1,000 Jewish Recipes (272 page)
Read 1,000 Jewish Recipes Online
Authors: Faye Levy
These savory bagels gain a special flavor from garlic butter that bakes inside them. They're good plain, or split and sandwiched with cream cheese, tomatoes, and grilled vegetables.
4 cups bread flour
3
â
4
cup lukewarm water
1 envelope dry yeast (
1
â
4
ounce or 2
1
â
2
teaspoons)
1
1
â
2
tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar
6 tablespoons (
3
â
4
stick) butter
4 large cloves garlic, minced
3 large eggs
1
3
â
4
teaspoons salt
1.
Sift flour into a large bowl. Make a well in center. Pour in
1
â
4
cup lukewarm water. Sprinkle yeast on top and add 1 teaspoon sugar. Leave 10 minutes until yeast is foamy.
2.
Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add garlic and cook over low heat, stirring, about 1 minute or until softened but not brown. Let cool slightly.
3.
Add garlic butter mixture, remaining water, 2 of the eggs, and salt to well in flour. Mix with a wooden spoon until ingredients begin to come together into a dough. When mixing with a spoon becomes difficult, mix in remaining flour with your hands.
4.
Put dough in a clean oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until light but not doubled.
5.
Shape bagels (see
Shaping Bagels
). Then, preheat oven to 400°F. To simmer bagels, bring 2 quarts water and 1
1
â
2
tablespoons sugar to a boil in a large shallow saucepan. Add 3 or 4 bagels and simmer them over medium heat 1 minute. Turn them over and simmer 1 minute. If holes begin to close, force them open with handle of a wooden spoon. With a slotted spoon, transfer them to a cloth or to paper towels. Repeat with remaining bagels.
6.
Put bagels on 2 or 3 lightly floured or greased baking sheets. Lightly beat remaining egg with a pinch of salt. Brush bagels with beaten egg. Bake bagels about 20 minutes or until browned; if baking sheets don't fit on center rack, bake them one above the other and switch their positions after 10 minutes. If not serving them right away, cool them on a rack and wrap them.
Shaping Bagels
1.
Make bagel dough and let it rise. (If you prefer, you can make the dough 1 day ahead, let it rise 30 minutes and punch it down. Then cover it with a damp cloth or plastic wrap so it doesn't dry out and refrigerate it overnight. Let it come to room temperature before shaping bagels.)
2.
Knead the risen dough lightly. Roll dough into a thick log. For every cup of flour, cut into 3 pieces with a floured knife to make 3 bagels. (4 cups of flour yields 12 pieces.)
3.
Roll each piece of dough into a very smooth ball by holding it under your cupped palm on an unfloured surface, and rolling it over and over while pressing it firmly on the surface. The more the dough is rolled, the more evenly shaped and smooth the final bagel will be.
4.
Flatten one ball slightly. Make a hole by flouring your index finger and pushing it through the center of the dough ball. Twirl the dough around your finger on the work surface to stretch the hole; then insert 2 fingers and continue twirling until hole is about 1 inch in diameter and evenly round.
5.
Gently pull the edges to even out the shape of the bagel. Transfer the bagels to a floured board. Cover and let rise 15 minutes. Boil and bake them as directed in each recipe.
These sweet bagels are made with some whole-wheat flour and are flavored with honey. They're good on their own when you want a bit of a sweet taste with a cup of coffee but you would rather not eat rich cakes or cookies. I also like them spread with cream cheese or cottage cheese.
2
1
â
2
cups bread flour
1
1
â
2
cups whole-wheat flour
1
â
2
cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
1 envelope dry yeast (
1
â
4
ounce or 2
1
â
2
teaspoons)
1
â
4
cup honey
1
1
â
2
teaspoons ground cinnamon
1
â
4
cup vegetable oil
2 or 3 large eggs
1
3
â
4
teaspoons salt
1
â
2
cup raisins, coarsely chopped
1
1
â
2
tablespoons sugar (for boiling)
1.
