Whole Grain Bagels
The process to make these bagels is the same as in my regular bagel recipe. The addition of whole grains gives them a bit more flavor, but they are not quite as chewy. I like adding lots of toppings to make them like a whole grain everything bagel which is very hard to find in bagel shops or grocery stores.
whole grain bagel ingredients
325 ml warm water
1 ½ Tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
250 g whole wheat flour
250 g bread flour
1 ½ Tablespoons vital wheat gluten*
toppings (optional):seeds of your choice, coarse salt, minced garlic or onion, egg or milk
Mix warm water with salt and sugar until (mostly) dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over the mixture and let it sit for 5 minutes or so until yeast is foamy. If you're using instant yeast instead of active dry yeast you can skip the wait time.
Add both flours and vital wheat gluten to the yeast water mixture and mix to combine.
Knead the resulting dough for 7 to 10 minutes. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment to mix and knead the dough, scraping down the sides when needed. Dough should be firm and stiff but smooth. This dough is not as elastic as my regular bagel dough, but it should still pass the window pane test.
Drizzle a small amount of vegetable oil into a bowl and use your fingers to coat the bottom/ sides of the bowl. Form dough into a ball and roll it around the bowl, coating the dough in a thin layer of oil. Leave the dough in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap (or a kitchen towel). Let it rise for an hour or until doubled in size (if your home is cool, you can let the dough rise in an oven using a 'proof' function or just turn the oven light on).
Deflate the dough and let it rest a few minutes while you prep the next steps.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Grease 2 baking sheets.
If you want to add seeds, salt, or other toppings to your bagels, you will need a liquid wash to help the toppings adhere. An egg wash works really well. To make the egg wash, mix one egg with about 2 teaspoons of water. Alternatively, use milk. If you don't want toppings, you can still use an egg or milk wash to get a shinier/ browner crust on the top of your bagels, but it isn't necessary. Prepare your wash and toppings.
Divide dough into 8 even pieces. Flour your hands as needed throughout the shaping process. Form each into a ball. Press the ball against a cutting board or your counter, rolling gently, to smooth the bottoms/ seams of the dough balls. Press a finger into the center of the dough ball, pushing all the way through to form a hole, gently enlarge the hole and even out the shape of the resulting ring. Repeat with each dough ball. Take your time with the shaping process. See below for a video to help illustrate how I shape my bagels.
Place 4 dough rings (or as many as comfortably fit in your pot) in the boiling water. They should quickly float to the top. Boil for 1 minute, then flip them and boil for another minute. Remove from the boiling water with a slotted spoon and place on greased baking sheet. Repeat until all dough rings are boiled.
If using, brush bagels with egg or milk wash and sprinkle on your toppings.
Bake bagels for 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
*I ordered vital wheat gluten online from King Arthur Flour. Pre-pandemic this was available in my grocery store, but it hasn't been recently. It really helps with the texture of the bagels, but if you choose to skip it, cut the water back to 300 ml.