Whole Wheat Bagels
Sometimes I am not the best planner when it comes to baking. I can plan out my life for weeks in advance, but time in the kitchen? Not so much. Often on a whim, I’ll decide I need something sweet immediately, so I’ll rummage through the pantry and throw something together. In those instances, I am limited by what I have on hand, but usually I can come up with something plenty delicious. It’s much less frequently that I actually plan ahead of time to make something specific, though I do have my monthly Secret Recipe Club challenge to keep my on track. Or at least I should…
For my January Secret Recipe Club post, I had intended to make bagels, but lack of planning left me less than 24 hours to the posting time, with bagels that needed at least 12-24 hours to rise. So I had to shift gears at the last minute and ended up making these delicious brownies, but at the end of the day I also had bagels sitting in the fridge ready to be finished.
Prior to this attempt, I’d never made bagels before. I really love bagels, but as someone who tries to limit gluten intake, they are not a common part of my diet. Nonetheless, they were a baking project on my list for a long, long time, so I was psyched to try them out – and even more psyched to find that they’re easy to make!
Bagels require a simple yeast dough, which is shaped, chilled overnight, boiled and then baked to finish. The boiling is key to creating their trademark exterior, and giving them that pleasing bit of chew when you first bite into one. For my first attempt, I was really pleased with how they came out. Side-by-side with a New York bagel, sliced in half, they had a very similar density and crumb, which I was psyched about, and also a really wonderful bready taste. I prefer most of my carbs whole-wheat, but for you whole wheat haters out there, these are really mild. They’re a 50/50 mix of white and wheat flours, so they have a superb texture and a pretty decent nutritional profile comparatively. Toasted up with cream cheese or loaded with an egg, cheese and veggie sandwich (both ways I tried), these can’t be beat!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 2 cups warm water, between 105-115º
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 cups unbleached bread flour
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon baking powder, for boiling water
Directions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, place yeast in warm water along with both sugars and honey to dissolve. Ass one cup of the bread flour, and let sit for about 10 minutes. The yeast should start bubbling.
- Add in the whole wheat flour, and with the mixer on low, mix to incorporate. With the mixer still running, add the salt and then the rest of the bread flour one cup at a time. Turn mixer speed up to medium, and mix until the dough begins to form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Continue to mix until the dough is very smooth and elastic, then turn the mixer off and cover to rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 14 equal pieces, then roll each piece into an 8 or 9 inch long rope. Form each rope into a circle, sealing the ends together. Place each dough ring onto the prepared baking sheet, and then cover with plastic wrap that has been sparyed with nonstick spray. Refrigerate 12-24 hours.
- Before baking, remove from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 450º, and bring a large pot of water to a boil, adding in 1 tablespoon of baking soda. Working with just a couple of bagels at a time, place them in the boiling water for 1-2 minutes each. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and return to the parchment lined baking sheet. Once all bagels have been boiled, bake for 15-20 minutes, until bagels are lightly browned, and firm to the touch. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container, or enjoy warm! These bagels freeze wonderfully.
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http://profiles.google.com/lizzy.do Lizzy Do
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http://twitter.com/MichellePC Michelle Collins
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http://www.culinarycolleen.com/ Colleen
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http://twitter.com/smadadian Sacha Madadian
