Shining Bay Bagels
- theburkes
- Nov 16, 2014
- 2 min read
When I have a day to myself during the colder months I love to bake large batches of hearty breads and freeze them for the weeks ahead. This is especially helpful before the holiday season when I work more than sleep, and getting groceries or preparing meals seldom happen.
This recipe is adapted from one which I made almost daily one summer while I lived and cooked on a yoga retreat. (back in my flowy tunic wearing, macrame making, hippy granola days) Regardless of its slightly whimsical past, the recipe has stayed with me and evolved into a lovely modern treat. These plump little guys back a lot of punch with many beautiful grains now widely available in grocery stores, not just in the healthfood markets. Never fear, with the high protein addition of hemp hearts and maybe some flax, they can easily be taken back to their hippy roots.
For all you nouveau hippies that think gluten is the current incarnation of Shiva the destroyer, this one's not for you. I use a beautiful blend of flours selected specifically for their flavour and glutenous qualities. So If you're scared of gluten, no bagels for you!
My exact recipe changes every time I make it, (as do all my recipes, thats how they evolve and improve) but here's the general idea:
40g fresh or compound yeast
1100ml water (this can change based on flour blend and humidity)
30g salt
55g honey
55g brown sugar or malt syrup
1kg Bread flour
500g Whole wheat (the fresher the better)
250g Rye flour
250g Spelt or ground roasted flax
Now for the flour blend, should all add up to 2kg but I suggest you use at least 1kg bread flour and 500g whole wheat to maintain a good texture. The ramaining 500g is where you can get fancy and play around. This is just a good starting point.
This ir a straight dough, which means throw everything into the mixer and go. It should be a heavy dough, but add water if it's too tough. A good sign that it's too tough is funny sounds coming from your mixer.
Allow to proof before portioning into 100g bagels. This recipe should yeild 34 ish bagels. I allow them to retard in the fridge overnight on wrapped trays before I poach them, toss in seeds and bake.
Poaching liquid:
4L Water
350ml honey or malt syrup
8g Baking soda
Allow bagels to poach about 30 seconds on each side, as they float. We used to flip the bagels in the poaching liquid using sanscrit chants as a timer, but you can skip that part. Its good to have another set of hands to do the seed tossing bit, also its just more fun to throw bagels around the kitchen with a friend.
Bake until golden, (or about 15 more minutes of Om Namah Shivaya) then enjoy with some creamcheese and lox, peanut butter, whatever floats your boat. If by some chance you manage to not eat them all in a few days, they freeze very well for up to a month.