The Bagel Chronicles, vol. 2: Whole wheat & honey

Yesterday I decided against all common sense to attempt making my own bagels.  I was thrilled with the results.  They also passed the true test -- my wife loved them.

Today, I decided I'd apply my lessons learned before I forgot.  I also decided to alter my recipe to best appeal to my Sweetie.

I was thrilled with the results!  I also learned that on only my second try, I got a whole lot better at shaping the bagels.  The whole thing took very little effort and time.  I don't think we'll ever buy bagels at the grocery store again.

The results

These came out far plumper, lighter and with more character to their flavor.

Rather than re-create the whole process, I'll recap the changes.  The orignal post outlines step by step how I went about it.  Here is what I did different this time:

Ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 packets of active yeast

Note that I doubled the yeast because I didn't feel my first batch rose enough.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Take the honey and dissolve it in warm water, stirring.  Add the yeast and set aside.

To the mixing bowl add all the other ingredients.

By now the yeast should be dissolved and bubbling slightly.  If not, give it a gentle stir.

Follow my directions in the original post to make the dough, divide it and form into bagel-shaped loops.

Let rise a full 40 minutes on an oiled baking sheet.

Boil 1 minute 15 seconds, flip, and repeat.  Remove and replace on the sheet.

Bake 13-14 minutes, flip, and repeat.

Enjoy!

Again... a link to the original full recipe including bagel-rolling tutorial.