Homemade Bagels
Food cravings can come at inopportune times...such as Rebecca's craving for fresh-from-the-oven bagels while living 1,500 miles from a New York deli in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Homemade bagels are a rewarding DIY project with easy to find ingredients that will yield bagels more delicious and toothsome than you can buy at your local deli (assuming you have one). A great Saturday project to keep you cozy in the winter months (or even toastier in the tropics), invite your friends over for a homemade bagel brunch with a smorgasbord of creamy toppings. This recipe is adapted from King Arthur Flour.
Yield: 12 bagels
Ingredients:
Bagel Dough:
- 2 1/4 cups lukewarm water
- 2 tablespoons dry yeast
- 6 cups bread flour
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt
Water Bath:
- 2 quarts water
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
Steps:
- In a small bowl, whisk together yeast and water. Allow to stand while gathering your dry ingredients. In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine all bagel ingredients (yeast-water, flour, sugar, and salt). If using a stand mixer, start on low speed for 2-3 minutes to fully combine the ingredients, before switching to medium-low for an additional 8-10 minutes to fully knead the dough. If mixing by hand, thoroughly mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon before transferring to a lightly floured surface to knead by hand. Hand kneading will take a little longer (about 15 minutes). Check out this link for a quick video tutorial on hand kneading. With either kneading method, you are looking for a very stiff springy dough to develop (unlike a traditional bread dough), with a somewhat satiny sheen.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 1 1/2 hours. The dough will rise significantly, but given its stiffness may not achieve a full doubling (this is fine).
- On a lightly oiled work surface, dump out the dough and divide into 12 even pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball. Cover the dough balls loosely, and allow to rest for 30 - 45 minutes. They will rise again significantly during this time.
- Near the end of the second rise, preheat your oven to 425 and bring the water bath (water and sugar) to simmer in a wide shallow pan.
- To make a hole in the center of each bagel, gently press your two index fingers from either side of the ball, through the center until your finger touch in the middle. Slide your index fingers past each other and slowly spread them apart as your rotate your index fingers. You are looking to create a hole roughly 1 1/2 inches wide in the center of each ball, without tearing or deflating the dough. This process can take practice...so don't worry if your first ones look a bit ragged.
- Gently set the bagels into the simmering water bath. Depending on the size of your pot, you can probably do 3-4 at a time. You'll simmer the bagels on the first side for 2 minutes, flip gently with a slotted spoon, and simmer on the second side for 1 minute more.
- When finished cooking in the water bath, transfer the bagels to baking sheets (you'll likely need two). For best results prepare the baking sheets with silicon baking mats, parchment paper, or a light coating of oil.
- When all the bagels are out of the water bath, bake the bagels for 20 minutes, or until they have achieved a rich golden brown coloring. If you want to add a topping (sesame seeds, everything mix, etc.) create a simple egg wash (1 tablespoon water whisked with 1 egg white), brush the bagels, sprinkle on the topping, and return to the oven for 2-3 minutes more.
- Remove bagels from the baking sheets and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before eating.
Homemade Flour Tortillas
Tortillas are a food we sometimes overlook. We find ourselves too busy focusing on the fillings to pay much attention to the tortilla itself. But we've discovered that a well done flour tortilla (not to be confused with a masa corn tortilla) is a marvelous thing: flaky and tender, with the just the right amount of chew, and a subtle sweet and nutty richness. Tortillas, like any bread product, can be intimidating. But they don't have to be. At heart tortillas are a simple, versatile, and rustic bread that is quick to make and forgiving for newbies. Tortillas don't have to be perfect circles or exactly uniform. Homemade fresh tortillas coming hot off your stove will be miles ahead of their store-bought competition. A recent trip to San Pedro Sula, Honduras re-ignited our passion for making Homemade Flour Tortillas, and we've been making them regularly ever since.
Paul's Honey Oat Bread
It is election weekend here in Haiti, which means comfort food is definitely in order. While elections anywhere can cause unease, unrest, and extreme emotions, in a country with few peaceful democratic precedents, a mood of wary watchfulness prevails. Back from travels and faced with an empty cupboard and blaring radio, I opted for one of my favorite comfort foods -- fresh baked Honey Oat Bread. This bread is easy to make, and the results are sublime. If you haven't made bread before, this a great place to start. Honey Oat Bread is fantastic as a sandwich base, as french toast, made into bread pudding, dolloped with fresh guava jam, or my personal favorite, smothered with honey and butter.
Sourdough Rye
Last year I began the quest for the perfect Reuben sandwich. It was inspired by a visit to Lucky's Cafe in Cleveland. The first aspect to master was a sourdough rye -- hearty yet yielding, sour but with a grainy sweetness, earthy and clean, chewy and light. After over a year of tweaking, I've developed this no-knead continuous-ferment sourdough rye. It builds on the sage sourdough advice of Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice and no-knead approach of Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois's Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Here's how I do it...
Quiche Lorraine
Spring is so close you can taste it. The daffodil bulbs we forced in our basement this winter are starting to bloom. But spring is still not close enough to give up winter's comfort foods just yet. Back from our trip to Philadelphia, it was time for quiche. The recipe below is simply delicious, and you could easily swap out the extras if you liked. The filling is adapted from Anne Willan's The Country Cooking of France. For a side Rebecca made an white bean salad with quick pickled red onion, feta, CSA dilly beans, and a garlic mustard vinaigrette.
Breakfast Sandwich with Spelt English Muffins
Breakfasts during the week are often a rushed and dreary affair. Weekend breakfasts, on the other hand, give us the opportunity to go all out, try new things, and enjoy more substantial fare. Breakfast Sandwiches with Spelt English Muffins are one of my favorites. Think of this as a more refined, healthy and delicious version of the drive-through staple. For meat, I like to use home-cured corned beef, but you can also use bacon or skip the meat altogether. For a sauce, I find a light lemon aioli brings a bright contrast. What makes this dish unique, however, is the Spelt English Muffin adapted from Alton Brown. Why spelt? Spelt brings a mild sweet nuttiness which compliments the sandwich well. It also packs a healthy dose of fiber, nutrients, and protein. Using a 1/2 cup of whole spelt flour in this recipe provides the same amount of fiber as if we had made the recipe with 100% whole wheat. And...to put it politely...this version tastes much, much better than a 100% whole wheat version ever could! The spelt and all-purpose flour ratio keeps these Spelt English Muffins light, chewy, and sweet. They are great for a breakfast sandwich, and lovely on their own. These Spelt English Muffins can also be individually frozen (for up to 3 months), and reheated in the toaster for a quick breakfast during the week.
