Mini Whole Wheat Bagels

As I promised, so I deliver. Mini bagels. With cute little chubby bagel-y cheeks. Totally pinchable, no?

I know I've mentioned before that I've essentially cut storebought bread out of my diet. Sure, there are multiple reasons, from health to wealth, yadayadayada. But really, who're we kidding? Once you go homemade, you can never go back. Homemade, hand kneaded bread is just worlds away better than anything you can buy in the store. Yes, that includes those silly "fresh-baked" breads you can get by the donuts. I'm sorry, they still have some pretty funky ingredients in them, and you can still tell they're storebought. And I'll stand by that, even as I'm cursing the fact that I have a three (really four) stage bread currently in the works. Luckily, my friends don't bat an eye when I bring the first stage levain over for baking sessions / dinner out.


Don't you love friends like that? I appreciate that I don't have to hide my baking craziness from them. Oh, and they completely understand when, after a perfectly hellacious day at work, you just had to go home and bake cookies. Then bring them into work. Because really, there's only a few ways to de-stress, and after a tiring day, the last thing I want to do is run. So baking it is!

We'll ignore the fact that people from work now know I have a food blog. On the one hand, I hope they find it so they can see what I make, and on the other hand - yikes! Holy baking insanity revealed! Anonymity = gone.


Oh right, the bagels. Can we get back to how absolutely adorably cute these little buggers are? Because I can barely stand it. They're so chubby, they rose and filled in the hole in the middle. And the fact that I still love them is a testament to my baking insanity as well. You see, I was at the boyfriend's when I made these. Boyfriend's apt = no KA stand mixer. And when you're trying to develop the gluten in a relatively dry dough, a few swear words tend to eke their way out. Seriously, I kneaded this dough for 20 minutes, breaking a sweat in the process.

But oh, isn't it worth it? Because they were chewy, wheaty, and just salty enough. I've had one for breakfast all week, and the boyfriend (who has been deprived of them since he lives 1.75 hrs away) has had one with every meal so far this weekend. If those aren't ringing endorsements, I don't know what would be.


And the final pic? Yeah, I was piling the bagels, taking pictures of them, and the boyfriend looked over and said - "Oh look, it's a turtle!" So yes, that is a bagel turtle. Or turtle bagels. One more point in the cute column, don'tcha think?

I'm submitting this to Susan's Yeastspotting extravaganza, in all of its cute, carby goodness.

Mini Wheat Bagels (adapted from here)

Starter
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cool water
1/16 tsp instant yeast

Final Dough
all of the starter
1 cup lukewarm water
2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast

Water Bath for Steaming
4 cups water
1 Tbsp brown sugar

To make the starter: Combine flour, water, and yeast in a small container, stirring until smooth. Cover and let rest overnight or for about 14 hours, until bubbly and expanded.

To make the dough: Combine the risen starter with the water, salt, all purpose and whole wheat flours, brown sugar, and yeast. Mix until you've formed a shaggy dough.

Knead the dough for 7-8 minutes with a stand mixer (or by hand for 15-20). It will still be quite stiff and a little shaggy.

Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 1 1/2 hours, or until puffy.

While the dough is rising, get out a deep skillet and fill it with water about 1/2" deep, adding the brown sugar. Place a steaming rack on top, or do as I did - use a cooling rack that will fit over the top of the skillet. Grease the rack so the bagels will not stick.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Gently deflate the dough and divide into 12 pieces. Set aside half, and shape each of the pieces into balls. Using your thumb, punch out a hole in the middle of each, then gently widen it until it is about 1 - 1 1/2" in diameter. While you're doing this, have the skillet of water heating until it is just simmering.

Once all 6 are shaped, place them on the rack and cover the skillet with a lid (or do as I did since a lid wouldn't fit over my impromptu steaming rack and use a cake pan). Steam the bagels for exactly 2 minutes. While they are steaming, get out a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper.

Using a spatula, carefully transfer the bagels to the baking sheet. Bake the bagels for 20 minutes. If you want to top them with seeds or anything, take them out after 20 minutes, spritz them with water or brush some egg white on them and sprinkle them with your chosen topping. Place them back in the oven to bake for another 3 to 5 minutes. Be careful your toppings don't burn though!

Repeat with the second half of the dough.