Sift both types flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour in
1
â
4
cup lukewarm water. Sprinkle yeast on top and add 1 teaspoon honey. Leave 10 minutes until yeast is foamy. Add remaining honey, cinnamon, oil, 2 eggs, remaining water, and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon until ingredients begin to come together into a dough. When mixing with a spoon becomes difficult, mix in remaining flour using your hands.
2.
Knead dough vigorously on a work surface until very smooth and no longer sticky, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle dough with raisins and knead dough to mix them in. Put dough in a clean oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place about 1
1
â
2
hours or until light but not doubled.
3.
Shape bagels (see
Shaping Bagels
). Then, preheat oven to 375°F. To boil bagels, bring 2 quarts water and 1
1
â
2
tablespoons sugar to a boil in a large saucepan. Add 3 or 4 bagels and boil 1 minute. Turn them over and boil 1 minute. If holes begin to close, force them open with handle of a wooden spoon. With a slotted spoon, transfer them to a cloth or to paper towels. Repeat with remaining bagels.
4.
Put bagels on 2 or 3 lightly floured or greased baking sheets. To glaze bagels, beat remaining egg with a pinch of salt. Brush egg over bagels. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until browned; watch them carefully so raisins don't burn. If baking sheets don't fit on center rack, bake them one above the other and switch their positions after 10 minutes. If not serving them right away, cool them on a rack and wrap them.
Bagels studded with blueberries are now easy to find at bagel bakeries as well as many supermarkets. Often I have been disappointed by them, however, as they had artificial flavors. When you bake your own, you can flavor them the way you like. I like them gently spiced and sweetened to complement the blueberries.
4 cups bread flour
3
â
4
cup lukewarm water
1 envelope dry yeast (
1
â
4
ounce or 2
1
â
2
teaspoons)
2 tablespoons brown or white sugar
1
â
2
teaspoon ground ginger
1
â
2
teaspoon ground cinnamon
1
â
4
cup vegetable oil
2 or 3 large eggs
1
3
â
4
teaspoons salt
2
â
3
cup dried blueberries
1
1
â
2
tablespoons sugar (for boiling)
1.
Sift flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour in
1
â
4
cup lukewarm water. Sprinkle yeast on top and add 1 teaspoon sugar. Leave 10 minutes until yeast is foamy. Add remaining sugar, ginger, cinnamon, oil, 2 eggs, remaining water, and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon until ingredients begin to come together into a dough. When mixing with a spoon becomes difficult, mix in remaining flour using your hands.
2.
Knead dough vigorously on a work surface until very smooth and no longer sticky, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle dough with blueberries and knead dough to mix them in. Put dough in a clean oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place about 1
1
â
2
hours or until light but not doubled.
3.
Shape bagels (see
Shaping Bagels
). Then, preheat oven to 375°F. To boil bagels, bring 2 quarts water and 1
1
â
2
tablespoons sugar to a boil in a large saucepan. Add 3 or 4 bagels and boil 1 minute. Turn them over and boil 1 minute. If holes begin to close, force them open with handle of a wooden spoon. With a slotted spoon, transfer them to a cloth or to paper towels. Repeat with remaining bagels.
4.
Put bagels on 2 or 3 lightly floured or greased baking sheets. To glaze bagels, beat remaining egg with a pinch of salt. Brush egg over bagels. Bake 20 minutes or until browned; watch them carefully so blueberries don't burn. If baking sheets don't fit on center rack, bake them one above the other and switch their positions after 10 minutes. If not serving them right away, cool them on a rack and wrap them.
Some bakeries bake bright green bagels; they're intriguing, but their color usually looks unnatural to me. I much prefer these water bagels, which are delicately flecked with the natural green of fresh parsley and chives and flavored with dried herbs as well. They're good with lox and cream cheese or with sliced ripe tomatoes and cottage cheese.
4 cups bread flour
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
1 envelope dry yeast (
1
â
4
ounce or 2
1
â
2
teaspoons)
1
1
â
2
tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1
â
3
cup vegetable oil