Homemade Bagels Bites

Yeah, I'm aware it's slightly crazy to make your own friggin bagels... but you know, it was one of those things I just "had" to try. It wasn't even as scary as it seems! It takes about 4 hours of work spaced out over 2 days but they were actually rather simple!

It's  basically just a combination of yeast, water and bread flour. Then after that rises, you add in white or wheat flour and more yeast. Then rise. Get the picture? It's a lot of adding, waiting, and rising.

Once it's risen doubled, you make the dough into golf ball size balls. Then let that rise. Then you make the little hole in the middle. Then you let that rise. :) Then you cover and refrigerate over night to let it rise more.... 

The next morning you put them in a skillet of boiling water and baking soda and cook 1 min on each side. Ignore the lumpiness of my bagels - I wasn't able to find diastic malt powder. Apparently the 1 tbsp of malt powder is what "smoothes and shines" the outside of the bagels. They don't look as pretty but they taste exactly the same. Then you bake all the bagels for 9-10 minutes and let them cool and you hopefully end up with this...

I need to work on my circles ;)

Here's a wheat batch.

Line up and cover with pizza sauce, oregano, parmesean and then a mixture of pepperoni and mozarella cheese (that has been run through the food processor).

I need more natural light in my kitchen....

Then either freeze for up to 3 months or cook and eat! Yummmmmm.....

Oh and for 8 bagel bites at the store it's about $1.50. I made fourty-eight for about $5, with the cheese being the most expensive part. That makes them 10 cents a piece... which is about half the price of the ones in the store. Sweetness.