Twisty Twirly Pretzel Bagel Buns

For want of an apt term, I let my 4 year-old sous chef suggest a name for these delicious baked goodies that started out as pretzels but took on its own identity :)

One Sunday morning, after the breakfast things were put away, we made the dough and let it rise, and then, after lunch, we set about preparing and baking these just in time for the afternoon snack. Of course, the shaping was the fun part for my 4 year-old, and me. The agave nectar and cinnamon sugar pretzels were almost as good as cinnamon buns. Almost :)

Ingredients
1½ tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp brown sugar
a pinch of salt
1½ cups 110°F water

4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp oil

1½ cup hot water
1 Tbsp baking soda

2 Tbsp Smart Balance Omega butter, melted

Optional Toppings: Agave nectar or honey or maple syrup, cinnamon sugar, coarse salt crystals, stone-ground brown mustard

Preparation

1. Add the yeast and brown sugar to the 110°F water, allow to sit for about 5-8 minutes till frothy and active
2. Add the pinch of salt, then, the flour a little at a time and knead to a smooth elastic dough
3. Grease a bowl, coat the dough with oil, place in the bowl, cover and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in volume
4. Punch down a bit, take little portions and roll them into ropes for shaping
5. Heat some water in a pan, turn off heat and add the baking soda; keep handy
6. Shape the ropes of dough as desired, dunk them one by one in the water+baking soda solution till it rises to the top, remove with slotted spoon and place on a baking tray
7. Brush with agave nectar or salt crystals as desired and bake in a 500°F oven for about 8-12 minutes till brown on the outside and cooked through on the inside
8. Remove from heat, brush with butter, serve warm with mustard, or sprinkled cinnamon sugar

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze for later use.

mini bagels

Warm, fresh savory bagels (onion, garlic, herb) with some fluffy roasted garlic and vegetables cream cheese is one of my favorite breakfast items. When I am in the mood for it, that is.

I don't bake bagels and breads often as the good breads take a lot of TLC and time, plus, they are readily available baked fresh daily at the bakeries all across town.

However, every once in a while, I decide to whip up a batch just for fun. That's how this batch of mini bagels came into existence. And, I managed to take step-by-step photos (more or less)!

The bagel recipe I used here came with the bread machine. Rather than rolling the dough into a rope and shape it into a ring, as I was making mini bagels, I did what I usually do for "vada", an Indian fried snack: roll the dough into a 2"-3" diameter ball, flatten it like a patty, and make a largish hole in the center by poking with the back of a wooden spoon or just the finger. The trick is to make this hole fairly large, or it will close up on boiling, as I found out the hard way.

Ingredients
1 cup water
2 Tbsp honey
1 cup wheat flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
1½ tsp salt
1½ tsp rapid rise dry yeast

Preparation

Combine the ingredients and knead to a smooth elastic dough. If preferred, activate the yeast in lukewarm water first before adding it to the dry ingredients. Cover and let it rise till doubled in size.

Divide into approximately 16-20 little balls - the size of the mini bagel is up to you - so, the number of bagels you end up with can vary depending on the size of each bagel. Flatten each ball a little and make a large hole in the center. Place on a greased cookie sheet. Cover and let it rise for another 15-20 minutes.

Heat oven to 350°F. Also, heat about 2 quarts of water to boiling in a pan. Keep a second cookie sheet handy for baking - line it with parchment paper if preferred.

Gently place 3 or 4 bagels into the boiling water. They will sink to the bottom, and then gradually rise to the top within a minute or so. Turn them once when they are in the water. Remove them from the boiling water with a slotted spoon when they float to the top, and place them on the cookie sheet.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds, or poppy seeds or both, or even minced garlic, or dry garlic chunks, anything you like.

Bake in the 350°F oven for about 10-15 minutes, checking half way through to see if they are done. The "skin" should be golden brown and inside should be cooked through. Usually, I "sacrifice" one of the bagels to be sure they are done: I remove one from the oven and dissect it - depending on how doughy the inside looks, I adjust the baking time - just trial and error...

Small is cute :-) Mini bagel sandwich, while not necessarily a complete meal, makes a filling breakfast: a slice of onion, a slice of cucumber, a slice of tomato, a slice of swiss cheese, maybe a couple of pickled jalapeños, some roasted red bell pepper if handy... Mmmmm... If only I could fit the stack in my mouth to get a yummy bite... However, D did eat this sandwich in about 2 bites, while I meticulously disassembled mine and ate the parts :-)