Saturday, August 21, 2010

Whole Grain Sourdough Onion Bagels with Vegetable Cream Cheese

I know, I know, I’m repeating myself. I’ve posted bagels before. But, those were the first bagels I had ever made. Since then, I’ve made lots of bagels, and I’ve been messing around with the types of flours and grains that I use in the dough, and that’s how I arrived at the version you see here. Last weekend, the Austin food bloggers gathered for a potluck brunch/baby shower celebrating the soon arrival of Addie’s second child. I got inspired to make bagels for the brunch when I saw the Barefoot Contessa making vegetable cream cheese for bagels on a re-run episode. Rather than having to bring sliced cucumber, tomato, onion, and whatever else, this was an easy way to add flavor and crunch to a bagel topping without needing to tote a million separate things to the party. For the bagels, I still follow the steps from the Breads from the La Brea Bakery book with changes to the type and amount of flour. In that book, there is a recipe for onion bagels, and I’ve tried it. Minced, fresh onions are sauteed and then patted dry before being coated onto the bagels. When I tried it, the onions didn’t stick, so I decided to use dehydrated onion flakes instead which work great.

I have the La Brea book open as I write this, and I just noticed the bagel page has poppy seeds and amaranth seeds stuck in the crease of the binding. I like evidence of a cookbook being used. Now that I’m familiar with the process, bagel making seems very easy. My whole grain version of the dough is made from starter, water, fresh yeast, white bread flour, wheat germ, oats, amaranth seeds, whole wheat flour, barley malt syrup, milk powder, sugar, and salt. The mixed dough is divided into 14-18 pieces, left to rest for a bit, and then those pieces are formed into bagels. The bagels are placed on a baking sheet, covered with a towel, and left to slowly rise in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, they are briefly boiled and then pressed into the coating of choice before being baked. I’ll include the recipe below since I’ve changed it from the original.

The chunky, vegetable-packed cream cheese was made with finely diced celery, carrots, and radishes, and sliced green onions. I added some thyme from my garden as well. The vegetables were mixed with room temperature cream cheese. It’s a good idea to use the cream cheese within a few days because as it sits, the vegetables begin to lose their crunch.

Looking back at my previous bagel post, I realize that I’ve since figured out how to form the bagel shape with an appropriate-sized hole in the middle. I’ve even gotten confident enough to make bigger bagels by dividing the dough into 14 rather than 18 pieces. I still tinker with the flours and grains each time I make a batch, but the formula I list below has worked well a few times. Maybe the surface coating is the place to get creative next.

Whole Grain Sourdough Onion Bagels
adapted from Breads from the La Brea Bakery

12 ounces water
1 cake packed fresh yeast
13.5 ounces sourdough starter
15 ounces white bread flour
12 ounces whole wheat flour
2 ounces raw wheat germ
2 ounces oats
1 ounce amaranth
2 ounces sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons barley malt syrup
6 tablespoons milk powder
semolina flour for dusting
1 cup dehydrated onion flakes plus 1 teaspoon salt for coating
(I have also used a combination of white and black sesame seeds, poppy seeds, fennel seeds, and salt.)


-Place water, yeast, starter, flours, wheat germ, oats, amaranth, sugar, salt, malt syrup, and milk powder in the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook and mix on low speed to combine. Increase speed to medium and mix until dough is smooth about four minutes. Turn the dough out onto a flour-free, that’s right no flour, surface and knead it for a few minutes by hand. Cover the dough with a cloth and let sit for ten minutes.

-Cut the dough into 14-18 pieces depending on how many bagels you want and how large you want them to be. When divided into 18 pieces, they’re a little smaller than what I usually see at bagel shops. Turn and tuck each piece of dough and leave the balls covered with a cloth to rest for 15 minutes.

-Take one piece of dough at a time and roll each into a nine to ten inch rope. Wrap the rope around your hand to form the bagel and pinch to seal the open ends. With the rope of dough around your hand, roll the dough up and back where the ends meet so as to seal. Place each bagel on a parchment-lined baking sheet that has been dusted with semolina flour and cover with a cloth as you continue forming bagels. This will require two baking sheets to fit all bagels. When all bagels are formed and covered, place baking sheets in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.

-Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees F. Bring at least four inches of water to a boil in a wide stockpot, and remove bagels from the refrigerator to let them come to room temperature while the oven heats and the water comes to a boil. On a wide plate or tray, scatter the dehydrated onions and mix in the salt. As bagels are removed from the parchment-lined baking sheet, sprinkle the parchment with more semolina flour. When the water is boiling rapidly, drop three bagels at a time into it. Press them lightly with a wooden spoon to hold them below the surface for ten seconds. Turn them and let them cook for ten seconds more. Then, remove the bagels and place them rounded side down in the dehydrated onions. Turn and press to apply the coating and then place bagels back on the semolina-dusted, parchment-lined baking sheet. When one sheet is full of boiled and coated bagels, place it in the middle of the oven, reduce oven temperature to 400 degree F, and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Rotate the baking sheet after 10 minutes. After removing the first baking sheet, turn the temperature back up to 450 degrees F, and repeat baking process with second sheet of bagels.

I’m submitting this to Yeastspotting where you’ll find some seriously well-made bread.


