New York Style Bagels Recipe With No Processed Sugars

The only thing I miss more than the pizza from New York is the bagels. I spent a good amount of time trying to find recipes on the internet and in books, but everyone uses sugar and/or malt. So, here's my recipe with natural sugar alternatives.

Time: About 1 1/2 hours

Serves: 8 (I often double the recipe to make 16, and freeze a bunch)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 1 Tbsp yeast
• 1 Tbsp agave nectar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp brown rice syrup (buy online or at a health food store)
• 4-5 cups unbleached flour (if you like the taste of whole wheat flour, as I do, use 3-4 of unbleached and 1-2 of whole wheat)
• 2 Tbsp brown rice syrup
• 1 tsp salt

Also, consider how you like your bagels. If you want them plain, then you don't need any additives, though you can always sprinkle a bit of corn starch on them. I like to make everything bagels, which include poppy seeds, minced onions, minced garlic, coarse sea salt, and sunflower seeds. If I'm making my "Everything Bagels With a Kick" I add some Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning as well. Feel free to make whichever kind you want, or a bunch, and if you want egg bagels, use less water, beat several eggs and add to the dough in the beginning.

Directions

Using a wood spoon to stir, dissolve the yeast in the luke-warm water in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the agave nectar. Stir in one to two cups of flour, adding slowly, until you have a nice sponge. Cover it with a damp towel and let it rise for 15 minutes.

Now fold in the oil, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 2 teaspoons brown rice syrup (don't stir or cut the dough with your spoon, but simply fold it over itself to incorporate the ingredients). Fold in another two or three cups of flour. The dough should now be firm enough for kneading -- add more flour if need be. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on the counter (or a wooden bread kneading board if you have one) for kneading. Knead it for 10-15 minutes, adding the remaining flour as you go (possibly more than I listed, if necessary), until the dough isn't sticky and holds together well.

Kneading is easy -- check out this page for instructions if you've never done it before.When the kneading is complete, cover with a floured towel, and let rise for 15-20 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees fahrenheit. Seperate the dough into 8 equal pieces (16 if you doubled the recipe). Form them into balls, and then roll them into pieces of about 10 inches (the first time I did this I actually used a ruler, though you can just eyeball it). Connect the ends of the dough pieces, pinching and rolling the ends together to seal them. Make sure to leave space in the middle so that your bagels have holes. Leave them on a floured surface covered with a floured towel for a few minutes while you prepare the boiling water.

Fill a large pot 3/4 of the way with water. Add the 2 tablespoons of brown rice syrup and the teaspoon of salt. Put the pot on a burner on high. When the water boils you can turn the heat down but keep it high enough to keep the water boiling. Here comes the fun part.

Lay a few clean, dry dishtowels on a baking sheet. Using a plastic spatula, add two or three (don't crowd them) bagels to the boiling water. After 45 seconds, flip them over so they boil on the other side. Give them another 45 seconds and then remove them from the water and place on the towels to dry. You may need another sheet with dry towels to fit them all, especially if you doubled the recipe.

Mix your toppings in a wide rimmed bowl or plate.

Now line two baking sheets with baking parchment. Take your boiled bagels and dip them in the toppings -- make sure you get both top, bottom, and sides -- then place them on the baking sheets with some space so they don't stick together. Place them in the oven and lower the heat to 425 (I read that instruction in every bagel recipe and thought it was pointless...and I ended up burning my first batch).

Bake for 15 minutes, remove the sheets from the oven, and then flip the bagels over with tongs. Put the baking sheets back in the oven and bake for an additional 3-7 minutes. Bagels should be lightly brown on the outside and have a nice hollow thump when flicked with a finger.

Cool them on a cooling rack. Freeze the ones that won't get eaten within the next few days (you may want to slice them before freezing, but after all this work I usually just throw them in a ziplock freezer bag and cut them when I thaw them).

Enjoy toasted or not, with butter or cream cheese and thoughts of New York!

Note: For cinnamon raison bagels, add an additional tablespoon of agave nectar to the initial dough, and fold in about 1/3 cup of cinnamon (if you want it more subtle use less, for stronger cinnamon flavor add more), and 1/2 cup to a cup of raisins.

Note: You can buy agave nectar or brown rice syrup online from amazon.com by clicking the links below.