Cinnamon, Apple and Raisin Bagels

Sweet, chewy bagels, flavoured with cinnamon and chunks of raisins and dried apple. 

My Richard Bertinet recipe book; Crust, includes a recipe for bagels, that I have been meaning to try out for quite a while, but something else has always gotten in the way. This weekend I had a lot of time on my hands, and so I decided to try them out!

I have followed Richard Bertinet’s  recipe, but I decided to add some cinnamon and raisins, because that is the flavour of bagels that I always choose in the shops.

These bagels turned out wonderfully, really soft and chewy, (they don’t even need toasting like the ones from the shop do), so I will definitely be making them again!

Variations: Leave out the cinnamon and dried fruit for a plain bagel, or you could add some different dried fruits.

Ingredients: Makes 14 Bagels

Fermented dough:

• 200g Strong White Bread Flour
• 5g Yeast
• 5g salt
• 100g Water

The Bagels:

• 200g Fermented Dough
• 550g Strong White Bread Flour
• 10g Fast Action Yeast
• 20g Honey
• 10g Salt
• 250g Water
• 1tsp Baking powder

To Make:

The Ferment:

Combine all ingredients for the ferment until fully combined.

Leave to rest at room temperature for at least 3 hours or overnight.

The Bagels:

Mix together the dough, flour, salt, honey and water in a large bowl until  it comes together in a rough dough.

Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface and knead for 5-10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Return to the bowl, and prove for 30 minutes.

Turn out the proved dough and knead in the cinnamon and dried fruits until evenly distributed, then rest again for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 14 equal pieces, each weighing around 80g, and form each into a tight ball. make a hole in the middle of each ball with a wooden spoon and roll around the wooden spoon to smooth the inside edges of the hole. Leave to rest for another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C and oil some baking trays.

Bring a pan of water to the boil with 1tsp of baking powder. Plunge each bagel into the boiling water and cook for 30 seconds on either side, then transfer to an oiled baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, until evenly browned.

Leave to cool on a wire rack, then serve warm with a good covering of salted butter.