Adventures with Rye Part 6: Rye Bagels

It's been ages since I've posted about my adventures with bread. I've been baking challah almost every week and regular breads here and there but I consistently neglect to tell you about them. My deepest apologies. To make up for it I made rye bagels last night. Bagels has been a project that I've been wanting to undertake for a while, as a devoted New York bagel lover. With an open bag of rye flour, I decided to make these rye bagels. As soon as this batch is done, though, I'm going to make a batch of regular bagels. I used the Rye Bagel recipe from George Greenstein's Secrets from a Jewish Baker. I started rather late in the evening but they came together perfectly smoothly and quickly. I used half rye and half all purpose with two tablespoons of vital wheat gluten. I let the dough sit for about an hour. I suppose youre not supposed to let them rise that much so that they remain characteristically dense and chewy. I have a secret to confess to.... I didnt boil them! It was just too late and I wasnt in the mood to deal with boiling and messes. Next time Ill be a better girl, I promise. As far as shaping, I started punching holes in rounds of dough and expanding them but I didnt like the look. I then rolled them into ropes, overlapped them and then sealed them by placing my hand through the center and rolling back and forth. I baked them for about a half hour at 400 degrees or so and took them out when they had nice color. They looked so professional and the girls were so proud! I couldnt resist tasting one of them so I broke into one. The texture was dense and chewy and tasted of rye. I deliberately left out caraway so that the rye flavor could shine through unadulterated. Rye is a flavor that I'm not used to but is growing on me. Now I have a freezer-ful of bagels to enjoy throughout the coming weeks. Maybe Ill make a batch of white anyway just to switch things up. I'm sending some over to Yeastspotting; check them out!

Rye Bagels

adapted from Secrets of a Jewish Baker

2 cups warm water

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp instant yeast

3 tbsp sugar

3 cups rye flour

3-3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tbsp vital wheat gluten

1 tbsp salt

Place all of the dry ingredients in a bowl,
whisk to combine.
Pour the water and oil over the dry ingredients and mix to make a shaggy dough.
Turn out onto a surface and knead for fifteen minutes until you have a stiff, smooth dough.
Set aside to rise for an hour. A finger pressed into the dough should remain indented. Preheat the oven to 400 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Divide the dough into three pieces.
Roll each third into a rope,
and divide into four pieces.
Form into bagels. And place on the baking sheets. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Remove to a wire rack and cool completely.