Somewhat Wheat "Everything" Bagels

There is something about making my own bagels that makes me feel like a superhero. It might have something to do with how often people say things like:

"You made those? Wow. I didn't know it was possible to just make bagels. How do you get them to be, well, like normal bagels?"

Well, folks. This is how I do it...

In a large mixing bowl, stir together 2 2/3 cups unbleached white flour, 2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 t sugar, 1 t salt, 1/2 t coarse black pepper, and 1 1/2 t active dry yeast. Make a well in the mixture. Pour 1 2/3 cups warm-ish water and 1 T softened butter into the well. Stir with wooden spoon until dough gathers together.

Knead dough on the counter for about 5 minutes so as it can become smooth and elastic. Divide dough into 12 equal-ish sized balls. Brush each ball with a bit of melted butter. Drape a clean, dry dish cloth over the dough balls and let sit for about 1 hour.

After the dough balls have about doubled in size, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Fill a glass casserole half full of water and place on bottom rack of the oven. Then, put 1 qt of water, 1 t baking soda, and 1/2 cup granulated white sugar into a medium-sized sauce pan and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium. Then, use fingers to make a hole in the center of each dough ball.

One at a time, drop a dough ball into the sauce pan. Leave in for about a minute. Use a slotted spatula to retrieve dough from water and place onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

Mix one egg white with 1 t water and brush generously onto bagels. Sprinkle bagels with mixture of 1 T poppy seeds, 1 T sesame seeds, 1/2 t onion powder, 1/2 t garlic powder, 1/2 t paprika. Place on a rack in the middle of the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Makes 12 delicious bagels. Toast them if you want them to be epic.

I like to eat these bagels with a french onion Laughing Cow cheese wedge and some veggies (think: spinach, red/green/yellow bell pepper, carrots, tomatoes, green onion, etc.). Or I just use them as the base for an epic sandwich (think: sprouts, hummus, mushrooms, veggies, etc.). They bagels will freeze well if they are sealed tightly in a Ziploc bag. Don't forget to wash and re-use the Ziploc bag (fill with soapy water, scrub a bit, rinse, turn inside out, let dry) at least one hundred thousand times. 

Here's the skinny (per bagel):

About 260 calories
About 50g carbohydrates
About 2g fat
About 3g protein

(Nutrition guesstimations made based on information from a free nutrition website)

And, as usual, I ask that you adulterate my recipe as much as possible. You, too, can make magic. Food says, "I love you". Cook together. ♥hthr