NEW YORK, NEW YORK

My dream is to go to New York and eat New York food. When I say "New York food" I mean bagels, street food, and all the other food New York has to offer. My Dream is going to come true next November! I get to go to New York with my school and I'm super pumped! I have been looking forward to this since my freshman year!
Since I still have a while before I get to go, I decided to experiment and make NEW YORK BAGELS! If you don't know, New York bagels aren't like your everyday (panera) bagel. They aren't as though on the outside, the are more "tinder" and yummy! Once you have had a New York bagel, you will never go back.
I went searching and searching for recipes on bagels and I finally found one that I felt like I could accomplish! Keeping in mind that I never have made bagels in my life, so this was an experience!

NEW YORK STYLE BAGELS!!!
sophisticatedgourmet.com- check it out!



Pic credit- sophisticatedgourmet.com

 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast

1 1/2 tablespoons of granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups of warm water(you may need 1/4 cup more, I did!)
3 1/2 cups of bread flour or high gluten flour(will need extra for kneading)
1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

PREPARATION:
1.  In 1/2 cup of the warm water, pour in the sugar and yeast. Don not stir. Let it sit for five minutes, and then stir the yeast and sugar mixture, until it all dissolves in the water.

2. Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and sugar mixture.

3. Pour half of the remaining warm water into the well. Mix and stir in the rest of the water as needed. Depending on where you live, you may need to add anywhere from a couple of tablespoons to about 1/4 cup of water. You want to result in a moist and firm dough after you have mixed it.

4.On a floured counter top, knead the dough for about 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Try working in as much flour as possible to firm and stiff dough.

5. Lightly brush large bowl with oil and turn the dough to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp dish towel. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in size. Punch the dough down, and let rise for another 10 minutes.

6. Carefully divide the dough into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round. Now, take a dough ball, and press it gently against the counter top moving your hand and the ball in a circular motion pulling the dough into itself while reducing the pressure on the top of the dough slightly until a perfect dough ball forms. Repeat 7 other dough rounds.

7. Coat a finger in flour, and gently press your finger into the center of each dough ball to form a ring. Stretch the ring to about  1/3 the diameter of the bagel and place on a lightly oiled cookie sheet, repeat with the remaining dough.

8. Bring a big pot of water to a boil and drop the bagels in, they should float to the top. Boil them for 4 minutes on each side. Take them out and put them on a baking sheet. This is where you would add whatever toppings you want. Let them bake 350degrees in the oven for about 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and cooked all the way through.

OK so I know what your thinking, there are too many steps and I can't do it. YOU CAN! It isn't hard, there are just a lot of steps to follow! BUT......IT IS WORTH IT!!! SOO my pictures go deleted off my camera so I took some off this blog I follow!