Bagels are a type of yeasted bread and are great toasted with butter or as a sandwich with smoked salmon, cheese, tomatoes or any other filling you like.

Ingredients for bagels (makes 6)

250 grams bread flour (If you do not have it you can use plain flour or all purpose flour with a high protein content.)

125 ml water

2 teaspoon caster sugar

one teaspoons salt

4 grams dried yeast

1 small egg

1 teaspoon honey or malt extract

15 ml vegetable oil or melted butter

For poaching bagels

1 tablespoon honey or malt extract

To decorate bagels

Sesame seeds and/or poppy seed. (optional)

Method for making bagels

Put the flour, yeast, salt, sugar into a bowl, stir and put to the side.

Make a well in the centre and then add the egg, 100ml of the water, oil and honey.

Mix this together to form a dough bowl, if the mixture is too dry add the rest of the water. Need to make this into a manageable dough,

Knead it a bit in the bowl until smooth

Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to rise until double in size

When it has doubled, flour your work surface

Put the dough on it, get a scale, weigh your dough, divide the dough amount into 6, if you want to make bigger bagels you could divide by 4.

Flour a baking tray and put to the side

Make each dough ball that size, shape the dough into a neater bowl and then flour your two middle fingers.

Make a hole in the middle and move your fingers around to make a wide hole. Make it wide enough because when it rises it will close.

Put the bagel on the floured baking tray, repeat the process until you have all 6 bagels made.

Cover and leave them to rest for about 10 – 15 minutes

Prepare a baking tray or two with baking paper and put them to the side.

Just before the rising time is done, bring some water to the boil, fill a medium sized pot about half way.

When it starts to boil add the honey or malt extract and stir it in

Baking the bagels

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius

Gently pick up the bagels and drop into the boiling water. Put two at a time because they swell up.

After about 30 seconds flip the bagels onto the other side, they should puff up, if not puffed up, tturn them again one more time.

Lift them up with a spatula, make sure most of the water drops back into the pot

Put the bagels on to the prepared baking tray, repeat the process until all bagels are done

Bake in the oven for about 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown on top

Remove from the oven and put on a cooling rack to cool completely

Other bread recipes to try

Hamburger Buns