Yeast Breads ~ Bagels

Event: Blogging marathon #40
Theme: Yeast based breads

I came across these bagels at Kingarthurflour website and was influenced to try going by the good reviews the recipe got. This was my first attempt at making bagels and they turned out great. The instructions were simple to follow and this recipe yields eight big sized, beautiful bagels. I topped some of them with sesame seeds and some with the leftover mozzarella cheese I had. Everyone at home were impressed with the texture and flavor of the bagels. I particularly loved the bagels topped with cheese. The bagels were chewy but the helpline was suggesting that if one is expecting an ideal chewy Newyork style bagel, they should go with high gluten flour.

Ingredients for the dough:

4 cups unbleached bread flour

1 tbsp instant yeast

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp non-diastatic malt powder or brown sugar or barley malt syrup (I substituted it with honey.)

1 & 1/2 cups / 12 oz lukewarm water

Ingredients for the water bath:

2 quarts / 64 oz water

1 tbsp granulated sugar

2 tbsp non-diastatic malt powder or brown sugar or barley malt syrup (I substituted it with honey.) 

Dough preparation: 

The dough can be prepared using a bread machine, mixer or manually and I have provided all the methods below. I manually made the dough to prevent the after clean up mess. 

Mixer method:

Combine all the dough ingredients and knead by machine on medium-low speed for 10 minutes. It takes relatively more effort and time to develop the gluten because of the high protein bread flour used in the recipe. The resulting dough should have been quite stiff according to the recipe but mine was not as you notice in the below image. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and set it aside to rise for about 1 to 1 & 1/2 hours.  

Bread machine method:

Place the dough ingredients in the bowl of the machine. Program the machine for dough / manual and press the start button. Check the dough after about 10 minutes. It should be quite stiff and won't have formed a smooth ball. The dough would feel quite firm if you poke it with your finger. Allow the machine to complete it's cycle.

Manual method:

* Combine all the dough ingredients and knead vigorously by hand for 10 - 15 minutes. 

* Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and set it aside to rise for about 1 to 1 & 1/2 hours.

* After the resting period, the dough need not double in volume but noticeably rise to puffy.

* Divide the dough into eight portions. Work with one portion at a time and roll it into a smooth, round ball.

* Cover the balls and let them rest for about 30 minutes. 

* They will again puff up slightly. 

* Add water, sugar and malt to a wide mouthed pan and bring them to a gentle boil. 

* Preheat the oven to 425 deg F. 

* Poke a hole through the center of each ball with your index finger. Then twirl the dough on your finger to stretch the hole until it's about 2 inches in diameter and the entire bagel is about 4 inches in diameter. It got a little tricky for me here since I overlooked the twirling part and by the time I got the hang of it, there were no dough balls to try. Place the bagels on a greased baking sheet.

* Transfer 3 - 4 bagels to the simmering water. Cook the bagels for 2 minutes.    

* Flip them and cook for one more minute. Remove the bagels using a skimmer. 

* Place them on the baking sheet. Add toppings of your choice now. There are plenty of choices when it comes to toppings. I topped some with sesame seeds. And some with mozzarella cheese since I had to finish off the cheese. One can top it off with poppy seeds or can add add raisins before the final kneading or go with other choices. Repeat the process with the remaining bagels.

* Bake the bagels for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they're as deep brown as you like, turning them over about 15 minutes into the baking time. Remove the bagels from the oven, and cool completely on a wire rack.
 

Warm and yum ~ Fresh from the oven

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7th Blog Anniversary & Apple Turnovers

During my initial days of blogging, my brother-in-law once jokingly had asked whether I would stop blogging when I run out of recipes. It would be a wacky reason to stop blogging about food, for anyone. Cooking happens to be a continuous learning process. Considering the choices one has with Indian regional / global cuisines and the twists/variations one can lend to dishes, recipes can never be exhaustive. However, I wasn't sure about the amount of enthusiasm I would have had towards blogging after a certain period of time. It is though now proven that this blogging bug is here to stay longer. :) 

Veggie Platter - an integral part of my virtual world turned 7 this week. It is a milestone literally considering the fact that my interest in any given area (except reading) diminishes as time progresses. My love towards my virtual cooking journal had been on an increasing curve since I started. Also friends known / unknown in this virtual world kept / keep me going with their support and appreciation for my blog. Thank you all.

And coming to today's recipe - a final dessert for this week's blogging marathon. Apple turnovers. It is my take over the traditional pastry version. I had used pizza dough for a quick dessert and it tastes like a short cut apple pie.

Ingredients: (Yield 8)
1 pound fresh pizza dough (Check notes)
4 apples (I used golden delicious apples since I prefer sweet ones.)
2 tbsp. apricot preserves
2 tbsp. softened butter
2 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Method:
* Combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
* Peel, core and dice apples. Combine them with apricot preserves in another bowl and mix well. Keep it aside.
* Preheat the oven to 425 deg F.
* Divide the dough into 8 portions. Spread each portion into a square of about 4 & 1/2 inches.

* Divide the apple mixture among the dough squares.

* Fold over a corner of each square and seal the edges properly to form a triangle. Wet the edges with moist fingers if needed and take care to seal the edges properly. Otherwise they will open up during baking and it would be a mess. The gooey syrup will burn and it is not a pretty sight.

* I highly recommend covering the baking sheet with aluminium foil to avoid any messy accidents. Place the turnovers over the foil lined baking tray or a greased baking pan.
* Brush tops with butter. Sprinkle sugar-cinnamon mixture over them.

* Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
If at all they open up and the juice starts spilling out, shift them to a cleaner side on the tray. Otherwise the juice starts to burn and stick to turnovers. Or replace a new foil sheet and place the turnovers on them.

