These bagels were once a part of my weekly baking repertoire. Back in the day, when I ate grains. ;)
These bagels are soft, warm and spongy on the inside, and slightly crisp on the outside. I baked them using steam. They're great warm, fresh out of the oven and at room temperature the next day. Honestly, I never the desire to toast them. I'm not so sure fresh bagels need toasting!
Dress these bagels up however you'd like! The mister seems to prefer them plain, but I have dolled them up with a combination of flaxseed, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, anise seeds, tiny sunflower seeds, and black caraway seeds. I also liked mixing together a little garlic powder and dried onion. The onion will moisten and plump up slightly during the steam baking. For an "everything" bagel try a combination of the poppy seeds, dried onion, sesame seeds, and garlic powder. Or you can dust them with a little cinnamon and embed the bagel with raisins.
*storage tip: save and reuse your bread bags to keep your bagels in*
Homemade bagels are where it’s at! If you’ve never made them yourself, you’re missing out. I love that regardless of rolling imperfections, these bagels are still better than store-bought.