Homemade Bagels

The kiddos and I made some yummy homemade bagels this morning.
Here's the recipe in case anyone wants to give it a try!

Homemade Bagels
~1 1/2 c. warm water
~2 T. yeast
~1/4 c. honey
~1 T. salt
~4 1/4 c. flour (I used 3 c. whole wheat and 1 1/4 c. bread flour)
~water for boiling
~1 egg white, beaten
~1 T. water
~Toppings (optional): cinnamon and/or raisins, poppy seeds, onion, garlic, sesame seeds, dried blueberries, etc.

*In small bowl, mix yeast, honey and warm water together - let sit 3 minutes.
*Mix 2 c. flour w/ salt in lg. bowl (I use my mixer bowl since I often let my kitchen aid do the kneading for me), then add yeast mixture; stir to combine and slowly mix in rest of flour.
*Knead dough for 5 minutes on floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary (as mentioned above, I use my kitchen aid mixer to make the dough typically). Dough should be smooth and firm. Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise until double (if using bread machine on dough cycle, it will already have completed this phase).
*Punch down dough, divide and shape into 8-12 balls (8 for regular bagels, more for smaller, mini bagels), then let balls rest for 5 minutes.
*Note: if adding cinnamon/raisins or blueberries you will want to add them when you punch down the dough; knead just to combine (if using bread machine, add when signaled before last kneading).
*Boil 2 qts. of water.
*Make a hole in center of each ball and pull about 2" apart - place on cookie sheet and let rise for 10 min.
*Preheat oven to 350*
*Drop 2-3 bagels in boiling water at a time for 45 seconds, turning over halfway through.
*Drain on wire rack. Place bagels on cookie sheet sprinkled with corn meal to prevent sticking, then top with egg white mixed with 1 T. water and any toppings desired (poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion, garlic, etc.).
*Bake for 35 min., turning halfway through baking time (unless using toppings, then don't turn over).
*Note: I double this recipe since I like to freeze the bagels as well.

Here are some pics that I took during the process ...

Balls of dough ...

I let the kids poke the holes in the center (then I fix them a bit!) ...
In the boiling water ...
All ready to go in the oven ...
Fresh out of the oven ... yummy!

As you can see, this time I just made plain whole wheat bagels, but the kiddos also love cinnamon raisin bagels. Personally, I enjoy blueberry bagels! I often split the dough and then make half of one kind, and half of another. I froze a dozen from today's batch for vacation coming up!