Homemade Bagels

entry by Maren Stafford

1. Stir 1 TBsp. yeast and 1 TBsp. sugar into 1 cup warm water. Let bubble up for a minute.
2. Add 1 TBsp. oil, then sprinkle 1 cup flour onto the mixture and top with 1/2 tsp. salt, finally cover mixture with 2 more cups flour.
3. Set mixer (with dough hook on) on low setting, and mix until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl.
4. At this point I added some fresh cranberries (abt. 1/4 cup) and kept mixing. I had to add more flour to compensate for the juice in the berries.
5. When the dough is a firm but elastic consistency form into a giant ball, spray the mixing bowl with PAM, place dough back in bowl and spray top with PAM.
6. Cover dough in bowl with a dish towel and let rise in a warm place (as with all of my dough I set mine in my oven at 200 degrees...when it reaches temp I turn it off and let the dough just sit in the warmth...speeds up the rise time!)
7. When the dough is double in size remove from bowl and cut into 6 equal sections. Start a large pot of water to boil, add 1 TBsp. sugar to water. Form each section of dough into a round ball, making a 2 inch hole in the middle with your thumb.
8. Set each bagel (two at a time) in the boiling water for 2 minutes, turning with the end of a wooden spoon after 1 minute. Set on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
9. Bake at 500 degrees for 15 minutes. Yeilds 6 bagels