them. Cover all rings with the towel and allow to rise for 20 minutes. Preheat your oven to 450°F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and dust with cornmeal. Bring the 2 quarts of water to a boil and add the remaining sugar to the boiling water. Drop the bagels into the boiling water one at a time, cooking each for 3 minutes, turning once in the middle. As each bagel is removed from the water, place it on the cookie sheet. Paint the tops of the bagels with the egg white that has been beaten with 1 teaspoon of water. Bake for fifteen minutes or until the bagels are a golden brown color.