Egg Bagels

After a conversation over the holidays with my brother Dean about egg bagels. I knew I would have to try to make some. I probably have not had one in 20 years. It most likely was Lender’s. I do not think they carry them in the grocery’s in New Orleans. I do not recall seeing them on campus at Einsteins. Einsteins does not even carry pumpernickel. I have seen raisin, plain and everything in the stores. I am not a fan of sweet bagel. Although, I had a good one in North Carolina once that had a honey walnut smear.

I found several recipes on the web. One seemed quite excellent but used too many eggs and too much flour. I settled on the one from The Practical Kitchen. I used my bread maker. The dough looked great – a nice sheen and elasticity.

I used 1/2 cup of water for the water and 3 whole large eggs plus 3 egg yolks. I used 1/2 cup brown sugar in the water to boil. I boiled for 1-minute each side. I did sprinkle some sea salt on top after the the egg wash rather than on it. Make large holes since they do contract prior to baking.

I baked for a total of 20-minutes in a convection oven. Halfway through (10-minutes) I turned the tray around in the oven because they were not browning evenly. At 15-minutes I flipped the bagels over so the bottoms will “brown”. At 20-minutes they were done. They are lighter (less dense) than my everything bagels. Note, they will expand more in the oven and be less dense when you boil them a shorter length of time. For example, if you want a chewier, more dense, smaller bagel (less rise), you might boil each side 1-1/2 or 2-minutes. I did put some corn meal on the tray before baking. I use silicon liners on the cookie sheets so it is not really necessary unless you like the authenticity.

The recipe says it makes 8 bagels. I formed 8 plus 2 mini bagels for our granddaughter. I think you can safely make 10 bagels of equal size. I recommend you refer to the source recipe since the instructions and images are so helpful or if you do not have a bread machine. I freeze bagels and bake them again or alternately take them out the night before and toast them. My everything bagels take 7 minutes at 425-degree from the freezer but they are more dense. I might try 3-5 minutes with egg and check.

Ingredients

• 3-1/2 cups flour (you might try 1/2 bread and 1/2 all purpose; I use all purpose Peter Pan).
• 1-1/2 TB brown sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 3 eggs (I used large)
• 3 egg yolks (large)
• 1/2 cup warm water (95-105°F)
• ⅛ cup cornmeal (optional, for crisp bagel bottoms)
• 2 TBSP poppy seeds (optional, for topping) – I sprinkled with sea salt

Directions (Bread Machine with homemade or dough function)

• Whisk eggs, egg yolks, and water together until well combined. Reserve one egg white to use as an egg wash later. Add the yeast and brown sugar.
• Add the flour and salt.
• Set the bread maker to dough or homemade (no bake). I let mine rise 2 times. If the dough only rises one time you may end up with dense bagels – which may be your preference (just punch it down and let it rest 10 minutes before the next step).
• The dough was perfect – not too dry or wet or sticky. It had a nice sheen and elasticity.
• Divide the dough into eight equal pieces (you might try 10 pieces). Use a kitchen scale if you want to be precise.
• To shape the dough into rounds, gently flatten a piece of dough on a clean, unfloured surface. Then fold the top of the dough down over the middle, rotate the dough 45° and repeat. Keep going all the way around the dough, folding the top edge down over the middle until you have a smooth surface against your counter and the “seam” side facing up. Flip the dough over and cup your hand gently around it with your pinkie against the counter. Slide your hand toward your body to push the dough ball closer to you. This will increase the surface tension on top of the dough and shape it into an oval. Rotate the dough 90° and repeat the sliding motion to turn the oval into a circle. Repeat with the rest of the dough. Cover with a damp paper towel and let rest 10 minutes. I cover with a damp, clean dish towel. The picture below is after they started to shrink up. I started with really large holes. The two tiny one are mini bagels.

• Starting with the dough round that had the most time to rest, dip your thumb in flour and poke it through the bottom seam of the dough and out the other side. Slide your other thumb in next to it and stretch the dough by squeezing and rotating it through your hands until the center hole is at least the same width as the outside of the bagel. Alternately, make a hole with your thumb and use both index fingers to stretch and turn to create the hole. Don’t squeeze too hard or tear the dough; gentle pressure as you rotate the bagel through your hands will slowly stretch it just fine. Repeat with the rest of the dough rounds.
• Cover the shaped bagels with a damp paper towel and let rest 10 minutes.
• While the bagels rest, fill a large, high-sided pan about halfway with water. Dissolve ⅛ cup brown sugar in the water and bring to a low, gentle boil. Preheat the oven to 425°F with rack in the middle of the oven.
• Working in batches, boil the bagels 1 minute per side.
• Remove the bagels to a parchment or silicone mat lined sheet pan dusted lightly with cornmeal.
• Whisk together one of the leftover egg whites with a splash of water and pinch of salt to make an egg wash. Brush the boiled bagels with the egg wash and sprinkle with your preferred toppings.
• Bake the bagels for 20 minutes (my baking tips are in the text above). Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Tips from the Practical Kitchen

• If the dough seems dry during the kneading step, add water ½ TB at a time, kneading between additions. If the dough seems too wet, add flour 2 TB at a time, kneading between additions. This is a low hydration dough, so try not to add water unless you really think you need to. 
• Store bagels in an airtight bag or container. They’ll stay good for 3-4 days. You can also slice them almost all the way through and freeze them. 

Note: I like them chew and crunchy. My everything bagels get a good crunch from the toaster but are better reheated in the oven.