Homemade Bagel Bites

265g water, 20g barley malt syrup or honey, 3g active dry yeast, 500g bread flour, 10g fine salt

In a medium bowl or measuring cup, add the water and barley malt syrup or honey and stir until completely dissolved. Add the yeast and give another quick stir, then leave for 5 to 10 minutes, until the mixture is a bit frothy. In a separate, large bowl, combine the bread flour and salt.

Add the wet to the dry mixture and stir with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula till a shaggy dough forms. Tip out onto a clean work surface and start kneading by hand for 10 minutes, then do the windowpane test. If the dough doesn’t pass the test, knead for another 2 to 5 minutes, then test again. Keep going until it passes, then form the dough into a tight ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a damp towel, leave to rise for 60 minutes.

After 60 minutes the dough should have puffed up a little. It won’t double in size because for this recipe we use only a little yeast, and the bulk of the gluten development will happen during the long, cold proof. Weigh your dough ball and divide by 16, this is how much every piece of dough should weigh. Shape into tight balls and leave to rest on the counter for 5 minutes, covered by a damp towel. Then shape into bagels by poking a hole in the middle of each dough ball with your index finger, then picking it up and slowly stretching until the hole is about 0.4 in (1 cm) wide. Place the shaped bagels on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, covered with plastic wrap and then a damp towel over top.

Place the baking tray in the fridge and proof for 12 hours. I personally like to prepare this dough in the evening, so I can boil and bake the next morning.

Take the tray out of your fridge, remove the damp cloth but leave the plastic wrap and let sit on your counter for at least 60 minutes before doing the float test: fill a medium bowl with water, carefully place a bagel in the bowl and see if it floats or sinks to the bottom. If the test bagel passes, lightly pat it dry and place it back on your baking tray, and start boiling a pot of water (about 6-8 cups). Preheat your oven to 450 °F (230 °C). If the bagel sinks, pat dry, place back on the tray and leave for 15 minutes, then test again.

1 tbsp barley malt syrup or dark brown sugar, 1/2 tsp baking soda

Once your water is boiling, bring down to a simmer, add a tbsp of barley malt syrup and ½ tsp baking soda. Stir with your slotted spoon to dissolve and place 3-4 bagels in the pot. Boil each side for 30 seconds, then place them on the cooling rack so they can drain a little and then place them back onto your baking tray. Once all bagels are boiled, bake for 18 minutes, rotating them after 9.

1 cup marinara sauce or pizza sauce, 1 cup low-moisture shredded mozzarella cheese, 5 pepperoni slices, 2 fresh basil leaves

Take your bagels out of the oven and place them on a cooling rack. Let the oven cool to 385 °F (195 °C). Leave the bagels to cool for 30 minutes, then start assembling your bagel bites! I cut each mini bagel (they’re so cute!!) in half, add 1 tsp of sauce and 1 tsp of cheese (add more or less to taste). Then add mini pieces of pepperoni to resemble the original Bagel Bites, or tiny pieces of fresh basil leaves for a vegetarian variant. Now return them to the oven and bake for 5 to 8 minutes, until the cheese is just melted. Leave them to cool for a few minutes before eating, and enjoy!