Bagels Every Sunday

In our family, Sunday is the ONLY day that NONE of us have work, school, activities or anything else.  It is our official family day, and we are pretty stingy with it.  Most Sundays we spend at home just enjoying not having to go anywhere.  Depending on the weather and season, sometimes we garden (while the kids play outside or help, their choice), sometimes we spend the afternoon canning stuff from the garden, sometimes we do crafty stuff, sometimes we sit around all day and don't do a darn thing. 

Regardless of what we spend the bulk of the day doing, I almost always make fresh bagels. While it is a 2 step process, they are not difficult, and they are easy to make without any of Cassidy's allergens. Since they also freeze well I've started making 2 batches so we have a couple of different flavors, although by Tuesday we have yet to have any left over to freeze!  As far as Mark and I, our current favorite is jalapeno cheddar, but we like them pretty spicy, so the only kid that will eat them is River.  I'm on the last jar of jalapenos that we canned last summer, though, so in another week or two I'll have to try something new.  As for the minions, they really like fruit bagels. Sometimes we make cinnamon raisin, and 2 weeks ago we had fresh blueberries so we used those which they loved.  But the current favorite is cherry vanilla.  Someone told me that Panera has a cherry vanilla bagel, but I have never had one so I don't know how my recipe compares.  Regardless, I'd love to know what you think if you try any of my bagel recipes!

Please note that while I really don't care for instant yeast for making bread, I do use it in my bagel recipes.  ALWAYS make sure you are using the kind of yeast that a recipe calls for, or things will usually not turn out as planned :)

Let's start with one for the kiddos, just scroll down for the jalapeno cheddar variation.

Cherry Vanilla Bagels (dairy, egg and nut free!)
yield: 8 bagels

Ingredients:

4 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tsps instant yeast
about 1/2 cup of dried cherries, coarsely chopped
1-1/4 cups of warm water

Dump everything into a mixing bowl and combine until it all comes together to form a stiff dough.  If it is too sticky, add a little flour, or if it is so stiff that you cannot get all of the flour mixed in, add a little more water. 
Turn the dough out onto a clean counter and knead for 10 minutes or so until it is smooth and uniform in texture.
Divide dough into 8 even dough balls, and set them aside for about 20 minutes. 
Once the dough has rested, put a large pot of water on to boil.  I use a stock pot because I can fit more bagels in it at once, but you could use a saucepan and just do fewer at a time.  Some people even use a deep frying pan with just a few inches of water in it.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and grease a large cookie sheet generously with vegetable oil. 
Take each dough ball and use your thumbs to make a hole in the center, stretching it gently to be about an inch in diameter.  Some people prefer to hand roll bagels, but this method works just fine for me. 
Set the bagels aside on the counter for another 15-20 minutes.  By the end of this time, they should look a little puffier, and the water should be boiling. 
Carefully drop the bagels into the water one at a time, you'll have to do this in batches. Don't over crowd them! The bagels should float. 
Boil them for 2 minutes,then flip them over with tongs and boil for another minute or two. 
Take them out and set them on a plate to dry a little. 
Go ahead and add the next batch to the water, and after you turn them, move the first batch over to the prepared cookie sheet and dry the plate so the ones boiling have a place to dry.
 Continue this until all of the bagels are on the cookie sheet, then pop it in the oven for 22 minutes.  Since ovens vary, you might want to peek at the bottom of one after 20 minutes to make sure they aren't getting too dark. 
Take them out and let them cool for another 20 minutes. 
We love these with plain cream cheese, but I bet if you mixed some cherry preserves into plain cream cheese it would also be good.  For Cassidy, since she is allergic to dairy, we use Tofutti dairy free cream cheese substitute.


Jalapeno Cheddar Bagels  **Please note that these DO contain DAIRY!!**
yield: 8 bagels

Ingredients:

4 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tsps instant yeast
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
about 1/8 cup chopped jalapeno slices, more or less to taste (use the kind that you buy in a jar, we use the ones we can from our garden)
1-1/2 cups of warm water

 Combine everything in a mixing bowl until it forms a stiff dough. Add a little more flour if it is too sticky, a little more water if you can't get all the flour worked in. 
Turn the dough out onto the counter and knead it until it is smooth and a uniform texture. Take care not to touch your face until after you have washed your hands, the hot peppers can burn your eyes.  Divide the dough into 8 equal balls and set aside for 20 minutes.
 Once the dough has rested, put a large pot of water on to boil. 
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and grease a large cookie sheet generously with vegetable oil. 
Take each dough ball and use your thumbs to make a hole in the center, stretching it gently to be about an inch in diameter. 
Set the bagels aside on the counter for another 15-20 minutes.  By the end of this time, they should look a little puffier, and the water should be boiling. 
Carefully drop the bagels into the water one at a time, you'll have to do this in batches. Don't over crowd them! The bagels should float. 
Boil them for 2 minutes,then flip them over with tongs and boil for another minute or two.  Take them out and set them on a plate to dry a little. 
Go ahead and add the next batch to the water, and after you turn them, move the first batch over to the prepared cookie sheet and dry the plate so the ones boiling have a place to dry.  Continue this until all of the bagels are on the cookie sheet, then bake for 22 minutes. 
Since ovens vary, you might want to peek at the bottom of one after 20 minutes to make sure they aren't getting too dark. 
Take them out and let them cool for another 20 minutes.

We also like these with plain cream cheese, or jalapeno cream cheese.  They also make excellent pizza bagels!  Just slice them in half and top with pizza sauce, pepperoni and mozzerella and bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or so, until the cheese is melted and slightly brown on top.  Yum!

Now that I think of it, maybe my next creation will be a pizza flavored bagel, with the sauce, mozz and pepperoni baked right in...stay tuned, if it works out I'll be sure to share!