39 comments:

  1. This is a very inspiring recipe. If I start now I will have them for lunch:D

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  2. I have never attempted bagels and you have made them multiple times. My hero! I feel like this is one of those things that I need to make with someone holding my hand for the first time. Wanna come help? Beautiful job as always.

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  3. I haven't tackled this delicious bread. You encourage me to do it too.

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  4. Homemade bagels are light years ahead of store bought ones!

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  5. You are on a bagel expedition, I am on the English muffin path, pretty much obsessed with it.

    I made bagels only once, with so-so results - if I do them again, I'm using your recipe, love the whole grain approach

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  6. These are gorgeous...I have always wanted to make bagels :)

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  7. Fabulous bagels and gorgeous flavors!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  8. I didn't know that homemade bagels could look so good. I like the variety of grains in the recipe.

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  9. Gorgeous homemade bagels, thanks for sharing the recipe, these sound like a must try!

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  10. I miss bagels. These look incredibly crunchy, too. Mmmm.

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  11. These were absolutely fantastic! I was so impressed that you MADE bagels for the potluck, and even more impressed after I tasted them. :)

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  12. Your bagels are wonderful and I too l like the vegetable crunch on top. Nice touch.

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  13. what phenomenal bagels! kudos to you, as they're still something i've never even tried to make. the veggie cream cheese is pretty fabulous too--bravo, lisa!

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  14. It looks like you're getting seriously good at making bagels - those look so professional! Thanks for providing the recipe (it nearly kills me when you post pics that inspire instant and intense hunger and then I have to find a book to get the recipe!) -- I will give it a try. I'm not expecting a lot though -- my first attempt at bagels didn't go just as planned.

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  15. Oh wow, I am so envious of these. I once tried making bagels only to realize that I will never be able to make them because my refrigerator is too small to allow for bagels to proof in there :(
    Please send me one daaaaahling.
    *kisses* HH

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  16. The thought of making my own bagels is completely overwhelming. However, I live in England where it is impossible to get a good one! I just might have to try this! Thanks for sharing!

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  17. Lisa, the bagels were amazing! I've so got to get back into bread making and get my starter going again. Your bagels have inspired me!
    Nice to meet you!
    Shelley

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  18. These look fantastic Lisa! I love the topping on them. That delicious cream cheese makes them extra special!

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  19. I love how chunky the cream cheese is and your bagels look perfect again - I'm impressed!

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  20. Those look SO good. I'm practically drooling...

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  21. I've been wanting to make bagels for a while now. This version sounds healthy and delicious.

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  22. Oh Lisa, homemade bagel? My husband would die to have one...look delicious and the veggie cream cheese just go perfectly with the bagesl...yummie!

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  23. WOW! homemade bagel.... yum!! This is definitely in my to-bake-list!! Thanks for sharing!

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  24. I've made cinnamon raisin bagels before but that was when I was very new to bread baking (and had no idea what I was doing!). I've been meaning to revisit the whole experience...perhaps with these flavor-packed beauties!

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  25. OH! If only you were next door! I would be tempted to sneak in a steal one or two! These look awesome! and love that cream cheese treatment!

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  26. I need to drop by your house on Sunday mornings! Better than my neighborhood bagel shop. ;)

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  27. Beautiful bagels Lisa and certainly excellent!

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  28. Hi Lisa, Your bagel is very unique, thanks for the recipe, need to bookmark and try out : )

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  29. My goodnes your bagels look like perfection. You're not a professional bagel are you? these just look amazing.

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  30. These look straight out of a bakery! I am so curious about the ingredients and that you used both sourdough starter and yeast... I would really love to learn more about that. I have baked exclusively with yeast and now exclusively with sourdough starter, and I am curious about using them together in a recipe. What does it achieve? Thanks, Lisa!

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  31. Jenn: I learned from Nancy Silverton to add commercial yeast (with starter) to breads that are dense or have heavy grains or seeds to help the dough rise. Because bagels, whether white flour or whole grain, are very dense and chewy, they need the yeast as a helper. In other cases, added yeast may just be for springy-ness. I'm finally reading The Bread Baker's Apprentice, and Reinhart seems to sometimes treat starter like an optional replacement for poolish (which is usually made with commercial yeast). You would use the sourdough starter instead of a poolish when you want sourdough flavor, but commercial yeast may still be added to the final dough depending on what it is. Hope that helps!

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  32. That does help, Lisa! Thanks! I haven't been using any white flour, and the breads really are super dense and sometimes we just want something light. So this might be something to try! Thank you!

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  33. You are becoming a bagel expert. Those bagels look scrumptious!

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  34. Those are some seriously gorgeous bagels! Love the cream cheese, as well...wish I had one for lunch right now! =)

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  35. The bagels are great. I like the idea of using dried onion flakes to cover the sureface. I use always poppy seeds or sesame so it is time for a change.

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  36. Looks tasty. And lovely photos!

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  37. Oh man this looks delicious! Your pictures are gorgeous! Everything here looks so yummy!
    I've recently launched my own blog, I'd love for you to check it out and tell me what you think :) Thanks!
    www.prettygoodfood.com

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  38. Wow, quite the undertaking here, bagels. I got offered a job once, to run a bagel bakery, and I said 'Nope'! Was not my bag, but you have done a fantastic job here, but I will leave it to you and the other places, I will just enjoy eating them!

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  39. Those look BEAUTIFUL! I love bagels, homemade is definitely the way to go in Austin.

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