Bagels with cream cheese and Jam

New Yorker's favorite breakfast
Calories: 60 per bagel

These chewy ring shaped white rolls were once the everyday bread of the Eastern European Jews, but have since become equally associated with the breakfast of New York city.

You need:

Ingredients: 500 gm white flour, 2 tsp dry yeast, 1.5 tsp salt, 1.5 tsp granulated sugar, 350ml water and loads of love and patience

Time taken: 10 min to make the dough

Rising Time: 1-1.5 hrs

Proving Time: 10 min

Baking Time: 15-20 min

Mix yeast and sugar into 100ml water for 5 min. Mix flour and salt and make a well and add yeast mixture along with half of remaining water. Add served water slowly to make into a firm, moist dough and move to the well-floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10mins. As you knead, gradually work in as much additional flour as you can comfortably knead. Dough should be firm and stiff.

Store the dough in a lightly oiled bowl covered with a tea towel for 1-1.5 hrs until doubled in size. Knock back the dough and leave to rest for 10min. Cut the dough into 16 equal sized balls. Form each ball into a ring by inserting a floured finger in the center and rotating the ring against it. The hole size should be a third of the diameter.

Place the bagel on a lightly oiled baking sheet, then cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rest for 10 min.

Bring a large pan of water to boil and let it simmer on low heat. Put 2-3 bagel at a time, flipping once, till the bagel floats on the surface, about 1 min.

Remove the bagels from water and let them drain. Transfer the drained bagels to a lightly oiled baking sheet. Glaze the bagel with saltde water and shower sesame seeds or poppy seeds on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 min or until golden brown. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Healthier option: replace half the white flour with that of the wheat flour to make the bagel more healthy to consume.

Tip: have bagels with cream cheese dip and jam. Cut them from the center and eat it like a sandwich with cheese or any spread inside. You may even toast them.