When I was living in the buzzing city of Budapest, one of my favorite spots for a tasty and hearty breakfast was IÑEZ Bagel Shop. When the weather was nice, I loved to pop by and grab a salmon bagel sandwich and a cappuccino to go and eat/drink it while sitting on a bench somewhere with the city waking up around me. I fell in love with bagels, but unfortunately, now we are separated by a bit of distance, so I thought I’ll give it a try and bake my own.

Yeah, I know, it’s not really the same without the whole urban-atmosphere, but still, better than nothing, right? So, I searched for an easy recipe and found this one on BBC Good Food, gave it a try, and although they didn’t end up being the prettiest, most perfect bagels on the whole wide world, they were quite all right for a first attempt – which definitely won’t be the last. I mean, true love lasts a lifetime, so I’m not giving up on bagels. And yes, I have a very intimate relationship with food.

So, without further ado, here’s the recipe I followed. Naturally, I made a little mistake as I’m pretty sure I didn’t use all the sugar the recipe called for, only half of it. Oh well… Let’s say I did it on purpose because I wanted it to be a bit healthier. Wink-wink.

For toppings I went with sesame seeds and salt on one tray, and on the other I covered the bagels with a mix of flaxseeds and ground cumin, just to spice things up a bit. PS, it worked. Oh, and also, just FYI, kneading the dough is rather therapeutic. So if you are feeling stressed, bake bagels and knead the hell out of that dough!

What you’ll need:

• ½ tablespoon dried yeast
• 4 tablespoons sugar (I used brown, and only 2 tablespoons)
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour (450 grams)
• 1 ½ cups warm water (300 ml)
• Chosen topping – I used sesame seeds, large grain salt, flaxseeds, and ground cumin
• 1 egg white

How:

1. Mix together yeast, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and a bit less than half a cup of warm water (it should be 100 milliliters) together in a bowl and let it sit for about 10 minutes while the yeast starts working.
2. Pour in the rest of the warm water (it should be less than a cup, around 200 milliliters), then add the 2 teaspoons salt to the mixture, plus about half of the flour. Dig in with your hands and mix, while also adding the remaining flour, one tablespoon at a time, until it all comes together as a soft, no longer sticky dough.
3. Time to knead this bad boy which means about 10 blissful minutes.
4. Form a ball from the dough, put it into a clean bowl that’s slightly oiled inside, cover with cling film, and put somewhere warm until doubled in size, which takes about an hour.
5. Let your oven heat up while you shape the bagels. This amount will be enough for about 10 bagels. On a slightly floured surface divide the dough, you can also weigh each piece to make sure all of them are the same weight.
6. Shape them into flat balls and cover each ball with cling film, and let them sit for 10-20 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil; add the remaining sugar to the water.
8. With a floured finger, poke a hole into the middle of each bagel, swirl your finger around to enlarge it.
9. Take four bagels at a time and give them a bath in the boiling water for about a minute. Make sure to turn them around halftime. Then take them out and drain the excess water.
10. Line up your bagels on baking trays lined with parchment, brush the tops with egg white, and then sprinkle on your chosen toppings.
11. Bake them for about 20-25 minutes, until they are, yes, golden brown.
12. Let them cool and enjoy!

I made 11 slightly smaller, a bit weird looking bagels with this recipe, and almost all of them are gone by now. And I’m sure it won’t be long before I tried again, because one can never have enough bagels, am I right? Let me know what your favorite bagel-fillings are!