Bagels, homemade recipe

Mix the yeast with the water. Put the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and mix together. Pour over the yeasty liquid and mix into a rough dough.

Tip out onto the work surface and knead together until smooth and elastic. This should take around 10 mins.

Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Place in a warm area and leave until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Uncover and tip onto your work surface. Divide the dough into ten portions, making sure they are all the same size and form into balls. Line up on two parchment-lined baking trays and cover with clean cloths. Let rise for around 30 mins until puffy.

Use a floured finger to make a hole in the centre of each bagel, swirling it around to stretch the dough a little but being careful not to knock out too much air.

Heat oven to 180 ºC.

Fill a large saucepan with water, bring to the boil and add the bicarbonate of soda.

Place 1-2 of the bagels in the water at a time and boil for 1 minute, turning over halfway through. Using a slotted spoon, lift out the bagels, drain well and place back on the baking tray.

Brush the bagels with the egg white and sprinkle generously with sesame seeds. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool before eating.