Recipe: Plain Bagels, Whole Wheat Bagels, Dark Pumpernickel Bagels

Plain Bagels, Whole Wheat Bagels, Dark Pumpernickel Bagels
net.cooks/Alan M. Marcum (1984)

Following are my bagel recipes (one for plain, one for whole wheat, one for pumpernickel). There's lots of detail, assuming the reader has never baked bread before.

Plain Bagels (Makes 8, can be doubled):

2 1/2 tsp (1 pkg) active dry yeast
1 cup warm (105-115F) water
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 3/4 cups white flour
2 qt water

Dissolve YEAST in 1 cup warm WATER. Stir in SUGAR, SALT, and 1 1/4 cups FLOUR; beat (with spoon, fork, etc.) until smooth. Stir in most of the remaining FLOUR. Knead dough, adding enough FLOUR to make it easy to handle. Knead until smooth, about 10 minutes. Place in bowl; cover; let rise in a warm place until double, about 15 minutes. Punch down; divide dough into eighths.

Roll each eighth into a rope about 6 inches long; moisten ends with water and pinch to form a bagel. Place on a greased plate; do not let them touch each other, or they will stick together. Let rise about 20 minutes.

Heat oven to 375F. Boil 2 quarts of WATER; reduce heat to low. Boil 4 bagels at a time for 7 minutes, turning once. Bake on a greased baking sheet until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped, about 30-35 minutes.

For WHOLE WHEAT BAGELS: Follow directions for plain bagels, above, but substitute 1 1/2 cups WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR and 1 1/4 cups WHITE FLOUR for the 2 3/4 cups white flour.

For Dark Pumpernickel Bagels:

5 tsp (2 pkg) active dry yeast
1 cup warm (105-115F) water
1/4 cup dark molasses
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp caraway seeds
1/8 cup cocoa
2 cups rye flour
1 cup white flour

Follow directions for PLAIN BAGELS, above, but punch down and let rise until double one extra time before shaping. Rising times will be about 50% longer because rye flour is so heavy.