Bagelmania!

When we lived in Torrance, one of our favorite breakfast places was The Bagel Factory.
Unfortunately, we have been unable to find an equivalent bagel that meets our (Brent’s) high standards in the Fort. Because bagels are delicious and we were unwilling to live without them any longer, I decided to try my hand at making my own.

I made my first batch of a dozen bagels Saturday night, and by Sunday morning we only had 7 left. They had that perfect crispy chewy crust and soft inside. However, I realized I should probably make some attempt to beef up their nutritional value, since the first batch was made entirely with white flour.

That brings me to last night’s attempt. I substituted whole wheat bread flour for part of the white bread flour, making sure to add to the kneading time due to the whole grain flour.

The dough kneading in the mixer.

After kneading in the mixer for about 5 minutes, I started kneading by hand for about 5-10 minutes until the dough was smooth and elastic.

After letting the dough rise, deflate and rise again, they were boiled on either side and sent into the oven to become delicious.

After flipping halfway through baking, the bagels came out and cooled.

I made a plain one for Brent, a few sesame seed, everything, and parmesan, garlic and herb.

I had one for breakfast with veggie cream cheese and another at lunch as a sandwich with tuna salad. Definitely chewier than their all white flour counterparts but they still had the crispy chewy crust that makes bagels different from other bread.

Larry wanted me to show everyone what a great assistant he is. Here he is trying to eat some bread flour. He’s obviously adorable, but we try not to tell him that too often because he already has quite an ego.

INGREDIENTS:

1-1/2 cups warm water (about 110 degrees if you have a thermometer)

4-1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast (2 packages)

1-1/2 ounces sugar (~3 tablespoons)

1/2 ounce kosher salt

2-1/2 cups white bread flour

1-1/2 cups whole wheat bread flour

desired toppings: I like parmesan cheese and herbs, as well as sesame seed

water for boiling

PREPARATION:

• To make the sponge: combine water, yeast and sugar in a large bowl and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Combine 2 cup flour (it doen’t matter which flour you use first) and the salt in a mixing bowl.
• Add the flour and salt mixture to the yeast mixture and stir to combine.
• Slowly add in other flour, about 1/4 cup at a time until dough is sticky and stiff.
• Roll dough out onto floured surface and need for about 10 minutes – just pushing the dough away and pulling it back toward you, while flipping it over.
• Put dough in greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Let rise in a warm place until double – about 1 hour.
• Knead dough for an additional 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
• Placed the dough back into the greased bowl and let rise again until double – about 35-45 minutes.
• Deflate the dough and divide into 10 or 12 equal pieces depending on how large you want your bagels to be.
• Let pieces rest 5 minutes and then shape. I think the easiest way to shape them is to roll them into a smooth ball and slightly flatten. Then make a hole in the middle and stretch the hole to desired width.
• Let shaped dough rest for 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to boil and preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Carefully place bagels (2-3 at a time) into boiling water and flip them over after 30-45 seconds.
• Place on a lined baking sheet and top with desired topping.
• Repeat boiling and topping process with additional bagels.
• Bake bagels for 35-40 minutes, flipping bagels over mid-way through cooking.
• Let cool on a wire rack.
• Delicious toasted with cream cheese!