Homemade Bagels

The Jewish Holidays are one of my favorite times of year to be in the kitchen.  Whether it's making my favorite brisket, making a kugel, or just spending time with my mom, I love it.  I spent Rosh Hashanah this year at home with my family, which I haven't had the chance to do in far too many years.  My mom makes one of the best Rosh Hashanah meals and this year was no different.  I'd pick that meal over Thanksgiving any day!



I was back in Chicago for Yom Kippur, so we got to break the fast with the Monkey Scientist's family.  We hosted at our place this year and I decided I wanted to make as many things from scratch as possible.  I made a challah (with raisins this time, per request from his dad), my mom's kugel (with a little almond extract, which was a fun little twist on a favorite), a kale quiche with my favorite homemade oatmeal crust and even cured my own lox.  I bought the cream cheese homemade from Southport Grocery and picked up a whole smoked herring from Dirk's.



But the pièce de résistance had to be the bagels.  They're the key to any break fast. And if I was going to fast all day, I had to have better bagels than the ones available in our neighborhood (which are, to say the least, sub par).  I had seen recipes to make bagels for a long time, but they looked like a pain.  A multi-day process and weird ingredients like barley malt... I hadn't been quite ambitious enough to accomplish it before now.  But this seemed like the right excuse to take the plunge, and I am so glad I did.  Finding the strange ingredients turned out to be easier than I expected and to be honest, so was making the bagels!  I think making frosting is much more difficult!



The whole meal was a great success.  The family was still talking about everything the next day - a sign that means I did something right!  And the bagels were definitely the star of the meal.  The Monkey Scientist's brother said they were the best bagels he'd ever had.  I didn't think they were far off, and definitely the best I've had in Chicago.  They were perfectly chewy and the malt gives them that "bagel" flavor. They were absolutely worth the extra effort!



Homemade Bagels
from Smitten Kitchen
Note: this recipe takes at least 2 days, so think ahead!

Ingredients
Sponge
1 tsp instant yeast
4 c unbleached high-gluten or bread flour (I used bread flour)
2 1/2 c water, room temperature
Dough
1/2 tsp instant yeast
3 3/4 c unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
2 3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp malt powder or 1 tbsp dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar (you can find the malt syrup at Whole Foods, this is the brand I used)
To Finish
1 tbsp baking soda
2 tbsp malt syrup
Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting
Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, rehydrated dried minced garlic or onions, or crushed sea salt for topping

Instructions
1. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine 1 tsp of yeast, 4 c high-gluten or bread flour, and water.  Stir until you have a thin, smooth and very sticky batter.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for two hours.  It will double in size and be very foamy.  It should collapse when tapped, but mine didn't really and was still ok.
2. Stir the additional 1/2 tsp yeast into the dough. With the dough hook attachment on the mixer at low speed, add 3 c of the flour and the salt and malt powder or syrup until the dough forms into a ball.  Stir in the last 3/4 c of flour to stiffen the dough.
3. At this point, you will knead the dough.  You can do it in the stand mixer, but if you have a standard Kitchen Aid, this is a very tough dough and it might not be able to handle it.  It really needs 6 minutes of kneading in the mixer, but after about 3-4 minutes mine started making bad noises and then smoking.  I finished kneading it by hand.   You can also just knead it by hand for about 10 minutes, which I think is what I'll do next time.  Once kneaded, the dough should be pliable and smooth and very stiff/firm.  All of the flour should be incorporated.  If the dough is dry and rips, add a few drops of water (I had to do this a couple of times) and continue kneading.  If it's tacky or sticky, add more flour - the dough shouldn't feel satiny not sticky.
4. Divide the dough into 12-14 bagels (if you have a kitchen scale, you can measure them to 4.5 oz.  I made 13 bagels).  If you like smaller bagels, you can make them smaller.  Form the pieces into round rolls.
5. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow to rest for about 20 minutes.
6. Line 2 baking sheets with Silpat mats or parchment and spray with cooking spray.  Poke your thumb through the middle of each roll to create a hole.  Widen the hole to about 2 inches by evenly stretching the dough.  Be careful to keep the dough equal all the way around so that it cooks evenly.
7. Place each bagel on the lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart.  Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let sit for 20 minutes.
8. Test one bagel to see if it's ready to retard overnight in the fridge.  Fill a bowl with room temperature water and put a bagel in it.  If it floats within 10 seconds (mine floated instantly), they're ready.  Dry it off and put it back on the pan.  If not, dry it off and let them sit at room temperature for another 10-20 minutes, then test again. 
9.  Once they're ready to retard, put the pans, loosely covered with plastic wrap, into the fridge at least overnight and up to 2 days. (Note: after 2 days, the sides of my bagels were a little dried out.  That's ok, they'll be fine once you boil them.)
10.  When you're ready to cook the bagels, bring the oven to 500 degrees F.  Put both of the oven racks in the middle.  Bring a wide pot to a boil.
11.  Add the baking soda and malt to the water.  Note it will boil up like a science fair volcano when you add the baking soda.  You may need to turn the heat down a little bit so that it doesn't boil over, just make sure it continues to boil.
12. Add a few bagels to the pot, making sure they have plenty of room.  I could fit 3 at a time.  Boil 1-2 minutes, then flip over and boil for an additional 1-2 minutes. (Apparently, the longer you boil the chewier they'll be. I couldn't tell the difference between the bagels that I boiled longer.)  Meanwhile, coat the Silpats lightly in corn meal.
13.  Remove the bagels with a spider or other strainer. If you're going to top them with seeds, put them immediately onto a plate filled with the topping.  I had 1 of poppy, 1 of sesame, 1 of salt, and one with a mix of sesame, poppy and dehydrated onion to use as "everything".  Then put the bagels seed-side up on the baking sheet on top of the corn meal.  If you want a plain bagel, move it immediately to the corn-meal coated lined baking sheet.
14.  Once you've boiled all the bagels, put the baking sheets in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.  Rotate the baking sheets 180 degrees and move the top to the bottom and visa versa.  Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until the bagels are a nice dark brown.
15. Cool on a baking sheet for 15 minutes.

