ASIAGO BAGELS
Ingredients
SPONGE:
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast (0.11 ounce )
- 4 cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour (18 ounces )
- 2½ cups water at room temperature ((20 ounces ))
DOUGH:
- ½ teaspoon instant yeast (.055 ounces )
- 3¾ cups unbleached high-gluten or bread flour (17 ounces )
- 2½ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons malt powder OR 1 Tablespoon .5 ounce dark or light malt syrup, honey or brown sugar ((.33 ounce ))
- 8 ounces Asiago cheese shredded
TO FINISH:
- 1 Tablespoon baking soda
- Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting
- 1 cup shredded Asiago cheese
Instructions
- To make the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in a 4-quart mixing bowl. Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter (like pancake batter). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly. It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop.
- To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. Then add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and malt. Stir (or mix on low speed with the dough hook) until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining ¾ cup flour to stiffen the dough.
- Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes (or for 6 minutes by machine). Add the Asiago cheese during the last minute or so of kneading, and knead until evenly distributed. The dough should be firm, stiffer than French bread dough, but still pliable and smooth. There should be no raw flour - all the ingredients should be hydrated. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77 to 81 degrees F. If the dough seems dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If the dough seems sticky or tacky, add more flour to achiever the stiffness required. The kneaded dough should feel satiny and pliable but not be tacky.
- Immediately divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Form the pieces into rolls.
- Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes.
- Line 2 sheet pans with baking parchment and mist lightly with spray oil. Proceed with shaping the bagels: Push a hole through the center of the roll with your thumb and stretch out the hole to 2½ inches in diameter, making sure that the resulting ring has a fairly even thickness all the way around.
- Place each of the shaped pieces 2 inches apart on the pan. Mist the bagels very lightly with the spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.
- Check to see if the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the "float test". Fill a small bowl with cool or room temperature water. The bagels are ready to be retarded when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water. Take one bagel and test it. If it floats, immediately return the tester bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (it can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float, return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. The time needed to accomplish the float will vary, depending on the ambient temperature and the stiffness of the dough.
- The following day (or when you are ready to bake the bagels), preheat the oven to 500 degrees F with the two racks set in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the wider the better), and add the baking soda. Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.
- Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many as comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds). After 1 minute flip them over and boil another minute. While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-lined sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour. Sprinkle the bagels with the shredded Asiago as soon as they come out of the water.
- When all the bagels have been boiled and topped, place the pans on the two middle shelves in the oven. Bake for approximately 8 minutes, then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180-degree rotation. (If you are only baking one pan at a time, keep it on the center shelf but still rotate 180 degrees.) After the rotation, lower the oven temperature to 450 degrees F and continue baking for about 8 minutes, or until the bagels turn golden brown.
- Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.
CINNAMON CRUNCH BAGELS
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups warm water 110-120 degrees
- 1/4 cup brown sugar divided
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 5 cups all purpose flour
- For the topping:
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the yeast, warm water, and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar.
- Let sit for 10 minute or until the yeast is bubbling and foamy. Stir in the cinnamon, salt, and 2 cups of flour.
- Use the dough hook to begin kneading the dough on low speed. Gradually add more flour until the dough just begins to come together. You may not need the full 5 cups of dough or you may need a bit more. Knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Transfer dough to a greased large bowl and cover. Let rise for 1 hour or until doubled.
- Punch down dough and break off into 12 small balls. Push your thumb through the centers of each ball of dough and form into a bagel shape. Place on a floured surface and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Fill a large pot with water and add the remaining tablespoon of brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Drop the bagels into the water, two at a time, and boil for 45 seconds. Flip over and continue cooking on the other side for another 45 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel lined plate. Blot to dry and remove to a greased baking sheet 2 inches apart.
- Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle evenly over all of the boiled bagels.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Cool on a wire rack.
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