Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bagels

As  I was just putting together two batches of Cinnamon Raisin Bagels, I realized that I haven't posted my recent bagel adventures.

Last week I attempted Chocolate Chocolate Chip Bagels.

This involved adding 1 TBS of cocoa powder and 1/2 cup of Semi sweet Chocolate Chips.

When I went to punch down the dough, it hadn't risen and I realized that I didn't add yeast, so I added yeast and reran the dough cycle.  At the end it rose, but the result was that the chips melted in the dough and I now had very chocolatey dough.  The best response I got to these was my youngest son,  15 years old.  He said, "These taste kinda weird."  He'a been enthusiastic about all my previous bagels and about food in general so I trusted his judgment.

I've been making bagels about every other day now, and my family loves them.  But I've also ventured out into making biscotti and pie crust.  I made a few recipes from Mastering the Art of French cooking, too.

Parmentier Potage,  Quiche Lorraine and Biftek Saute Au Beurre.  I've been revitalized by these bagels and I even made two kinds of kimchi this week.  Traditional and Cucumber.

---Bagel Apetit!

Recovery!

Well, It's a new day and there are more bagels to make.  My confidence was shaken by the little dense bagels I made yesterday.  Today I made them again and this time both batches turned out perfectly.  They are so brown now though as a result of the baking soda in the wash.  They taste delicious but they are just so brown.  I may change back to sugar, because I like to be able to tell the difference between  the types of bagels,

Here are three bagels from the old method  Cran Orange - Plain - Cinnamon Raisin

These below are the same flavor using the new method:

It's a matter of preference.  Now I know how to control it and today is filled with Bagel Success!

I almost forgot about my Onion Bagels

I tried onion bagels the other night, not knowing what to expect.

I soaked 2 tbs dried onions in water and then added about 1.5 tsps to the basic recipe. I would have added 1/2 tsp onion powder, too, but I was out of it.

At punchdown the dough was airy and sticky. I should have added more flour, I think. I shaped the bagels and when I put them in the pan they were very sticky. After broiling on the first side, when I tried to turn them over they reshaped. I now had a bagel on one side and something flat on the other. During boiling they were falling apart. After the egg wash I put the rest of the soaked onions on the top. They didn't cook completely and I had to keep extending the cook time. The result:

Something that looked more like a bialy instead of a bagel. However, they smell and taste great. I forgot to take a picture so I got one of the LAST one left today.  Notice the lack of hole, but that makes a great place to put the onions.  I'll try these again in the near future.

Last night was a challenge

Yesterday I made 2 batches of regular bagels. I'm putting together gift bags for some friends at AWANA which resumes tonight.

When I turned out the dough, I saw one almost perfect dough and another sticky dough. I decided to knead them together, and all my old breadmaking skills came in handy. What I achieved was a nearly perfect dough.

I changed the boiling water: Instead of 2 TBS sugar, I used 2 TBS baking soda. The alksline water is supposed to give more of a crispy crust, and it did. The bagels got very brown, and had a faint salty taste to the crust. I liked the results.

Then I made a batch of Cinnamon Raisin and one of Cranberry Orange. Something was wrong and both batches did not raise, properly. I'm sure I added the tsp of yeast but at the point of punchdown, each dough was about half what it usually is and the dough never recovered.

When I put them in the boiling water they sank. This is the first time ever. Usually they immediately float. The result was small chewy bagels which I can't give as gifts. Although not as good as normal, they are still edible and so I bagged them and froze them for my family to eat.

I need to figure out just how many bagels I've made now. I just bought another 30 lbs of flout. I'm going through it quickly.

Bagels for the New Year!

Tonight I decided to make two batches to make as New Year's gifts. I made one plain and one Cranberry Orange. They are the ones that come out the most consistently. While I was baking I was thinking of some tips.

One would be when making two different batches be careful which pan you put the ingredients in. Tonight I put some orange zest in my regular bagels! I pulled it all out, and it wouldn't be a great tragedy but it was annoying.

My husband asked me if I was going to bake a batch a day for this year. (I think he was more influenced by the movie Julie and Julia than I was.) I think I'll continue to make bagels as I see fit, because it's fun that way.

Bon Appetit! (In my best Julia Child voice)

Pumpkin Bagels

My internet died before I could make this post last night.

The other new dough I experimented with was pumpkin bsgels.

To the basic recipe I added:

1 TBS cinnamon
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1 Tsp Ginger
several shakes of ground cloves

When I took the dough out it was too sticky, so I kneaded in a bit of flour, maybe 1/2 cup or so. Then when I shaped them they weren't quite right, and as I boiled them they fell into pieces. When they cooked, they weren't getting done so I kept putting them in longer. They are very chewy and not very pumpkiny. I won't try these again for a while, until I'm ready for a challenge. I'm sure the problem was too much moisture from the pumpkin.

