Jerusalem Bagels are easy to make and take a lot less time than a regular bagel. No boiling, multi-step, labor intensive process here. Just fresh bread styled in a bagel shape. Perfect for a weekend brunch when you don’t want to run out the door early to stand in that bagel shop line.
This recipe yields 6 light “bagels” - and I put the word bagel in quotes because these really are more of a bread. If you need more than 6, just multiply the ingredients by however many batches you want. I like that this recipe is small batch because you DEFINITELY want to eat them fresh out of the oven- they are so good. And surprisingly, you really don’t want leftovers because they get a bit dry by day 2.
So you just go out there like a BOSS, LIVE for today and EAT these bagel-ish things!
I modified this recipe from the fabulous @kickassbaker.
238 ml full fat milk or cream
150 ml water
10 g yeast
60 ml avocado oil
42 g white cane sugar
510 g all purpose flour
For eggwash and seasoning:
1 large egg beaten with a pinch of salt
Mix 20 g sugar into the beaten egg to make the eggwash.
Ungapatchke Challah® seasoning
Za’atar My World® seasoning
Or other seeded seasoning that you like.
Just put your mixing bowl right on your scale. You are going to keep zeroing it out after each addition and measuring everything in weight right on the scale and directly into the mixing bowl. This way you will not have a bunch of dirty bowls and utensils to clean up. I should really call these lazy baker bagels!
Add a mixture of warm milk and water to the mixing bowl which is sitting on top of your kitchen scale. It should be about 100-115 degrees F. Zero out the scale.
Sprinkle the yeast, measuring 10 grams. Then zero out the scale.
Sprinkle the sugar on top of the yeast, measuring 42 grams. Zero.. you get the picture..
Add the oil. Mix it gently with a spoon so the ingredients mingle.
Wait 10 minutes for the yeast to bubble.
Again, while the mixing bowl is on top of the scale, add the flour.
Then move the bowl to your stand mixer and knead the dough for 10 minutes until it is a smooth ball. If you are doing this by hand, it may take 10-15 minutes of kneading. You can stop when you get a smooth ball. While you are kneading, you may think this dough is going to remain shaggy and dry but it will eventually come together into a ball. Hang in there.
Cover the bowl with a clean dishcloth that you have dampened with warm water and set aside to rise for about 30 minutes. Alternatively, you can cover in plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm space in your kitchen.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Divide into 6 pieces. Roll 6 strands out to about 12-15 inches and shape each long strand into an oblong oval, pinching the ends together so there is no longer a seam. This dough is pretty dry so I didn’t even need to use any additional flour when rolling them out. But if your dough is sticky then feel free to use a light dusting of flour on your work surface.
Using a pastry brush, brush each bagel with the eggwash and sprinkle with your toppings generously.
Set aside and let them rise for 30 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Bake for about 15 minutes. You may need more or less time depending on how skinny your dough strands were and how hot your oven runs. Your bagels should be golden but not dark brown when they are done.
Cool on a wire rack. Line up your hungry brunchy people and dig in with all the shmears and fixings. Hope yours are even better than mine! Bete’avon!
