Pumpkin Bagels
MAKES
eight bagels
TAKES
Prep time: 3 hours 20 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Total: 4 hours 30 minutes
✻ ABOUT THIS RECIPE
Welcome fall with these pumpkin bagels! They use canned pumpkin puree as the primary hydration for the dough - and are shaped using a fun knot effect that looks like a sweet, ridged pumpkin. A fun baking project to try this autumn - all you need is schmear of the cream cheese of your choice.
INGREDIENTS
Sponge
< 1 g / ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
226 g / 1 cup room temperature water (about 75°F / 25°C)
200 g / 1 ⅔ cups bread flour
Dough
540 g / 4 ½ cups bread flour
2 g / ½ teaspoon instant dry yeast
7 g / 1 ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
230 g / 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
Sponge (above)
blue food coloring, for tinting stems
Finishing
2.26 kg / 10 cups water
30 g / 2 tablespoons barely malt syrup
3 g / ½ teaspoon baking soda
More Fall Baking This Way:
METHOD
1. Make the sponge: In a medium bowl, stir the yeast and water to combine. Add the flour and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until well combined.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour. There should be lots of small bubbles on the surface when the sponge is ready.
3. Make the dough: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, yeast, and salt and mix together on low speed. Add the pumpkin puree and prepared sponge and mix for 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl well, raise the speed to medium, and mix for 7 minutes—the dough should be very smooth.
4. Transfer the dough to a greased large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 ½ hours.
5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Remove 160 g / 5 ⅔ ounces, and add a few drops of blue food coloring. This neutralizes the orange, and makes sort of a natural looking green color). Divide the dough into 8 even pieces (20 g each), and cover with plastic wrap.
6. Divide the remaining dough into 8 equal pieces (about 120 g each). Round each piece into a loose ball. Place the rolls on a lightly floured surface and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest for 15 minutes.
7. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Working with one piece of dough at a time, use your fingers to stipple the dough to flatten it slightly. Starting with the part of the dough farthest away from you, start to fold the dough over onto itself, using your fingertips to press it down firmly as you go. Repeat this process 2 or 3 more times—as you work, the piece of dough will become longer. When there’s about ½ inch / 1 cm of dough left unfolded, switch from your fingertips to the heel of your hand to secure the dough as you fold it over, forming a rough log shape. Starting with very light pressure at the center of the log, roll the dough under your hands to elongate the log to about 10 inches / 25 cm long.
8. Make the long piece of dough into a knot. First, form a loop by crossing one side of the piece of dough over the other to create a loose knot. Reach through the loop, grab the long end, and pull it through to form another loop in the knot. Finally, tuck the two ends into the center of the knot - take the top end and tuck downward through the center of the knot, and then take the bottom end and tuck it upward into the center. Watch this video for a visual!
9. Have a small bowl of cool water ready. Take one of the green stem pieces and use a few drops of water to help attach it to the center of the roll. Transfer the shaped bagel to one of the parchment-lined baking sheets and keep covered with a clean kitchen towel while you shape the remaining bagels.
10. Let the bagels rise at room temperature for 45 minutes - 1 1 hour. Toward the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 425°F / 205°C with the racks in the upper and lower thirds. If desired, use scissors to cut an “x” shape into the green stem piece of dough to give it more texture.
11. In a medium pot, bring the water to a simmer over medium heat. Add the malt syrup and baking soda and stir to combine. Keep the mixture at a simmer while you cook the bagels. Gently drop the bagels into the water a few at a time and cook, flipping them once with a slotted spoon, for about 20 to 30 seconds per side. Then use the spoon to transfer the bagels to a wire rack to drain. Return the bagels to the parchment-lined baking sheets, staggering them to allow plenty of room between them.
12. Transfer the baking sheets to the oven and bake until the bagels are deeply golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving,
✻ HAVE YOU BAKED IT?
Tag @emcdowell on Instagram or use #happybaking. I’d love to see your bakes!
