Bread Machine Cheese Bagels

1 cup grated cheese *** -- cheddar,jack,or ???

1 1/8 cups water -- lukewarm

3 cups white bread flour

3 1/3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

*** Reserve half of the cheese to sprinkle on top of bagels before baking.

1. Insert ingredients in bread machine according to manufacturer`s instruction s. Remove the dough from the machine after the first knead - approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

2. Place dough on a floured surface. Divide into 8 parts. Form balls, gently press thumb through center of ball and slowly stretch into bagel shape.

3. While bagels rise, bring three quarts of water and one tablespoon of sugar to a rapid boil in a large saucepan. Drop test dough (see hints below).

4. Using a slotted spoon, drop 2-3 bagels into rapidly boiling water. Boil on each side for 1/2 minutes. Remove and cool on rack 1 minute, brush with egg and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds, if desired.

5. Bake at 400 on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal, until golden - appro ximately 15 minutes.

** Bagel Success Hints

** When forming the bagels, set aside two 1/4" balls of dough. When the bagels have doubled in size, drop the test dough into boiling water. The dough shoul d pop to the top right away. When this happens, it is time to boil the bagels.

** A quick spray of non-stick vegetable coating on the top of the bagel may be substituted for the egg wash.

** To make bagel sticks, cut bagel before rising and lay out in a straight line . Roll sticks in a combination of sesame and poppy seeds with a pinch of garl ic powder. Let sticks rise, boil, and bake as described in the above direction s.

** To make bagel chips, slice leftover bagels horizontally into thin slices. B ruish with butter or margarine on one side. Lay (butter side up) on an ungreas ed cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 12-15 minutes until golden brown and crisp.