Great British Bake Off - Withdrawals

Welcome to my first blog post... I must say I am a bit nervous..

Now that my fav show "The Great British Bake Off" has come to an end, I feel like my Tuesday nights at 8pm will be as gloomy as the weather outside, I decided to post a very simple bagel recipe which I found on the allrecipes.co.uk website.

Ingredients by Ann

Serves: 12

• 500ml warm water (45 degrees C)
• 1/2 (7g) sachet dried active baking yeast
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1kg bread flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 3 tablespoons poppy seeds

Preparation method

Prep: 50 mins | Cook: 20 mins | Extra time: 1 hour 30 mins, rising

1.

In large bowl, sprinkle yeast over warm water to soften; stir to dissolve. Add 2 tablespoons sugar, oil, 850g of flour and salt. Mix thoroughly until the dough forms up and leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out on floured board and knead, adding small amounts of flour as necessary. Bagel dough should be pretty stiff. Work in as much extra flour as you can comfortably knead. Knead until smooth and elastic, 12-15 minutes.

2.

Roll the dough into a ball, place it in a large oiled bowl, and turn to coat. Cover and let fully rise until an impression made with your finger remains and does not sink into the dough (about an hour).

3.

Punch down and cut into thirds, and roll each piece between your palms into a rope. Cut each rope into 4 equal pieces and shape into balls. Roll the first ball into another rope that is about 2" longer than the width of your hand. Make a ring with the dough, overlapping ends and sealing the ends by rolling with your palm on the board. If the dough resists rolling, dab on a drop of water with your finger. Evenly place the bagels on 2 nonstick or very lightly oiled baking trays. Cover and let stand until puffy, about 20 minutes.

4.

While bagels are proving, fill a 4 litre saucepan 2/3 full with cold water; add 1 tablespoon sugar and bring to the boil. When ready to cook, drop 2 or 3 bagels at a time into the boiling water and wait until they rise to the top. Cook for a total of 1 minute, turning once.

5.

Carefully lift each bagel out with a slotted spoon. Drain momentarily. Turn into a dish with poppy seeds, if desired. Evenly space bagels on 2 nonstick or very lightly oiled baking trays.

6.

Bake with steam in a preheated 260 C / Gas 9 oven until well-browned, about 20 minutes. Turn bagels over when the tops begin to brown, and continue baking until done.