The picture is as blurry as the bagels were.

Jalapeno Bagels

So tonight I decided I wanted to recreate my family's favorite bagel. Jalapeno with Cheddar Cheese.

to the dough I added 2 TBS of powdered cheese sauce

after the egg wash I put grated cheddar cheese on the top and then 4 slices of raw jalapeno pepper around the top.

Although they don't taste like Safeway's jalapeno bagels, they are quite good.

I thought to take a picture for the first time. I had several challenges making these bagels which I made along with a batch of pumpkin bagels.

First after the dough cycle completely ran for 1 hour 40 minutes, I realized I forgot to add the yeast. I thought I'd try adding it.

I added a little more than usual and reran the dough cycle. Amazingly enough, this method worked. The bagel dough was a bit fluffier than usual however. Not the dense, chewy texture I was going for, but at least my mistake didn't cause a complete failure.

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels

To the basic recipe I also added:

1/2 cup raisins
1 TBS Cinnamon
2 TBS Brown Sugar
1 TBS Active Dry Yeast instead of a tsp
Soak the raisins in warm water for 10 mins., drain and pat dry.

Toss with the Cinnamon and the 1 TBS of white Sugar from the basic recipe with the raisins

We had these for New Year's breakfast. I cut them and toasted them on a tray in the oven under the broiler. We had bacon and eggs to go with them. My 25 yo son said they were the best cinnamon raisin bagels he's ever had. They were really tasty. I was amazed they came from my oven.

Mini Bagels

Then my daughter decided we should make cute little cocktail bagels for New Years so I taught her and we shaped 31 mini bagels, and served them to our guests. Everyone loved them. She cut them in half and made them into a pyramid on a cake plate.

You make them using the basic recipe, just divide the dough into more pieces. We were making 32 and ended up with 31. I never did figure out what happened. You may need to shorten the baking time a bit since they're smaller. Just keep your eye on them.

French toast Bagels

These have more liquid so I added more flour

use basic recipe but

make it 3 1/2 cups flour
1 egg yolk
1 tbs vanilla
1 tbs cinnamon
1/2 tbs maple extract or pure syrup

This makes 9 bagels as there is a bit more dough.

About the time I made these I realized I could grab 4 bagels and stick them in a gallon zip loc bag and after 2 batches of 3 kinds I had 4 bags of a dozen assorted bagels in gift bags.

So this year families got 4 regular, 4 cranberry orange and 4 French toast bagels
Couples got 2 of each.

Cranberry Orange

So the first variation I tried was Cranberry Orange bagels.

To the basic recipe in first post add

1/2 cup dried Cranberries
1 tsp Ginger
some orange zest


These are my husband's fave so far.

Bagel Madness Begins - Basic Recipe

About two weeks ago, I was cleaning bookshelves and found a bread machine cookbook with a recipe for bread machine bagels. I have 2 bread machines, and I love bagels, so this seemed like a great idea. That's what started the journey. I made 2 batches of 9 rather smallish bagels but they tasted great. That's when it struck me that bagels might make a good Christmas gift. I started searching online for recipes for bread machine bagels. What I realized is that if I stuck to the basic recipe, I could vary some ingredients and add a few and have endless variations. The first thing I did was make only 8 bagels per batch and that seemed like a better size and easier to divide the dough.

my recipe is:
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup warm water
3 cups all purpose flour
1 TBS Sugar
1 tsp active dry yeast

I place them in my bread machine in that order and run the dough cycle.

I'm using two Hitachi HB B102 Machines. One I bought new about 18 years ago, the other I found in a nice resale shop for 10 bucks about 3 years ago. Both work great. They make 1.5 lb loafs.

The more accurately you measure the better your results will be.

When the dough cycle ends, I punch down the dough and let it sit for 10 minutes with a towel over the top of the pans.

Then I turn it out onto a cutting board and divide each batch into 8 balls.

I roll them in my hands then push my finger through the middle to make a hole. I spin it around my index finger like a hula hoop until the hole is about 2 inches around. Shape it and place on a pan that is oiled or has cornmeal or parchment paper. Cover with some paper towel and let sit for 20 minutes.

Next put the rack in your oven to the highest level and turn on broil. Broil the bagels for 1 and 1/2 minutes on each side. The bagels shouldn't get brown.

In the meantime, boil a large pot of water with 1-2 tbs of sugar in it. When it comes to a boil, turn down the heat, and drop 4 bagels at a time into the water, flip after 2 minutes, and cook two more minutes. Drain on the paper towel you used to cover the rising bagels.

Next after the boiling, place back on the cookie sheets and brush with egg wash made from 2 egg whites and 2 TBS of water.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. I usually trade the pans to the other level about halfway through.

Thoroughly cool on wire racks.