Whole Wheat Bagels

I've never even had a bagel, let alone baked one. So when Chris suggested that we should try make our own bagels this week I was a bit nervous. Bread isn't really my forte (I think I've made an okay foccacia a couple of time), plus how can I cook something I've never even had? But, I endeavoured to try anyway! I came across a relatively simple recipe, and tweaked it by replacing white flour for wholemeal, sugar for honey, and reduced the quantities. And you know what? They actually worked!

Whole Wheat Bagels

(Makes 4 small bagels)

Adapted from A Beautiful Mess

Ingredients:

3/4 cup warm water

1/2 tbsp honey

1 tsp dry active yeast

1 3/4 cups wholemeal plain flour

Salt

1 egg

Seeds for top

In a small ball combine the water and honey, until the honey has dissolved. Pour in the yeast, and allow to stand for 6 or so minutes, until it has activated. In a larger bowl, combine the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture, and stir. This mixture will be quite crumbly. Pour the dough onto a floured bench and knead for 5-10 minutes, until the dough starts to come together and is slightly elastic (I had a bit of trouble with this step, and my dough didn't come together as easily as I had hoped. This is probably due to my choice to use wholemeal instead of white flour, so I added a little extra water).

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with glad-wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for about one hour.

Preheat the oven to 210 degrees celsius. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide into four portions, rolling each into a ball. Poke a hole in the middle of each with your finger, and flatten slightly.  Place on a lined baking tray, and allow to stand for 5 or so minutes while you get a large pot of water boiling. Once the water has boiled, pop in your bagels (in batches if necessary) and cook for 30 seconds to a minute on both sides. Remove from the water and transfer back to the baking tray.
Chris commented that they looked like brains after being boiled...

Once they have all been boiled, crack the egg into a bowl - adding a bit of water - to create an egg wash. Lightly brush all the bagels, then sprinkle some seeds on top. I used sesame and black chia seeds. Place them in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.

We enjoyed ours fresh and warm, with roast pork from the deli, grilled veggies and some homemade apple sauce that Chris whipped up. I was pleasantly surprised how well they worked out! Not that I really had much to compare them too, but we ended up demolishing the whole lot. Nothing quite beats fresh bread, does it?

Cooked anything new lately? Have you cooked bagels before?

Reanna.