Looking for the perfect homemade bread recipe from scratch? Here you have it! It’s chewy and delicious, and will wow bread lovers everywhere.
I’ve been experimenting with making my own bread for years, mostly because I can’t stand the packaged bread in the bread aisle (is it really a bagel?) and I always crave the dense, chewy breads I’ve tried once or twice in big cities (New York and Chicago) and they’re absolutely amazing.
A few years ago, I found a bread recipe from Emeril that I used and loved (and also turned my sister-in-law Erin on), but I’m here to say that it pales in comparison to the bread I made yesterday.
This new and improved recipe comes from King Arthur Flour and there are step-by-step instructions on their blog which makes it even easier. There are two things that are different from my old and beloved recipe.
First, the sourdough is made the night before which I think really enhances the flavor, and bread flour is used instead of all-purpose flour. The result is a chewy, delicious bagel that I could eat at least ten of.
Oh wait… I did.
I don’t think I could make anything that would compare to the bread I had in New York, but it’s definitely worth baking at home, and I’ve been convinced to make it myself instead of buying bread by the loaf.
I’m going to eat another one now! (And I can’t wait to try making it with Asiago cheese… oh my!)
Great (and easy!) Homemade Bagels
Makes: 12 Bagels
Prep Time: 14 hours 20 minutes
Cook Time: 28 minutes
Total Time: 14 hours 48 minutes
Ingredients
Sourdough:
- ½ cup (71g) unbleached bread flour
- ¼ cup cold water
- A little instant yeast, I used active dry yeast and it worked great
Max:
- 4 cups (568g) unbleached bread flour
- ¼ cup cold water
- 1 ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon instant yeast, again, I used active dry yeast and it worked great
Bain-marie:
- Water to fill a 10cm diameter and 1cm deep mold
- 1 tablespoon non-diastatic barley powder or brown sugar, I used brown sugar
Instructions
- Combine the sourdough ingredients in a medium bowl, cover, and let sit at room temperature overnight.
The next day, combine the sourdough with all the dough ingredients and knead (by hand, with an electric mixer, or with a bread machine) until a firm but not dry dough forms. Since we are using a high-protein bread flour, you may notice that it takes a little more effort and time to develop the gluten. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl or large measuring cup (at least 8 cups), cover, and let rest for 1 hour. Gently deflate the dough and let rest for another 30 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a work surface and divide into 12 portions. (I divided the dough into 10 portions because I like my bread to be a little larger.) Shape each portion into a smooth, round ball. Cover the balls with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes. They will puff up very slightly.
While the dough is resting, prepare a bain-marie by heating the water and barley (or sugar) to a very gentle boil in a large (about 25cm) diameter frying pan. A 25cm electric frying pan works well here. Preheat the oven to 220C. - Use your index finger to make a hole in the centre of each ball, then roll the dough on your finger to stretch the hole until it is about 2 inches in diameter (the bread is about 3.5 inches wide in its entirety). (Again, mine was slightly larger than this.) Place each bread on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough pieces.
- Transfer the bread, four at a time if possible, to the boiling water. Increase the heat under the pan to bring the water back to a boil, if necessary. Cook the bread for 2 minutes, then turn it over and cook for another minute. Using a slotted spoon or strainer, or the end of a wooden spoon, remove the bread from the water and place it back on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining bread.
Bake the bread for about 25 minutes or until it is the dark brown color you desire. To top with seeds, remove from the oven after about 15 minutes, sprinkle with water and sprinkle with seeds. Return to the oven to finish baking. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a rack.
Notes:
Weight Measurements: I don’t know if you have a kitchen scale, but here it is…if a recipe lists weight with measurements, I always weigh the ingredients on my digital kitchen scale, which is very inexpensive. Here’s why: The 1/2 cup of flour I measured for the sourdough starter was actually 3 1/2 ounces of flour because of the way I packaged/measured it, so I was able to eliminate a full 1 1/2 ounces of flour to get to 2 ounces. That’s a huge difference and I’m sure my cake wouldn’t have turned out as good if I hadn’t stuck to the weight instead of the measurements.
