Onion bagels (Like a BOSS!)

If you, like me, love the poor misunderstood onion bagel, then you know the pain of trying to find them in a grocery store.  As the years go on, it seems you can find them less and less places, and even when you do they're just not as great as you remember.

So what's an onion bagel lover to do?  Make them, obviously!

Ingredients:
2 cups warm water*
2 packages dry yeast (or 4 1/2 teaspoons of the kind you get in a jar)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt (I like rock salt, but that's me.  Doesn't actually matter too much)
1/2 chopped dehydrated onions (they're in your spice aisle, usually on the bottom shelf in a big jar)
5 cups of flour, plus more if needed
1 tablespoon baking soda

Directions:
 Mix the water and sugar together in a large mixing bowl, then sprinkle the yeast on top.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes (If you don't have a foamy top of active yeast after ten minutes, your yeast is dead.  Start over with new yeast.  DO NOT go any further with the recipe if your yeast isn't rising)

Stir in salt and onions, then add in flour.  Start with 3 cups, then work your way up until you're kneading the dough and it isn't sticky at all anymore.

Coat dough with melted butter on all sides, cover, and let rise 40 minutes.

Dust a large work surface with flour.  Divide dough into 16 evenly sized (or nearly evenly sized) pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball, then poke through the middle with your thumbs.  Turn the dough in your hands, stretching slightly and molding the outside, until you have a donut shape with a LARGE hole^  Lay them out on the floured surface a few inches apart, cover, and let rise another 15 minutes.

Broil bagels in your oven (mine automatically sets to 500.  That's fine) for about 4 minutes on the top rack.  Basically you want them to start to brown EVER so slightly.

In a large saucepan, place about 4 cups of water and the baking soda and bring it to a boil.  Drop in a few bagels at a time (their sides touching is ok, but don't stack them) and turn once a minute for 3 minutes.  Pull them out and place them on a towel for a moment to absorb extra moisture, then put on your baking sheet.  Repeat until you've boiled all the bagels.

Preheat oven to 400.  Bake bagels 25-30 minutes (tops should be lightly golden).

Eat immediately or cool, slice, and freeze.


*To get the temperature right, I usually heat 1 cup in the microwave and then add the other at room temperature
^As the dough rises, the holes will close up a little.  Small hole=no hole after rising.