Seeded Multigrain Bagels and Some Bread Making Tips

I really love my multigrain seeded bread, so I decided to convert it to bagels. Now, looking at the list of ingredients, it looks like an awful lot to have to measure out.  Bread making tip #1: When you have extra time, measure out all the dry ingredients for you bread (minus the yeast) and place it in an airtight container...I make several batches of the dry ingredients, so when I want bread, I can pull out one of the containers and the wet ingredients and be done.  It definitely makes this recipe much faster to make.  And bonus, the dry ingredients are exactly the same for these bagels as for the multigrain seeded bread. 

I have been having people ask me why their bread isn't rising, or how to get it to rise better.  Gluten free flours like water...they absorb it, leaving the bread dense and dry, and unable to rise.  Make sure you have enough water in the dough/batter, and let it rise in a humid environment.  For a loaf of bread, I follow Nicole Hunn's advice, which is heat a very wet tea towel in a microwave.  Once it is piping hot, quickly open the microwave, place the loaf of bread inside, put the hot towel on top and shut the microwave again.  This closed environment should stay warm and moist enough for the 20-30 minutes needed to let the bread rise.  If your recipe requires longer, just take the bread out and reheat the towel and do the same thing over again.

Now for larger items, like a pan of bagels, rolls, or breadsticks...This will be basically the same type of thing, but in the oven, instead of the microwave.  Heat the oven for a few minutes at 200F, then turn it off.  Place a baking pan on the bottom rake of the oven and fill it with boiling water.  Place the bread in the oven and leave the door shut until it's time to preheat the oven.  Finish letting the bread rise on the countertop, while the oven preheats.  Then you should be good to go! So, to summarize, make sure you have enough water present while the bread is rising for it to rise.

Now on to the bagels.  This recipe is a simple modification from my bread recipe and is easy to make, especially if you've premeasured the dry ingredients.

This post is featured on Allergy-Free Wednesday and Bake Your Own Bread.

Multigrain Seeded Bagels
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon vinegar
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup millet flour
2/3 cup potato starch
1/3 cup tapioca starch
1/3 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (1 packet of Knox Gelatine)
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 tablespoon millet
1 tablespoon sunflower seeds, plus more to sprinkle on top
1 tablespoon roughly chopped pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, plus more to sprinkle on top
1 tablespoon poppy seeds, plus more to sprinkle on top
Boiling water bath:
6-8 cups water, boiling
1-2 tablespoons honey

Directions

In a small bowl  mix together water, yeast, honey, oil, and vinegar.  Let sit for ~3-5 minutes. In a medium bowl (I used my stand mixer for this), stir together dry ingredients.  Add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined.  Once combined, mix on high speed for 3-5 minutes.

Divide the dough into 4 portions.  Grease your hands with shortening and shape each portion into a ball. Place onto a greased cookie sheet and poke the center with your finger. Move your finger around, until the hole is a decent size and the bagel now resembles a bagel.

Place in a warmed oven (with a pan of hot water on the bottom rake) and let rise for 20-30 minutes. Towards the end of the rise, remove the bagels and the pan of hot water from the oven and preheat the oven to 400F.

When the bagels have finished rising, place them one at a time in the boiling honey water. Boil on one side for about 30 seconds, then flip and boil it on the other side for another 30 seconds. Remove the bagel from boiling water and allow it to drain on a cooling rack, while you boil the other bagels.

Place the boiled bagels onto a greased cookie sheet and sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds, poppy seeds and/or sunflower seeds.

Bake bagels in preheated 400F oven for 20-25 minutes, or until they are a nice golden brown. Remove from oven, and allow to cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before enjoying.  If you don't eat them fresh from the oven, store them in the fridge and reheat them in the microwave to make them taste fresh.
The bagels should last a few days if stored in the fridge and a few months if stored in the freezer.