Serves: 5
Total Calories: 341
Yield: 12 bagels

2 cups lukewarm water
2 tablespoons liquid sweetener
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons soy flour
1/3 cup instant gluten flour or vital wheat gluten
1 to 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 to 1 1/2 cup unbleached flour
sesame seeds for topping (optional)
poppy seed for topping (optional)

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the lukewarm water, liquid sweetener, yeast, and 1¹?? cups unbleached flour to form a sponge which will bubble up. Let set undisturbed for 10-15 minutes. While the sponge is forming, fill a pot which is at least 9 inches wide with 3-4 quarts of water to a depth of 3¹??-4 inches, and bring to a boil. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Add the salt, soy flour, gluten flour, whole wheat flour, and remaining white flour to the sponge mixture after it has gotten foamy. Mix well with a wooden spoon, then turn onto a lightly floured counter, and knead for 5-10 minutes. The dough will become smooth and satiny. Only add more flour if it is sticking to your hands. The dough should be soft, not stiff.

Divide the dough into 12 balls. To form the bagels, take each ball and roll it firmly on the counter, pressing down and using the palm of your hand to make a smooth ball. Pick up the ball, press your thumb through the center, and stretch the dough out from the center all around to form a bagel shape. The hole should be about 1 inch across. Set each bagel on a lightly floured surface, and make the next one. Let the bagels set for 10- 15 minutes to rise. Lightly sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal or oil.

Drop each bagel, in the order that you made them, into a pot of boiling water. Cook 4 at once. Cook for 2¹?? minutes on one side, then turn over with a slotted spoon, and cook 2¹?? minutes on the other side. With the slotted spoon, remove a bagel, and place it on the prepared baking sheet with the top side up. Sometimes the bagels turn over during boiling so the flat bottom side (which is sometimes cracked) ends up on top after you’ve turned them over. Be sure to put that side down on the baking sheet. If you would like to sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds or poppy seeds, do this right after they are removed from the boiling water.

Boil a second batch and put 2 bagels on the first baking sheet. You will have 1 sheet of 6 bagels ready to bake, and 2 more bagels on the next sheet waiting for the next 4 bagels to boil.

Start baking the first batch as soon as the first 6 are boiled; don’t wait for the next batch to finish boiling. Bake for 20 minutes. You may need to turn the sheet around in the oven half way through baking if your oven doesn’t bake evenly. When the bagels are done, remove from the sheets, place in a large bowl, and cover with a clean dish cloth to keep the bagels soft.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 5
Total Calories: 341
Calories from Fat: 5

More Recipes from the Soup's On! Cookbook:
Bagels
Pumpernickel Bagels
Barb's Apple Biscuits or Loaf
Breadsticks
Crackers
Oat Crackers
Dabo Kola
Herbed Focaccia
Melina's Herbed Biscuits
Potato Buns
Scones
Sesame Sticks