Note: If you live in Chicago, I recommend serving them with the homemade cream cheese from Southport Grocery (call ahead to order) and lox or smoked whitefish from Dirk's.

Lemon Poppy Seed Circus Waffles

He may not like that I'm admitting this, but this weekend, I convinced the Monkey Scientist to watch Water for Elephants with me.  I loved the book, and I'd wanted to see the movie for a while now. I sold it as a total chick flick, so when the movie turned out to have a lot less romantic development than the book, I think he was pleasantly surprised.  I enjoyed the movie a lot.  It had been a long time since I read the book, but I do think it missed a lot of the detail, as movies always do - but it was still entertaining.



The next morning, it only seemed appropriate to pull out the circus animal waffle iron that his mom gave him for Christmas.  I had actually been asking for a waffle maker for a long time, so when he received this one I was totally excited.  Obviously he got it because of the monkey waffle shape, but the elephants and giraffes were pretty adorable too.  I wanted to make waffles that were a little something special, so I decided to try this recipe out, since Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are one of my favorite treats.



These waffles were very yummy.  They're reminiscent of lemon poppy seed muffins while still tasting distinctly like waffles.  I basically drowned them in some maple syrup (real maple syrup, none that corn syrup junk!) which made them totally delicious.  You can use any waffle maker to make these - the original recipe was for Belgian waffles - but they won't be this cute if they aren't shaped like monkeys.  I think some cousins of mine have an adorable waffle maker similar to this that my mom gave them - maybe my Auntie should pull it out for a special treat this weekend!!



Lemon Poppy Seed Waffles
From sugarcrafter

Ingredients
4 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp lemon zest
2 cups flour
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 Tbsp sugar

Instructions
1. Preheat the waffle maker to medium-high heat. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees (for keeping the cooked waffles warm).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs. Whisk in the buttermilk, butter, yogurt, poppy seeds, and lemon juice and zest.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth.
5. Pour batter into each well of the waffle maker (1/3 cup for Belgian waffles, adjust accordingly for smaller waffles) and cook until golden brown and crisp. Keep the cooked waffles warm in the oven until ready to serve. When you're ready to eat, slather in real maple syrup (preferably from Vermont).

Lemon Poppy Seed and Lavender Muffins

It has been a while since I last made muffins.  Please don't think that's because I don't love them.  They are one of my favorite breakfast foods. It just can be difficult to make a healthy muffin and not feel like I'm eating cupcakes for breakfast.

In fact, when my coworker bought me poppy seeds, all I could think of was lemon poppy seed muffins.  I've been talking about them for weeks. But typical me, I procrastinated making them.

