Honey Whole Wheat Bagels

 As might be evident, I am somewhat on a bagel craze. I only wish there were more bagel recipes out there. Anyway, I tried this new recipe of Honey Wheat Bagels. There were quite a few differences between this recipe and the pumpkin bagel recipe because you broil, boil (for 7 minutes), and bake. Also there is less rising time and there is no egg wash involved.

They turned out really good. They were super puffy after I boiled them but kinda flattened a little after baking. Even without the egg wash they are crispy/chewy on the outside and soft on the inside. I think these guys are actually softer on the inside than the pumpkin bagels.

Honey Whole Wheat Bagels
 
4  to 4 1/2  cups whole wheat flour
1 pkg yeast (2 1/4 t.)
1 1/2 cups warm water (100-115F)
3 T. honey + 1 T. honey
1 t. sea salt- I used regular salt

I always first deal with my yeast by putting it in the amount of water called for (here 1 1/2 cups) dissolving it, throwing in some sugar, and then wait to see if the yeast is happy (look for bubbles). In this recipe  I threw in the honey to the water too.

Stir together 2 cups of the flour, the salt and the yeast.  Add in the warm water and 3 T. honey.

Gradually add in the remaining flour.

Dump it out and knead the flour in until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Cover the dough and let it take a nap for about 10 minutes. ( I leave it in the bowl and put it in a sink full of warm water)

Divide the dough into twelve equal parts.
Set a timer for 20 minutes.  Begin shaping each piece of dough into a nice ball.  Stick your finger in the middle of the ball and pull it apart to create about a 2 inch hole.

Lay it onto a buttered (or cooking spray) cookie sheet or baking stone.
Continue until all the bagels are formed.  Let them sit until your timer goes off.

After your 20 minute timer goes off, turn the broiler on in your oven.
Broil your bagels for 2 minutes on each side. ( I only did 1 minute because I was scared of the broiling part)

Meanwhile…bring a big pot of water to a boil.  Stir in the remaining 1 T. honey.

Put 4-6 bagels into the water, turn down the heat and simmer for seven minutes, turning the bagels over once during that time.( did about 2 1/2 minutes on each side)

Continue to boil your bagels until they are all done.
Let them drain on a towel. (Not a paper towel!! I used a tea towel/ flour sack type towel and it worked out great.)

Bake at 375 ° for 25-30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

The flour and bowl warming up (I keep flour in the freezer so I try to warm it up so it doesn't make the yeast too cold), also you can see the yeast with the honey on the bottom waiting to be all stirred up.

Dough ready to rise

Rising

Boiling

Before baking

Done