Tuesday, October 16, 2012

TWD: Bagels | Everything & Jalapeño - Cheddar

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing baker: Lauren Groveman



                                            Everything Bagel

I'll definitely try my hand at making bagels again. These were good. Especially the jalapeño-cheddar bagel.

The only downside was that the everything bagel was dry and tough the next day, as where the jalapeño-cheddar bagel was still soft and moist; probably due to the cheese I added to the dough. I'm wondering if the vegetable shortening that I had inadvertently omitted would have any effect on the texture of the bagels. The reason I question this is that other recipes I have seen do not call for shortening or other fats to be added.

I halved the dough after mixing and to one half I added chopped jalapeños and grated cheddar cheese. Before baking I also topped them with additional cheese and jalapeños. I did not add anything to the remainder of the dough itself, but I did top the remaining bagels with a mixture of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried garlic, dried onion, and salt.

Lauren's recipe makes ten large bagels. I wanted to have plenty to go around so I divided the dough into approximately 2 ounce portions which yielded 24 bagels. They turned out to be the perfect size.

I decided to go with Peter Reinhart's (author of The Bread Baker's Apprentice) instructions to form the bagels before retardation*. He also has you do a "float test" (shown below) to make sure they are ready to be refrigerated. This would save a lot of time in the morning. I would just have to boil, top, and bake before delivering them to the boys in time for their morning break.

*Retarding is a second, slower rising of your bread dough. It is done by placing the dough in the refrigerator which causes a slower fermentation, or rise, of the dough. Retarding bread dough is often done overnight when the dough is placed in the refrigerator so that it can be freshly baked in the morning. It is also done to increase the flavor of the bread and to give the crust a darker color when baked. (Source: about [dot] com.)

In making of my bagels I used three separate resources:

1. Baking with Julia for the initial recipe.
2. The Bread Baker's Apprentice for dough preparation.
3. Brown Eyed Baker for the everything topping recipe.

Success meter (1-3): 2




"The float test". After the bagels are formed and have rested
for about twenty minutes, check to see if they are ready to be
retarded (placed in the refrigerator) by placing a bagel in a bowl
of cool to room temperature water. If it floats within ten seconds 
they are ready. Return the bagel to the pan, pat it dry and continue
with the recipe. Should the bagel not float, return it to the pan and
let the dough rest for another ten to twenty minutes and try again.



These are my favorite.

I left two plain - just in case.

All packed up and ready for the boys!
(Only to drive up and find them all
standing in the middle of the shop
eating breakfast sandwiches!)

The directions say the bagels will keep
for a day in a paper bag which I did not
have. Wrapped in parchment is so much
cuter anyway - great gift idea!


Bagels are really easy and fun to make. If you would like to give it a try visit our host Heather at Heather's Bytes for the recipe or one of the other resources I mentioned above.

Do make sure to check out the results of my fellow bakers; there are always interesting variations and techniques to accommodate ingredient & equipment availability, personal preferences, and health restrictions.

23 comments:

  1. The cheddar jalapeño are amazing! Definitely a great idea for future bagels. Great job!

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  2. All your bagels look great, and those cheddar jalapeno bagels look AMAZING! I am so trying that next time! Thank you for baking along!

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  3. What a wonderful post with so many terrific and delicious ideas for toppings and so many good advice with respect to baking them. I love the idea of baking adorable smaller bagels for the lunchboxes, they look so pretty all laid out in the tray as well as all wrapped-up!

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  4. Yummy! Those cheese bagels with jalapeno look wonderful. Great idea!

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  5. Man, everyone is making me hungry with their bagel inspirations. The cheddar jalapeno are calling my name.
    I had never heard of the water test before. Intrigued.

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  6. I love plain bagels but the cheddar jalapeno sounds sooOoo good I think I need to give them a try. Great job!

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  7. Those jalapeno/cheddar ones sounds great! I left the shortening out, but I was quite happy with the texture. It would be interested to try shaping them the night before though. Much easier to have them hot for breakfast!

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  8. I have to try the cheddar jalapeno ones. I know my family would love those. Your bagels are gorgeous and I love how you packaged them. I also like that you made them small. Mine were so large that one is quite filling.

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  9. Cheese in the dough is so smart! Also, thanks for sharing the alternate shaping instructions :)

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  10. Wish we could try your bagels. They do look tempting. But, we are gluten free and our recipe is still a work in progress.

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  11. so fun, all wrapped up in parchment!

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  12. Nice job! I love the tip about floating the bagels--never heard that one before! I think you might be right about the shortening keeping the finished product softer.

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  13. Great post and photos. I like the parchment gift wrap idea. ;)

    Carmen
    http://sometimessavory.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/twd-baking-with-julia-bagels-with-lox-and-the-fixings/

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  14. Mmm... cheese! Both look great, but, mmm... cheese! Adding those to the list to try next time. (And shame on those boys!)

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  15. Thanks for sharing about the water test! Yes, I alto think that the shortening in the dough adds tenderness to the dough but I can never bear to use it...The bagels look amazing!

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  16. Your cheddar jalapeno bagels sound wonderful!! They all look so incredibly delicious. I will definitely be making these again!

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  17. The cheese and jalapeno ones look delicious.

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  18. Cheeeeese! I love the combo with jalapeno. Must try. Thanks for all of the research too!

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  19. Wow, gorgeous! That cheese looks heavenly!

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  20. Awesome post! Very informative. I'll have to try the float test, it sounds fun. Your bagels look super lovely! Hopefully your boys still enjoyed them after sandwiches. I would've teared through those cheddar ones!

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  21. Love how you went all out with your flavors! Interesting that the ones with cheese stayed moister...I never would have guessed.

    THANK YOU for letting me know you made the Brussels sprouts salad...I was hoping it would appeal to someone besides me :) Hope you're having a lovely weekend~

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  22. Thank you sooo much for this wonderful post and your beautiful bagels!
    Superbe!
    I had great fun making and bathing and baking them and will remake them for sure.

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  23. Yum! Jalapeno & cheddar! :-) Nice job!

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