Whole Wheat Honey Bagels.
2 1/4 tsp yeast
2 Tbsp honey
1 1/4 cup warm water (run it super hot through your tap)
3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
Dissolve the honey in 1/2 cup warm water. Add the yeast. Give it a stir with your finger to saturate all the yeast. Let it sit for about 5 minutes until it becomes kind of frothy.
Mix together flour and salt in a large mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the yeast mixture and the remaining 3/4 c warm water. Mix on low until all the flour is moist. Switch to the hook attachment. Knead on low speed for 10 minutes. The dough needs to be firm but not sticky. You may need to add some more water to get to the proper consistency. Add it slowly though. Sometimes it will look kind of lumpy but never fear, just take it out of the mixer and squeeze it into a ball.
Grease a large bowl. A shout-out to my Pampered Chef friends because this bowl is awesome. I love to use it for everything and here it is again. Back to the topic, grease a large bowl. I suggest coconut or olive oil. Using a spray like Pam takes the clean out of just about anything because it's loaded with so much junk so try to avoid it if you can. Turn the dough a time or two in the greased bowl to coat the dough completely. Cover with a damp dish towel and let it rise in a warm place for about an hour. I usually preheat my oven at 350 for about one minute then I turn it off a minute or two before the dough will go in so it's nice and toasty.
The next two pics show what the dough looks like before and after the hour has passed.
Beautiful, right? So now it's time to punch. This is a favorite for us bread makers and their kids. Lynne absolutely loves this part. Except today... weird. Anyway, give the dough a nice hard punch, cover it again, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Put a large pan of water on your stove and wait for it to simmer. While your water is heating up roll your dough into a log shape on a floured surface. Slice it into 8 as-equal-as-you-can-get-them pieces. Roll each piece into a ball. To make the bagel shape just stick your thumb right through the middle. It might help if you flour your thumb first too. Stretch it out until it takes the desired shape. Don't worry about the size of it yet, they double or sometimes triple later in the process.
Cover them again with your dish towel and wait for that water to finish. Once it starts to simmer add 1 Tbsp of sugar. Bring the water to a full boil. Once raging, take two or three bagels at a time and plop them right in there. Don't splash yourself though, ouch. I let mine boil for about 2 minutes on each side. Using my handy-dandy Pampered Chef (no, I do not work for them) skimmer, remove them from the water and dab them on a dry cloth so they don't drip. Place your now very large sized bagel on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat this process with the remaining bagels. As a side note, some like to only boil their bagels for 30 seconds or so on each side. It's a personal preference really so you find what works for you. I find that letting them boil for a little longer helps them stay a bit chewier which is how we like them here.
Bake at 420 for about 18 minutes. Now as much as I would like to believe that my oven is perfect and heats evenly the fact is that it doesn't always do what I want. It's not convection so I take my bagels out half way through baking and I switch them around from rack to rack. I also turn the direction of the baking sheets so the front is now facing the back of the oven to ensure an even bake.
Remove once the tops of your bagels are a light golden brown color and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
Now for the best part ever, watching my 3 year old devour one. Nothing feels better than giving my family something I made just for them and knowing it is good for their health.
Enjoy!!!
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