Bacon & Cheese Bagels

Pan-fry the 3 slices of bacon in advance, let cool, then chop. Put all the ingredients into the main bowl of the Hauswirt HK53 kitchen machine.

Set to speed 2 for 6 minutes.

Pause at around 2 minutes 30 seconds, check the dough and add the butter.

Continue kneading until the dough has good elasticity, then take it out of the bowl.

Use a bench scraper to cut the dough repeatedly so that the bacon bits and cheese are evenly distributed.

Shape into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest for 5–10 minutes.

Weigh and divide into 6 equal portions.

Shape each portion into a ball, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Roll each relaxed dough piece into an oval.

Flip it over and place it horizontally on your work surface, parallel to your body. If you have high-melting-point cheese or cheddar, you can wrap a suitable amount inside. If not, just skip this step. If you do wrap cheese, leave a small area on the right end without cheese.

Roll it up from top to bottom and pinch the seam tightly to seal.

Using both palms, gently roll it out to about 20 cm in length. While rolling, taper the end on the left slightly, and flatten the right end with your palm, then roll it out thin with a rolling pin.

Join the two ends to form a ring. Wrap the tapered left end with the rolled-out thin right end.

Pinch the thinned area little by little to seal it tightly and neaten the shape.

Finish shaping all the bagels and place them on pre-cut parchment squares (this makes it easier to move them when boiling later). Arrange them on a baking tray.

Cover with a proofing cloth and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes.

Near the end of the proofing time, start cooking the sugar water and preheat the oven to 200b0C. Add 30 g sugar to 1000 g water and heat until it is just below boiling, about 90b0C. Turn to low heat, then gently lower in the bagel dough rings. Boil one side for 30 seconds, then flip with a slotted spoon.

Boil the second side for 30 seconds, then remove from the pot.

Drain well and place back on the baking tray.

Put the tray into the preheated oven on the middle rack. Bake at 200b0C top and bottom heat for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven. After cooling, any bagels you can’t finish the same day can be frozen. Before eating, let them thaw at room temperature, spray with a little water, and reheat in the oven to restore the texture.