Whole Wheat Bagel Recipe - First Attempt

I decided that it was time to make my own bagels. I can get these yummy whipped cream cheeses at Aldi at a great price so I wanted some whole wheat bagels to go with them. I tried the bagels from Aldi and I did NOT like them. So off to the internet to find a recipe. I found this one from RecipeSource.com and decided to give it a whirl. In addition, I added 1/2 cup wheat bran. I thought that would make them all over healthier without making them them too "grainy."

Whole Wheat Bagels

       2 pk Dry yeast
     2 c  Warm water (105-115 degrees)
     2 tb Honey
     2 c  Whole wheat flour
 1 1/2 ts Salt
     3 c  All-purpose flour, divided
 3 1/2 qt Water
     1 ts Salt
          Sesame seeds

 Recipe by: Southern Living
 Preparation Time: 0:45
 Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5
 minutes.  Add honey, stirring well.  Stir in 2 cups whole
 wheat flour and 1-1/2 teaspoons salt; mix well.  Gradually
 stir in enough all-purpose flour to make a soft dough. Turn
 dough out onto a heavily floured surface (dough will be
 sticky), and knead until smooth and elastic (8 to 10
 minutes). Place dough in a well-greased bowl, turning to
 grease top. Cover dough, and let rise in a warm place (85
 degrees), free from drafts, 1-1/2 hours or until doubled in
 bulk.

 Punch dough down, and divide dough into 12 equal pieces.
 Roll each into a smooth ball.  Cut with 1-inch cutter or
 punch a hole in the center of each ball with a floured
 finger.  Gently pull dough away from center to make a 1- to
 1-1/2-inch hole.  Place shaped bagels on lightly greased
 baking sheets.  Cover and let rise 15 minutes.  Broil
 bagels 5 inches from heat 2 minutes on each side or until
 lightly browned. Bring water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil
 in a large Dutch oven.  Reduce heat, and simmer bagels 3
 minutes on each side. Place bagels on lightly greased
 baking sheets.  Sprinkle with sesame seeds; lightly press
 seeds into bagels.  Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25
 minutes or until golden brown.  Yield:  1 dozen.

Here you can see them ready to be formed into the classic "bagel" shape. To do this gently poke a finger through the middle and then add another finger and gently widen the whole until it is about 1-2 inches across.


Then there is one extra step between bagels and a regular bread recipe and that is the boiling. I was totally stoked to have a reason to use one of the newest tools in my kitchen - the spider. The spider is a Chinese tool that is usually used when frying in a wok. But it works incredibly well for any kind of deep frying or in this case "boiling" because it strains as you take it out of the hot liquid. Because the main part of it is made from metal but the handel is made from wood (or in the case of mine, bamboo), then you don't need to worry about anything melting or any heat being transfered up the handel.

The bagels looked pretty cool boiling away. I did 2 minutes on one side, then flipped them and did another two on the other.

And here was the final result. I liked them. My husband said they were a little too heavy for his taste but aren't bagels supposed to be "heavy"? The inside was chewy and the outside had that hard bite to it. Something to sink your teeth into - what's the word I'm looking for?.... I will make these again but I do think that I will mess with the recipe a little, maybe omitting the wheat bran I added...