sea salted everything bagels done right

sea salted everything bagels done right, originally uploaded by aarn! +14th April, 2009+.

mixed together 1c. plus 2T. warm water, 2 1/4t. active dry yeast, and 2 1/2t. sugar, and let sit for 5 minutes or so. stirred into the wet mixture 1T. melted vegetable shortening, 1 1/2t. sugar, and 1 3/4t. salt, and then slowly added 4c. of all-purpose flour, one cup at a time as it mixed. kneaded by hand for 10-minutes, then placed in a warm spot to prove for an hour (covered with plastic wrap to avoid crusting). after the dough had doubled in size, it was punched down and formed into a large log, allowed to let sit for a minute, then divided into 8-10 pieces which were rolled into logs and then pinched together at the ends with a smear of water, forming the bagel shape. it just happened that the bagels were allowed to rise for an additional 30-minutes as they waited to be poached, this couldn't have hurt. in a large pot, 4-quarts of water, 1T. sugar, and 1/2t. salt were brought to a boil. four at a time the raw bagels were poached in the bath for about 30-seconds per side, allowed to drip off the excess water for a few seconds with a skimmer spoon, then placed on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and seasoned while still wet. the seasoning was a dry mixture of spices from christina's in inman square: blue poppy seeds, garlic flakes, onion flakes, sesame seeds, and sea salt. the bagels were then baked in a 425-degree oven for about 18-minutes, rotating the tray at about 10-minutes to allow for a more uniformed color and texture.

the bagels were served warm with fresh churned butter, red onions, capers, smoked salmon, egg salad, and whipped cream cheese.
[modified recipe: joy]