We haven't had bagels in some time and I decided to try making some the other week with a recipe I'd come across some months back that had rave reviews. They were so good and they smelled awesome. I'd put off attempting to make them thinking it would be quite the process. There are a few steps to making them but nothing complicated or anything like that. They're really quite simple to make and I thoroughly enjoyed the entire process. I love being in the kitchen, my favorite room in our home. (Good thing, too, because I practically live in it.)
We used to buy most of our bread from our local small-town bakery. But that was before Carter was diagnosed with peanut allergy. I actually continued to buy bread for many months after he was diagnosed, although, we discontinued buying any other treats from the bakery. He had a couple of incidences where he broke out in hives after lunch and that was enough for me. I started making all of our bread from scratch.
{I don't have pictures because my bagel pictures didn't turn out and I haven't taken one of the bread. I'll have to add them someday down the road.}
I recently came across this bread recipe that we all really like. I actually found it in Country Living back in 2005, p. 66 but only just recently tried it. I double the recipe for 2 loaves and make it in my Kitchen-Aid mixer.
Homemade Country Loaf - 1 loaf
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
2 T granulated sugar (organic cane sugar)
3 c. unbleached bread flour (organic all-purpose)
2/3 c. warm milk (100°F) (raw organic milk directly from the farm)
Olive oil or butter, for greasing bowl
1 whole egg, plus 1 yolk
1/4 c. oat bran, plus 1 tsp.
1 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt (I didn't have fine--only regular)
Stir the yeast, sugar, 1 c. flour, and the milk together in a mixing bowl. Cover with a clean, dampened towel and let stand for 45 minutes. Coat a large bowl with olive oil (or butter) and set aside. Stir the egg, yolk, 1/3 c. water (100°F), remaining flour, 1/4 c. oat bran, and salt into yeast mixture until a shaggy dough forms. (I use the flat paddle attachment on my mixer for that part.) Place the dough on a floured surface and knead until supple--about 10 minutes. (I keep it in the mixer and mix with the dough hook attachment for about 10 minutes, adding flour as needed to form a supple dough.) Shape into a ball and place in greased bowl--turn to coat. Cover the bowl with the towel and let dough rise until doubled--about 1 hour.
Lightly grease a bread pan with olive oil. Punch down the dough, transfer to a floured surface, and knead for 2 minutes. Form dough into a log, place in the bread pan, cover with the towel, and let rise until doubled--about 20 minutes. Brush the top with a little milk and sprinkle with the remaining oat bran. Bake at 425°F on the lower shelf until bread is browned and sounds hollow when tapped--20-25 minutes*. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Cool completely before slicing.
(*I accidentally baked my first batch at 350°F for 35 minutes as I do all of my bread and it turned out just right. When I did the 425° for 25 minutes, it was still slightly doughy inside even though it was well-browned on the outside.)
Jo Goldenberg's Parisian Bagels - makes 10 large bagels
3 1/2 c. (approximately) bread flour, or all-purpose (I used organic all-purpose)
4 1/2 tsp. (2 pkg.) active dry yeast
3 T sugar
1 T salt (sea salt)
1 1/2 c. hot water (120-130°F)
3 quarts water
1 1/2 T barley malt syrup or substitute sugar in the same amount (I used organic cane sugar)
1 egg white, beaten with 1 tsp. water
Topping(s) of choice, if any (see variations, below)
Cornmeal for sprinkling on baking sheets
In a mixing bowl (or the bowl of an electric mixer) measure 3 cups of the flour and stir in yeast, 3 T sugar, and salt. Pour in the hot water and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon (or the flat paddle attachment of the electric mixer on low speed) and beat for about 2 minutes.
Add remaining half-cup of flour, stirring by hand (or on low in an electric mixer). When the batter becomes thick and heavy, attach the mixer's dough hook or lift the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface to knead by hand.
Knead the dough at medium low speed on the mixer (2, on the Kitchen-Aid)--or by hand for about 10 minutes--until the dough is supple. Add flour as needed if the dough is sticky.
When the dough is supple, place it in a greased mixing bowl (I used olive oil), cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature until it has doubled in volume--about 1 hour.
Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot near the end of the rising time. Add the malt syrup or sugar; then, reduce heat and leave the water at a slow simmer.
When the dough has doubled, turn it out on a lightly floured surface and punch down.
Divide the dough into 10 pieces (about 3-4 ounces each), or smaller sizes, if desired. Shape each piece into a ball. Allow the balls to rest for a few minutes--then flatten each one with the palm of your hand.
With your thumb, press deep into the center of the bagel and tear the depression open with your fingers. Pull the hole open and smooth the rough edges to look like a bagel. Form all of the bagels and place them on your work surface.
Cover the shaped bagels with wax paper or parchment paper. Leave them at room temperature until the dough has risen slightly--about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a baking sheet with butter or oil or line with parchment or a Silpat mat and sprinkle with cornmeal.
Slip one bagel at a time into the gently simmering water. Simmer only 2 or 3 bagels at a time, using care not to crowd the pot. Simmer gently for one minute, turning each bagel over once during that time. Lift each bagel out of the pot, drain briefly on a towel, then place each bagel on the prepared baking sheet(s). (The bagels will be shiny when they come out of the water due to the sugar.) (The recipe suggests using a large skimmer for this but I didn't have one and used a large spatula instead.)
Brush each bagel lightly with the egg white/water mixture and sprinkle with toppings, if using.
Place the baking sheet on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes, until lightly browned. (The original recipe calls for turning the bagels when they just begin to brown in order to retain their rounded shape but I didn't find any difference with mine. They still got flattened on one side so I don't bother to flip them anymore.)
Topping variations:
Savory -
Coarse salt
Shredded onion
Sesame seeds
Poppy seeds
Caraway seeds
Garlic salt
Dried herbs
Sweet -
Cinnamon/sugar
Turbinado sugar
I found the bagels through an article somewhere on-line (can't remember where) when they were writing about making certain foods at home that you typically purchase pre-made such as crackers, bagels, etc... Here is the original bagel recipe.
These bagels are so good and I highly recommend them!
