Monday, April 16, 2012

Secret Recipe Club: Haymishe Bagels


It's time for the April edition of Secret Recipe Club, and this month I was assigned Laura Rees of This is How We Eat. Laura started to blog as a way to keep a journal of recipes she enjoyed and recipes that she created.

We chose to make her bagels because we've never made bagels before. I've always been intimidated by the idea, but I think it's because it's baking, and I'm not a big fan of that. Aside from part of forming the bagels and the boiling (a stove-top activity), I hid in the basement and made myself scarce for most of the process.

Of course, there's a cost to that as well. Meredith kinda went rogue and ended up using whole wheat flour instead of white flour. On top of that, we used regular yeast instead of quick-rise (that was my fault, I bought the wrong one because as I've mentioned, I'm not a baker), and we used honey instead of sugar to sweeten the water for boiling.


But there's more. We were so impressed with how the whole-wheat bagels turned out, we decided to make a second batch using white flour as well (pictured at the top of the post).

Haymishe Bagels

1 package yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
7 cups flour (white or whole wheat)
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 cups warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 egg, beaten (for the egg wash, right before baking)
  1. Combine yeast with 1/4 cup warm water and 1 tsp sugar, mix and let sit for 10 minutes.
  2. Whisk together flour salt and sugar in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Using a stand-mixer with the dough hook running on low, slowly add the yeast, water and oil.
  4. Continue mixing until the dough is stretchy - about 10 minutes.
  5. Rub dough with some olive oil and place in a bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a towel and let dough rise for an hour.
  6. After the dough has risen, line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper.
  7. Punch the dough down and divide it into four equal parts. Divide each quarter into four equal parts again.
  8. Roll each piece into a ball and punch a hole through with your thumb. Gently tease the opening and make it bigger until it's around 2-3 inches in diameter [Dan: Meredith's words, not mine!]. Place all bagels onto a sheet, cover them, and let them rise for an additional 20 minutes.
  9. While the bagels rise, preheat the oven to 450-degrees (using the convection setting if available) and fill a large pot with water and the 1/4 cup honey and bring it to a boil.
  10. After the bagels rise, boil them in batches, for a little over one minute (flipping them over after the first 30 seconds) and place them back on the baking sheets.
  11. Brush the bagels with the egg wash and top them with poppy seeds or sesame seeds.
  12. Bake bagels for 15-20 minutes or until golden, rotating the bagels between top- and bottom-shelf halfway through.
Recipes by the Haggis and the Herring: tasty world recipes tested in our kitchen
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23 comments:

  1. I have always wanted to try making bagels - I think I can do this!

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  2. LOL, on hiding out in the basement. I love to bake, and bagels have been on my recipe bucket list for a long time. Just the other day I pondered making some. Looks like it all turned out just right. I'd say you aced it.

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  3. I've been pondering bagels for about a year now, so I know the feeling, but looks like these turned out great!

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  4. These look amazing! I've been wanted to go rogue and whip up some whole wheat bagels, myselg - I just might have to give this one a try!

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  5. These look so good! I am dying to make some bagels and these look delicious!

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  6. Yum! I love fresh bagels. I have always heard baking soda or malt powder in the boiling water. I just love how they puff up! Thanks for sharing your delicious experiment.

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  7. Yay!! Those look awesome. I'm so glad that they turned out well (and that you sub things out willy nilly like I do!)

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  8. I have been wanting to make bagels for a while, so I am going to steal your recipe and try it :) awesome choice. they look yummy!

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  9. Hi Daniel,
    These are awesome Bagels, I am going to love them! It is fun cooking with you in the SRC!
    Miz Helen

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  10. Looks great! I've never made bagels before either. Think I'll have to give them a try after reading this. I'm stopping by from SRC but be sure to stop by Seasonal Potluck this month. We have peas AND rhubarb link parties open! We'd love if you'd share any recipes you may have http://bit.ly/H9XJGB

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  11. What an undertaking. The bagels look amazing, just like from the store.

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  12. Homemade bagels, how awesome!!

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  13. I've never tried making bagels before, but they look similar to the pretzels I make.. perhaps I will try it out.

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  14. I've been trying to talk myself into making bagels for a long time too. These look great!

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  15. I have wanted to try bagel but, the process seems overwhelming. The fact you made two batches is inspiring.

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    1. Once we did it the first time we realised how easy it was - the second time was a piece of cake - it's really a time issue vs being difficult.

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  16. You made this look so easy! It's a wonder why anyone goes out and buys their bagels.

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  17. Wow Daniel, bagels! They look great! I've wanted to make these for a while, but have never mustered the guts to actually get down to it! I'm so tempted to try these!

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  18. These look great! I've never made bagels before they've always kind of scared me!!!

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  19. I am also intimated by the idea of making bagels. I think you may have inspired me. These look amazing. Thank you for sharing.

    Velva

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  20. I've always been intimidated too. Yours look great.

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  21. making your own bread is a great idea! bagels are perfect and you can spread almost anything you like, they look delicious

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