And then, when I was at World Market, I was inspired! I found lavender for $0.99 for a small baggie and I knew it would put these muffins over the top.

Dorie Greenspan is a kitchen great - and who am I to adapt her recipes? Yet, of course I did. I didn't stray too far from the original, but I did make it whole wheat and add the lavender.  Plus, I didn't have any sour cream in the house, but I did get a good deal last week on greek yogurt (close to free with store discount and coupons) so I made that substitution.

And of course, because my mother's good friend, also known as "the Oops-a-Baker", taught me how to bake, I forgot an ingredient while making these muffins.  Let's just say they were very low-sodium. Next time I'll remember the dash of salt.

Still, I have to admit, they came out pretty darn tasty.  They're super lemony and the poppy seeds give them a nice pop. The lavender give them a subtle flowery note, but isn't at all overpowering.  I'm sure Dorie's original is the best lemon poppy seed muffin ever, but for a little something different - these were perfect.

Lemon Poppy Seed and Lavender Muffins

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking From My Home to Yours via Brown Eyed Baker

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons lavender

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup greek yogurt (1 6-oz container)

2 eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Instructions

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups.

2. In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, lavender, and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the greek yogurt, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough – a few lumps are better than over mixing the batter. Fold in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffins cups.

3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Poppy Seed Hamantaschen

OK, I realized I missed Purim.  By over a week. But these cookies are so good, can't we eat them any time of year?

Prior to boiling down the filling

After 45 minutes

I never grew up celebrating Purim, but I am pretty sure we always ate Hamataschen anyways.  Traditionally, these cookies are made as part of the Purim celebration in a triangle shape to represent Haman's hat.  He's the bad guy.  Beyond that, Wikipedia has more knowledge on these cookies than me.

After egg was added

I originally saw this recipe but wasn't going to make them because I had been having trouble finding poppy seeds.  My grocery store doesn't sell them.

But then I got an email from my coworker, who had seen the same recipe, and told me that "if I was a good person, I would make these."  And then she bought me poppy seeds from Nuts Online.  Of course, then I HAD to make them.

I'm glad I did!  They weren't all that difficult to make and came out really delicious.  I do recommend you refrigerate for 20-30 min before baking as instructed.  I skipped this step because I wanted to go to bed and some of them fell out of their traditional triangle shape...

oops!

Small Poppy Seed Hamantaschen
Dough and cookie instructions from smitten kitchen, filling from Diana's Desserts

Ingredients:

Dough

Grated zest of 1 lemon

1 cup powdered sugar

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon table salt

2 large egg yolks

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature, in small pieces

Poppy Seed Filling

1 cup poppy seeds

1/2 cup boiling water

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup honey

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 large egg

Glaze

1 large egg, beaten (I used egg white, which is why mine didn't brown)

Instructions:

Make the dough: 

Place the lemon zest, powdered sugar, flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to blend. Add the butter and egg yolks and process until the mixture forms a ball. Scrape onto a sheet of plastic and wrap it tightly. Chill the dough for an hour or overnight.

Prepare the filling:

Soak the poppy seeds in the boiling water until cool, or overnight.

If you prefer the seeds to be broken (I left mine whole), grind the seeds in a coffee or spice grinder, as finely as possible. A mortar and pestle can also be used.

Combine the seeds, water, honey, lemon juice and cinnamon in a small pot and cook over medium heat until the filling is thick, stirring frequently. (This took me about 45 min)  It will look like poppy seeds with a little syrup, it won't look like a filling until the egg is added.

Remove from heat, cool, and then stir in the egg. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Form the cookies:

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll out the dough to just under 1/4-inch thickness (I obviously was too impatient, mine is much thicker) and use a cookie cutter or glass to cut 2 1/4-inch circles

Put a heaping half-teaspoon of the filling in the center of each and press up the sides to form triangles. Deb at Smitten Kitchen found that the dough cracked when she wanted it to bend. I think the thicker dough meant I didn't have this problem.  If you do encounter this, don’t be deterred, just smoosh the sides back on and mold it, if needed, into the proper shape.

Arrange on prepared trays (transfer cookies with a spatula, as they are fragile before they are baked) and brush the tops with beaten egg for glaze. Return tray to the fridge for 20 to 30 minutes; chilling them again will help them hold their shape while they are baked. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F

Bake until cookies are golden, about 10 to 15 minutes. If trays are on different racks, switch them after about 5 minutes.