HOW IT’S MADE
Stone Creek Bakery Bagel
By Kris Collett & Jessica Sheridan
Have you ever wondered how we make our Stone Creek Bakery bagels? Look no further, because we’re sharing the recipe on this installment of How It’s Made.
The bagels we make at Stone Creek Coffee Bakery are a labor of love, and with these instructions you can now make a similar version¹ at home!
We want to see how your bagels turn out! Share your creations with the hashtag #stonecreekcoffee on Instagram! And click the button below to download our mobile app and make ordering a bagel with your coffee even easier.
GET THE MOBILE APP - ORDER A BAGELSTONE CREEK BAKERY BAGEL
INGREDIENTS
- 2 lb (7.5 cups) Bread flour
- 1 lb, 2.6 oz (2 ⅜ cup) Water
- 0.2 oz (2 tsp) Diastatic malt powder (you can skip this if you don’t have it)
- 0.6 oz (1 Tbsp) Salt
- 0.14 oz (1 ⅜ tsp) Instant Yeast
- Malt syrup for boiling (Honey may be substituted)
- Toppings of your choice: Sesame seeds, Poppy seeds, Everything mix, Coarse salt, or Cheese (because Wisconsin).
MIX*
Combine all the dough ingredients in a mixing bowl.**
Mix on first speed until the flour is hydrated and the ingredients are incorporated into a dough ball. If the dough is “shaggy” (think pie dough), and you need a bit more water to achieve this, go ahead and add it, but not too much. You want your dough to be on the stiff side.
Turn mixer to second speed and mix for an additional 3-5 minutes.
At this stage, your dough might feel tough. Don’t worry. It will relax as it rises (a phase called “bulk fermentation”).
*Note from Kris: You can mix by hand if you wish, but we don’t recommend it.
**At Stone Creek Bakery (SCB), we use a prefermented dough that we mixed the day before to replace 20% of the flour. This “PFD” gives the bagels more flavor and an extended shelf life so that it tastes fresh and delicious when you order it in our cafes.
Transfer dough to a large bowl, lightly coated with oil, and cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Let rise/ferment in a warm environment (70-75 degrees) for 1 hour.
PORTION & SHAPE
Turn dough onto your work surface and marvel at how much softer it feels after it’s first rise. Divide the dough into equal portions. If you like the size of our SCB bagels, you can measure out 4 oz pieces, roughly in the shape of a square. This size batch will yield about 12 bagels.
Watch our video to see the pros shape a bagel!
Flatten each square and one-by-one, roll into a tight cylinder. Roll each dough piece so it’s about 10 in. long, but don’t taper the ends. Wrap the log around the broadest part of your hand, so that the ends overlap slightly on your palm. Roll your hand back and forth on your work surface to seal the ends together. Take care not to tear your dough while you shape.
Place your shaped bagels on a sheet tray or cookie sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
The next morning, make a pot of your favorite SCC brew, sip slowly and think positive thoughts, then get ready to boil and bake your bagels. You got this.
TIME TO BOIL² & BAKE
Gather your supplies:
- A large pot, big enough to hold at least 3-4 bagels at a time. Because no one wants to boil 1 bagel at a time.
- A hand-held strainer to fish the bagels out of the water (we use a spider in the Bakery, and it’s a winner).
- Your toppings at the ready in a bowl large enough to fit one of your bagels.
- Two sheet pans (13×18 in) or cookie sheets of a similar size.
- A cooling rack set on top of a dry towel.
Fill your pot with water (about a gallon), add 4 oz of malt syrup or honey (or 3% of the weight of your water for all you math geeks), and bring it to boil.
When your water is boiling, preheat your oven to 450°F, and retrieve your bagels from the fridge. Carefully pick up the bagels one at a time and place them in the boiling water. Try to boil 3-4 at a time. Boil for about 45 seconds each, and flip them with a spoon halfway through. Lift your bagels out of the water with your strainer and place on your cooling rack just long enough to let the excess water drip off.
If you are topping with seeds, dip the top of your bagel in your seed mixture, then place seed-side-up on your sheet tray. You can fit 6 bagels per sheet tray.
Bake your bagels for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.
Slather with cream cheese or schmear of your choice, and enjoy!
__________________________________________________________________________________________
¹Recipe from Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes, 2nd edition, by Jeffrey Hamelman
²You could just bake your bagels after letting them rise at room temperature for a couple of hours, but be prepared for drastically different results. The boiling does two things: 1) it “wakes up” the yeast, so you will get a nicer rise when you put it in the oven, and 2) it gelatinizes the starch on the surface of your bagels, which gives it that characteristic shine and pleasant chew.