Fancy Navajo Bagel Recipe

Today I will be sharing my recipe for Fancy Navajo Bagels. It has been a long-awaited recipe that I am so excited to share. One of the reasons I started making my own bagels was because of my husband’s food allergy. Long story short, he’s allergic to anything with the word “gum” in it. It’s in a lot of things and we were surprised when it made its way into our beloved store bought bagels. So, thus began my homemade bagel making journey!!

I always imagined bagel making to be complicated. However, its relatively simple (especially if you have a stand mixer). However, making bagels does require TIME. This recipe takes about 2 hours to make, but keep in mind an hour is letting the bagel dough rise. Once you have had homemade bagels, you won’t want to buy them instore anymore.

You won’t regret making homemade bagels. If I hope you enjoy Fancy Navajo Bagels and if you make it please send me a picture. I would love to see!

Before we begin…

Let me share a few tips that I have learned along the way.

Stand Mixer vs. Kneading by Hand

First of all, for this recipe I use a stand mixer. But if you don’t have a one, you can simply knead the dough by hand. If you do, count this as your workout for the day. If using a stand mixer, please note the dough is dense and you may need to adjust your mixing settings to a smooth steady knead.

Bagel Dough

After you have mixed your dough, it will be tough and that’s okay. After I knead my dough in my stand mixer I end up with a few dough balls. I combine all the balls together and form one large dough ball before I let it rise. It will soften up just a bit after it rises.

Bagel Bath

For the bagel bath water, you don’t want the water to boil. You simply want the water to be warm. You’ll need tongs to remove the bagels. Be careful when removing the bagels as the dough will soften. So, handle them gently.

Yield: 6 Bagels

Ingredients:

Bagel Dough:

2 Cups Bread Flour (I recommend Bob’s Red Mill Bread Flour here)
1/2 Tablespoon Instant Active Dry Yeast (I use this one here )
1 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Tablespoon Non- Diastatic Malt Powder ( I use this one here)
3/4 Cup Lukewarm Water

Bagel Water Bath:

3 cups of water
1 Tablespoon Non-Diastatic Malt Powder
1 Tablespoon Granulated Sugar

Preparing Bagels for Oven:

1/4 Cup of Yellow Corn Meal
1 Egg White
1 Teaspoon of Water
(Optional) Bagel Topping ( I like using this one ( I use this one https://amzn.to/2MqlmVz)

Directions:

Bagel Dough:

In a stand mixer combine active dry yeast, salt, non-diastatic malt powder, and lukewarm water and mix together with a whisk.
Add dough hook attachment to the stand mixer and add in bread flour in 1 cup increments.
Once all dry ingredients are combined, set a timer for 10 minutes and let the mixer knead the dough on a medium speed.
After 10 minutes stop the mixer, combine all pieces of the dough together in a large round ball. The dough will be a little tough.
Add a teaspoon of olive oil to a bowl and spread around dough ball and sides of the bowl. Cover bowl and let dough rise in a dark quiet place for an hour. The dough should rise double in size.
Once dough is ready, release the air from the dough and form into a rectangle. Cut dough into 6 even pieces and form into round smooth balls. Poke holes in the center and set aside.
Preheat Oven to 420 degrees

Bagel Bath:

Prepare bagel water bath. In a large pot combine water, non-diastatic malt powder, and sugar. On a low heat let water warm up but DO NOT let the water boil.
Once water is ready place 3 bagels into the water bath and set a timer for 2 minutes. After the timer is up flip bagels with tongs to the other side and set timer for 2 minutes. Remove bagels from bagel bath with tongs, and set them on a clean dish towel to absorb excess water. Repeat with the other set of bagels.

Baking the Bagels:

On a baking sheet with a nonstick surface sprinkle yellow corn meal for all six bagels and lay bagels on top of yellow cornmeal. Make sure the bottom of all bagels are coated with the yellow cornmeal.
(Optional Toppings) In a small bowl whish together egg white and water until combine and frothy. Brush egg white wash onto uncooked bagels and sprinkle with your desired topping.
Yay you made it! Now the bagels are ready to bake. Let bagels bake on the middle rack for 22 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Enjoy!!