How to Form Bagels

The traditional bagel shape ensures they cook evenly without burning.

Bagels provide a dense bread suitable for breakfast or as a quick snack anytime. Like most yeast breads, bagels must rise before cooking to reach their proper size and develop the correct texture. Unlike most breads, bagels are boiled briefly prior to baking. The boiling helps them develop their chewy texture. Shaping the bagels properly ensures the bagels have uniform sized holes. The holes ensure both the exterior and interior of the bagel cooks at the same rate. Does this Spark an idea?

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Bread towel
Baking pans
Parchment paper
Nonstick spray
Plastic wrap

Instructions

- 1
  
  Divide the prepared bagel dough into four-ounce pieces.
- 2
  
  Press your fingers up into the center of each dough piece, pulling the edges down. Pinch the edges together on the bottom of the dough, forming a smooth dough ball out of each piece.
- 3
  
  Cover the dough balls with a damp bread towel. Allow the dough to rise for 20 minutes.
- 4
  
  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Spray the parchment with nonstick spray.
- 5
  
  Push your thumb through the center of each dough ball, making a hole. Insert your other thumb into the hole. Rotate the dough ball around both thumbs, stretching it gently until the hole is about two inches in diameter.
- 6
  
  Set the formed bagel on the prepared baking sheet, placing them two inches apart. Cover the sheet with plastic wrap and allow them to rise for 20 minutes at room temperature. Store the bagels in the refrigerators overnight before cooking.