Making Bagels for the BBA Challenge

For Day 3 of the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge, we made bagels. We had the option of making any flavor we wanted so I decided to make the cinnamon raisin version.

This bagel recipe uses the sponge technique to give the bagels a better flavor and texture. It also helps the bagels to freeze and thaw better. The method takes 2 days due to the extended fermentation time and the time needed to retard the bagels in the refrigerator before baking, but it’s definitely worth the extra effort to fit it in your schedule.

I’ve made bagels before using a different recipe and technique and I wasn’t too impressed. However, I really like the method outlined in the Bread Baker’s Apprentice. It’s easy and the bagels taste great! Peter Reinhart, the author and baker extraordinaire, provides a very good commentary on different techniques for making bagels. I didn’t realize how many different schools of thought there are for making bagels. I just know I like them.

“According to folklore, bagels were invented in seventeenth-century Austria as a tribute to the wartime victories of King Jan of Poland, and were modeled after the stirrup of his saddle. They were a bread for the masses, popular also in Germany and Poland, but they were introduced into the United States by German and Polish Jewish immigrants, so we think of them as a Jewish bread. Now, because of the softer steamed versions, bagels have once again become a bread for the masses.” — Peter Reinhart The Bread Baker’s Apprentice.

Recipe for these Bagels

Since this was a challenge and we made the bagels exactly the way the recipe was written in the book, I didn’t post the recipe. The recipe can be found in the Bread Baker’s Apprentice book.

Recipe for Sourdough Bagels

I did make a version of these bagels using sourdough instead of a sponge.  That version is documented in my post Sourdough Bagels on My Mind.

If you want to use the sourdough version to make cinnamon raisin bagels, just add 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and 5 tablespoons of sugar to the final dough.  Then add 2 cups of loosely packed raisins that have been rinsed with water.  Knead in the raisins after you’ve finished mixing the dough.  Then proceed with the mixing instructions for the final dough, shaping the bagels, etc.

If you prefer to make a sponge instead of using sourdough, just mix 4 cups of flour with 2 1/2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of yeast.  Let it rest at room temperature for about 2 hours or until it becomes very foamy and bubbly.  It will swell, but not quite double in size.  Then refer to the above instructions for adding the cinnamon and raisins and proceed with the mixing instructions for the final dough, shaping the bagels, etc. in the sourdough post.

Here is a photo tutorial of making the cinnamon raisin bagels:

Thanks for joining me this week in the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge.

Happy Baking!
Cathy

 

Stay tuned for Day 4 of the Bread Baking Challenge:

Next time, I’ll be making Brioche. Depending on which version you want to make, you’ll need plenty of eggs and butter. I’ve made the middle-class brioche before and it was so rich, I’m going to try the Poor Man’s Brioche this time.