February 9: National Bagel Day

 
Today was one of the most fun days to celebrate. I mean, I could have just thawed a bagel from the freezer, popped it in the toaster, slathered some butter on it and celebrated National Bagel Day that way. Or I could have made the dough from scratch, boil them (did you know bagels involved boiling?), top them with sprinkles, and cook them. I went with the second choice. And I have never eaten a better bagel before in my life.

I would only embark on the adventure of making bagels if you have a good half-a-day free.

Dough in the bread machine doing it's stuff.

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 tablespoons sugar
3 cups bread flour (I used regular flour and it was fine)
3 tablespoons cinnamon
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 egg white
various toppings (I used sprinkles because as everyone knows, sprinkles make everything better)

Shaping the bagel. Note my beautiful model hands!

Ready for boiling!

Directions:
1. Put water, sugar, salt, cinnamon, flour, and yeast in the bread machine in the order recommended by your bread machine. Select Dough cycle. Mine took 1.5 hours.
Note: While the dough is cooking, you could do other productive things like the laundry, or clean your room. Or you could eat a snack. Guess which choice I did? 
2. When the dough is done, let it rest on a lightly floured surface while you bring three quarts water to boil. Dissolve three tablespoons sugar into the water.
3. Cut the dough into 9 equal pieces and roll into balls. Flatten them out so they are about the size of your palm. Stick a finger in the middle and form into a bagel shape. Cover and let rise for about 20 minutes.
4. Place bagels a few at a time in a boiling pot. Let cook for 30 seconds, flip, and cook for 30 more seconds. Let "drain" on a towel. Lay bagels on a baking sheet sprinkled with corn meal. (Note: I didn't have cornmeal so I used corn flour. The bagels really stuck to the pan when I took them out so I would use corn meal to prevent sticking.)
5. Gloss the bagels with a beaten egg white and top with toppings. I chose to make "dessert" bagels so I used a variety of sprinkles and small chocolate candies. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.
6. EAT YOUR BAGELS AND ENJOY THEM!

Overall, everyone voted my "dessert" bagels amazing! They taste so fresh and the sprinkles made them very fun. As you are sure to find out, I believe sprinkles make everything better.

Funny story: I asked my dad what bagel he wanted to eat for dinner. He asked for a cinnamon and sugar bagel. I gave him one with orange sprinkles on top (technically, there was sugar on top and cinnamon in the bagel). He later asked if I didn't give him a cinnamon and sugar bagel because I wanted to keep them for myself. My guilty look gave me away. On that note, in the future, I would use either cinnamon and sugar, or large crystal sprinkles (such as the rainbow ones featured above).