Note:
I used this pizza dough and added 2 tbsp. of canola oil while kneading the dough. I had prepared the dough the previous evening and refrigerated it overnight. Next day morning I left it in a warm place to come to room temperature and then used it.

This is going to be a part of BM #35 under the theme of "Desserts". Check what other marathoners are cooking here.

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Five Cheese Pizza

I chose to go with pizza theme for this week's blogging marathon and the first one in the series is going to be a cheese flavored one. The kind my daughter / any kid in general goes gaga over. Over the years, I have tried a few dough bases for the pizzas and this particular one that I copied from a cookbook is fat-free and no-nonsense kind and I absolutely love it.
The following ingredients are for a pound dough and yield a 14 inch pizza. I usually divide the dough to make 2 small ones - one especially loaded with cheese for my daughter. I could not take pictures when I made the pizzas with the following cheese measurements. I took pictures the day I made when my daughter was hovering around asking me for a cheese pizza. She preferred less quantity of cheese on that particular day and so you don't see a lot of cheese in the images. :)
(I prepare the dough by hands since it is a small quantity and bake on a baking sheet and so that is what mentioned below.)

Ingredients:
1.5 tsp active dry yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup luke warm water (105 - 115 deg F)
1 cup bread flour
1 cup all purpose flour
6 - 8 Tbsp pizza sauce
12 - 14 oz / about 2 cups shredded cheese (I used Italian five cheese blend - Mozzarella, Asiago, Parmesan, Provolone and Romano.)

Method:
1. Preparation of pizza dough:
* Combine water, yeast, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir just until everything is dissolved. Cover and set aside the mixture for about 5 minutes at room temperature. The mixture would usually bubble and foam by the time.
* Stir in both flours with a wooden spoon. You can either work the dough in the mixing bowl or transfer the mixture to a floured work space. Work dough back and forth with the heels of your hands. Knead until smooth and elastic for about 8 minutes. If the dough is dry while kneading, add extra water in 1 Tbsp increments. I find that this recipe needs an extra tbsp of water.
* Grease a bowl and place the dough in the prepared bowl. Turn the dough so that all sides are coated with oil. Cover and place in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

2. Assembling and Baking:
* Punch down the dough and knead briefly.
* Preheat the oven to 425 deg F.
* Grease a large baking sheet or a pizza tray.
* Place the dough on the baking sheet and dimple the dough with fingertips until its a flattened circle. Then pull and press it until it forms about14 inch circle or 12 by 7 inch wide rectangle, of about 1/8 inch thickness. Instead of a big pizza, I made two 6-7 inch pizzas.
* Spread the sauce evenly over the crust, leaving a 1/2 inch border at it's edge.
* Sprinkle the cheeses evenly over the sauce.

* Bake until the cheese has melted and just started to brown, about 15 - 17 minutes.
* Remove and transfer the pizza onto a wire rack to slightly cool before slicing it.

Notes:
1. Yeast usually doesn't foam either when the yeast is expired or the water is not at right temperature. However sometimes I have noticed that the mixture wouldn't bubble and foam even though yeast is fresh and water is at right temperature. In that case, allow the dough to rest for extra time to rise.
2. The above ingredients make 1 pound dough. And so a pound of store bought fresh or thawed frozen dough can be used instead.
3. If using your own combination of cheeses, use firm / semi hard cheeses and avoid soft cheeses like ricotta.

Check the page for other marathoners who are doing BM #35.

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V ~ Vegan Braided Bread

Event: Blogging Marathon #32
Theme: Baking Recipe #5

Priya keeps posting such versatile recipes that one couldn't stop from bookmarking them. When I thought of baking something for the letter V, I honestly didn't have to think twice before checking my list of "recipes to try" from her blog. An added incentive was that I was planning to bake a braided bread from a long time. Leaving apart the rising and baking periods, the bread can be made in a short time. The braiding part is easy once you get a hang of it. Instead of one big one, I baked 4 mini braided loaves.

Ingredients: 
3 cups bread flour / all purpose flour ( I used both flours)
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp dried herb or 2 Tbsp fresh herb of your choice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 cup luke warm water (I have to add 3 Tbsp more.)
1/4 cup olive oil 

Method:
1. Place sugar, salt, yeast in a bowl and add luke warm water. Let it sit in a warm place for about 5 minutes. The yeast solution would have turned foamy by that time. 

2. Meanwhile, mix together the flour, cumin, sesame seeds and the herbs you are using in a mixing bowl.
3. Add the yeast solution and the oil to the flour bowl. Combine everything and work with it to form a stiff dough. 

4. Place the dough in a well greased bowl, cover and let it sit in a warm place for 2 hours. The volume of the dough would increase by the time.

5. Punch the dough and divide it into 3 portions. Roll and shape them into balls. Further roll each ball into a strand / rope. 
Instead of one big braided bread, I was planning to make 4 mini ones. And so I divided the dough into 12 portions and proceeded with the recipe. 

6. Braid the strands together and seal at the ends. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350 deg F and keep a greased baking tray ready. 

7. Place the braided loaf / loaves on the greased baking sheet. Brush it with some oil / milk if not looking for a vegan version.

8. Bake them for 25-30 minutes until the crust turns brown. Let them cool for few minutes before serving.

My experience:
* The bread didn't turn brown even after baking much longer than the time mentioned and the bread started to go on to the harder side. I then increased the temperature to 375 deg F and then it browned in very short time.
* My oven is relatively new and am wondering whether the bread needs to be baked at 375 deg F. I have to check with Priya about this. Or I think the bread initially can be baked at 375 deg F and later reduced to 350 deg F.

Logo courtesy : Preeti

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