How to make blueberry and vanilla bagels – recipe

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/jun/06/how-to-make-blueberry-vanilla-bagels-recipe

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I make a lot of bread with my children – they like the kneading and the pummelling, the smooth elasticity of this beige dough. They also like the fact that this thing they've helped to make sits there on the worktop and grows as the hour or so passes.

But we've never made bagels until now. I've always just bought bagels assuming there to be some thorny knack to baking them.

And there is a knack, but it's certainly not tricky. Bagel dough has milk and butter in the mix, but is given the same treatment as a kneaded and proven yeasted loaf dough. The only difference is that you boil the proven dough for several minutes in water with bicarbonate of soda added before baking the bagels to attain that charmed and chewy crust.

Make plain by all means. I made blueberry (vanilla is optional but makes for a nicely speckled dough), as it is the fruit-flavoured bagels my three particularly crave.

(makes 8)350 strong white bread flour150 wholemeal bread flour7g sachet of dried yeast1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped on the pod OR 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence 5g of salt (less or non if you'd rather)125ml warm water125ml milk40g softened room-temperature butter1tbsp of malt extract (available at health food shops)100g fresh blueberries 1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda1 egg, beaten in a bowl

Add the flours, yeast, vanilla seeds and salt to a large mixing bowl with the butter.

Add the warm water, butter, milk and malt extract.

Pull the mix together with a large spoon to form a rough ball and tip out on to a lightly oiled worktop. Knead the dough for five minutes until smooth and elastic.

Add the blueberries to the dough and knead for another minute – they will squash and make the dough wetter – no need to worry – just make sure they are evenly distributed.

Leave in a bowl, covered with a teatowel for up to two hours or until nearly doubled in size.

Divide the proven dough into eight equal pieces – do this rolling a long sausage shape and dividing it.

Roughly shape each piece into a ball and poke your finger through the middle of the ball to the work surface and then gently pull at the hole to make it a bit bigger and form a ring.

Rest the shaped bagels on a lightly oiled worktop for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a large saucepan of water to the boil with the bicarbonate of soda. Add 2 bagels at a time and boil in batches for 2/3 minutes, gently turning them over to boil on the other side midway.

Remove the boiled bagels carefully with a slotted spoon to a greaseproofed baking tray – shaking them clear of as much water as possible.

Preheat the oven to 210º

With all 8 bagels boiled and on the baking tray, brush each with the beaten egg.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden and crisp – they're best eaten warm from the oven.

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