I recently spent the weekend in Charlotte, NC visiting some girlfriends for a much needed Girl’s Weekend! Manicures, red wine, yoga, and SO much girl talk. On such occasions I always try to bring some sort of food to munch on after the wine buzz kicks in and dinner wears off. This weekend was no different. I took a vote and bagels were the food of choice. I had never attempted to make bagels on my own so I figured “heck, why not?!” and looked up several different recipes online. One in particular caught my eye. Isa Chandra of Post Punk Kitchen did a guest feature on another blog baking some delectable looking bagels (check it out here). I chose to try her recipe beforehand and then tweak it to my personal taste for the weekend. The kicker….her bagels were perfect….like absolutely delicious. The only things I changed were the seasonings as I really needed an Everything Bagel in my life and hers were sesame and poppy seed. Therefore, this post is not an original but an ode to Isa and her fantastic bagels! Hats off to you Post Punk Kitchen!
Girl’s Weekend in Charlotte also meant I got to see my Godson, Tucker Doodle! Aka: LBT (Little Baby Tuck). This is Zeus’s brother and best friend. Tucker is SUCH a sweetie, but you already know that if you look at that face! P.S. Tucker may have a book coming out “Tucker Takes” one of these days. Stay tuned. I’ll be sure to promote that sweet little boy’s adventures!
Photo credit goes to my good friend Ashley Hinkle. Another fabulous part of my weekend was getting a photography lesson from her! I am learning as I go and some in-action pointers were much needed and even more appreciated. Thanks Ashley!
Back to the grub!!
- 1½ C Lukewarm Water
- 1 Packet of dry active yeast (1/4 oz)
- 4 C All Purpose Flour
- 2 tbs vital wheat gluten
- 2 tsp Salt
- 3 tbs sugar
- Vegetable oil for the bowl
- salt for the boiling water
- sesame seeds
- poppy seeds
- dry minced garlic
- dry minced onion
- coarse salt
- Mix 1 tbs sugar and the lukewarm water together in a small mixing bowl until sugar is dissolved. then add the yeast.
- In a large mixing bowl add the flour, 2 tsp salt, 2 tbs vital wheat gluten, and the other 2 tbs sugar. Mix well.
- Add the wet yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and knead for about 10 minutes. The dough should not be dry or wet but "tacky".
- Use the vegetable oil to oil a large bowl and place your tacky ball of dough in it. Cover with a damp cloth and let sit for an hour.
- After it rests for an hour, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put a large pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil.
- Take a small plate and pour all of yours seasonings on it. Mix it up a little on the plate.
- Cut or pull your dough into 12 separate pieces. Roll pieces into balls and press your thumb in the center. Keep tucking dough under through the hole until you it looks, well, like a bagel.
- Place bagels on a baking sheet and keep covered with a damp towel so they don't dry out for this next step.
- Once water is boiling, lower heat to a simmer, and drop 3 or so in the water. They should float after a few seconds, if not poke at them...they will rise to the surface. Simmer about 1 minutes then flip them over for another minute.
- Pull bagels out of the water and press each side onto your plate of seasonings. then put back on baking sheet.
- Continue the cycle of simmering bagels for a minute on each side then pressing into seasoning until all are done.
- Place bagels into the oven and bake for 18 minutes or so. They will start to turn brown on the tops and smell divine. Remove and let cool for at least 30 minutes.
Food for thought: While I absolutely love her recipe, I do think I could tweak it to make a sweeter bagel sometime in the future. Maybe add maple syrup and cinnamon to the dough, throw in a few raisins? Mhmm…sounds good to my sweeter side….maybe a post for another time 🙂
Jack Stone says
Sounds delicious can’t wait to try it!
Jenn says
Haha! I’ll make them for you! Just say the word! 🙂
Val says
Sounds like a good BlackFriday morning treat!
Jenn says
Oh yeah! Perfect!
Nikki says
That Tucker Doodle is SOOOO cute!!!!!!!!!!!! And the bagels were DELICIOUS! And the overall girls weekend was awesome! Love you!
Jenn says
Haha! It was great! We’ll have to have another soon! Love you too!! Xoxo