Passing The Time By Myself Can Be Fun

This last week I had a lot of time to myself. Kyle was up north closing the cabin for the winter and the pup went with. I was left with two cats who aren't the best of friends. No dog to walk, no reason to go to the dog park, nobody to go out to dinner with or get take-out and a movie with...It was weird. I obviously have never lived alone. My immediate reaction to pass the time? Baking. Naturally. With a glass of wine or two, of course. I have been messing with a bagel recipe for a while trying to get it right. For this recipe I am working on getting a blank slate, wheaty in flavor, but versatile enough to be able to eat it with cream cheese and jam or make into bagel sandwiches. I got close. And I made them mini, so they are adorable. 

Mini Bagels

1 1/4c Warm Water

4tsp Dry-Active Yeast

3-3 1/2c All-Purpose Flour, 1/2c of it Coarse Whole-Wheat Flour

1 1/2tsp Kosher Salt

2TB Barley Malt

Egg White

In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast and warm water. Let stand for 1 minute, then stir until yeast is dissolved. Stir in whole-wheat flour, salt, and enough of the white flour to form a ball of dough, Turn out onto a lightly floured counter and knead for 15-17minutes or until the dough springs back quickly with a poke or a pull, adding flour as needed to prevent too much sticking to the counter or your hands (the dough will remain tacky, which is normal). The long kneading time is what helps give the bagels the chewy bite that they are known for. You can use a mixer, which will cut the kneading time in half, but I prefer to feel my dough as I knead.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic, and allow to rise for 1-1 1/2 hrs, or until doubled in volume.

Preheat oven to 400F with a baking stone on the center rack. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto the counter and briefly knead. Divide evenly into 24 equal parts (~1oz each). Shape each into a tight ball using your cupped hand and the counter. Cover and allow to rest 10 minutes. Shape each ball into the bagel shape. There are a couple different methods to do this; roll the dough into a rope, wrap the rope to form a ring, roll the seam on the counter. OR there is the cheater method of poking a hole through the center of the ball of dough, still taking the time to roll and work the dough during the shaping to develop the gluten just a bit more. Cover and allow to rest 10 minutes. Have ready a pot of 3qts of boiling water with the barley malt in it, reduced to a simmer.

Poach the bagels by gently placing them four or five at a time (depending on the size of your pot-you don't want to over-crowd them) into the pot of simmering water. Boil for 20 seconds, flip bagels and boil for 20 seconds more on the other side. Remove from water (I use the handle of a wooden spoon through the center hole) and place to dry on a clean flour-sack towel. Repeat until all are poached.

Whisk the egg white (add a little honey if you want a sweeter top) and brush the tops of the bagels. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Feel free to top with whatever flavors you want-garlic or onion salt, parmesan, other seeds...

Sprinkle a large baking sheet with corn meal. Place bagels on the sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes, until lightly golden. My oven wasn't quite big enough to bake all of them at once, but baking them in shifts worked just fine.

Cool. Enjoy.

So since Kyle was gone for the week, I ate a lot of bagel meals. Salami and cheese sandwiches on toasted minis, bagel pizzas with a homemade tomato sauce, honey goat cheese, parmesan and cracked pepper (simple, but yuuummmyy!). I really like having these little pals around. They are the perfect size for a little nibbly snack, but you can do a bit more with them if you are needing more in your belly.  All in all, I love bagels. They are fun to make, great to have around, and awesome to eat for any meal of the day. I might trying to add some honey next time for honey wheat bagels...or adding herbs...or cheese and garlic...so many options with these little buggers!! Enjoy!