Artisan Bagels : Sesame, Black Pepper and Parmesan Cheese

Sesame Bagels and Sesame Parmesan Black Pepper Bagels

The KBB challenge this time is Bagels. And not simply bagels.. it's an artisan bagels.. the one with long fermentation. See the recipe in Indonesian languange here. I love baking and eating breads especially the one with long fermentation, with crisp slightly chewy crust and moist crumb inside. I love those traditional breads.. the one people also called artisan breads. One type of bread I wanted to bake since long is the one using sourdough starter. But maybe this for the next... I don't know, I have to gather a lot of courage to try making my first sourdough starter.

Yummy Sesame Parmesan Black Pepper Bagels

 Now, back to bagels. There are several notes I'd like to share with you. I make two batches of bagels. I could not find barley malt syrup, so I substitute it with forest honey. I also could not find unbleached bread flour and simply used common (bleached) bread flour.

Nice moist flavorful crumb and slightly chewy crust

I made two batches of Bagels this time. The first one with a long fermentation inside the fridge after being donut-shaped, without using honey in the poaching liquid (well.., I actually forgot to put it in), and poaching time of 2 minutes in total for each bagel as mentioned in the recipe.

For the second batch, I put the bagels in the fridge for the same long fermentation right after kneading and before being shaped, then shape the bagels after, let it rise for another 60 minutes before poaching them. For the second poaching liquid, I add honey according to the recipe and cut back the poaching time half to 60 seconds in total for each bagel.

I think I prefer shaping the bagels after being slowly raised in the fridge, instead of shaping them before being put inside the fridge for the fermentation. Like this, the shape would be better, and there is less chance to over-proof the dough.

I noticed that the longer poaching time is, the chewer the bagel is, and using honey on the poaching liquid makes the bagel color darker.

First batch bagels

Second batch bagels

Artisan Bagels with Sesame, Parmesan, and Black Pepper
(The recipe for this challenge was taken from Peter Reinhart's book "Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads")
Makes 6-8 bagels

Dough

1 tbsp. (21 g) barley malt syrup, honey, or rice syrup,

or 1 teaspoon (7 g) diastatic malt powder

1 tsp. (3 g) instant yeast

1½ tsp. (10 g) salt, or 2½ tsp. coarse kosher salt

1 cup + 2 tbsp. (255 g) lukewarm water (about 95°F or 35°C)

3½ cups (454 g) unbleached bread flour

Poaching Liquid

2 - 3 quarts (1.89 – 2.84 liter) water

1½ tbsp. (30 g) barley malt syrup or honey (optional)

1 tbsp. (15 g) baking soda

1 tsp. (7 g) salt, or 1½ tsp. coarse kosher salt

Toppings

Sesame seeds

Grated Parmesan cheese and freshly cracked Black Pepper; mix both together and set aside.

Making the dough :

Stir the malt syrup, yeast, and salt into the lukewarm water. Place the flour into a mixing bowl and pour in the malt syrup mixture. If using a mixer, use the dough hook and mix on the lowest speed for 3 minutes. If mixing by hand, use a large, sturdy spoon and stir for about 3 minutes, until well blended. The dough should form a stiff, coarse ball, and the flour should be fully hydrated; stir in a little more water if needed. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.

Resume mixing with the dough hook on the lowest speed for another 3 minutes or transfer to a very lightly floured work surface and knead by hand for about 10 minutes to smooth out the dough and develop the gluten. The dough should be stiff yet supple, with a satiny, barely tacky feel. If the dough seems too soft or overly tacky, mix or knead in a little more flour.

Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 hour.

Shaping the bagels :

When you’re ready to shape the bagels, prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment paper or wax paper, lightly spray or coating it with oil.

Divide the dough into 6 to 8 equal pieces (about 100 - 113 grams). Form each piece into a loose ball by rolling it on a clean, dry work surface with a cupped hand.

You can poke a hole through the center of the ball to create a donut shape, holding the dough with both thumbs in the hole, rotate the dough with your hands, gradually stretching it to create a hole about 2 inches in diameter.

Or you can roll the ball into a rope about 8 inches long, taper the rope slightly at each end and moisten the last inch or so of the ends, place one end of the dough in the palm of your hand and wrap the rope around your hand to complete the circle, going between your thumb and forefinger and then all the way around, and the ends should overlap by about 2 inches. Squeeze the overlapping ends together by closing your hand, then press the seam into the work surface, rolling it back and forth a few times to seal. Remove the dough from your hand, squeezing it to even out the thickness if need be and creating a hole of about 2 inches in diameter.

Place each shaped bagel on the prepared sheet pan, then mist with spray oil or brush with a light coating of oil. Cover the entire pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days. (You can also proof the full piece of dough in the oiled bowl overnight and then shape the bagels on baking day, 60 to 90 minutes before boiling and baking them, or as soon as they pass the float test.)

On baking day :

Remove the bagels from the refrigerator 60 to 90 minutes before you plan to bake them. For easier handling, cut the paper in between the bagels using scissors. 

Check if the bagels are ready for baking using the “float test”: place one of the bagels in a small bowl of cold water. If it sinks and doesn’t float back to the surface, shake it of, return it to the pan, and wait for another 15 to 20 minutes, then do the test again. When one bagel passes the float test, they’re all ready to be boiled. If they pass the float test before you are ready to boil and bake them, return them to the refrigerator so they don’t over-proof.

About 30 minutes before baking (or right before you boil the bagels), preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C) and gather and prepare your topings (sesame seeds and mixture of parmesan + black pepper).

Prepare also the baking tray, lined with parchment paper or silicon mat and lightly spray or coat with oil.

To make the poaching liquid, fill a pot with 2 to 3 quarts (1.8 to 2.8 liter) of water, making sure the water is at least 10 cm (4 inches) deep. Cover, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain at a simmer. Stir in the malt syrup, baking soda, and salt. 

One by one, lift the bagel with the parchment paper underneath, lower each bagel into the simmering poaching liquid with the paper faces up, and carefully peel off the paper. They should all float to the surface within 15 seconds. After 30 seconds, use a slotted spoon to turn each bagel over. Poach for another 30 seconds. Use the slotted spoon to transfer it back to the previously prepared pan, domed side up (It’s important to lightly oil the parchment, or the paper will glue itself to the dough as the bagels bake). Sprinkle on a generous amount of sesame seeds as soon as the bagels come out of the water.

Transfer the pan of bagels into the preheated oven, then lower the oven heat to 450°F (232°C). Bake for 15 minutes, rotate the pan and check the underside of the bagels half way through. If they’re getting too dark, place another pan under the baking sheet. 

 After 15 minutes, take out the tray from the oven, top half of the bagels with the parmesan cheese and black pepper mixture, and put the tray back in the oven, baking for another 5 minutes until the cheese is slightly melted.

Cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing or serving.

My favorite is to serve bagels as sandwich, with lettuce leaves, tomato and onion slices, cheese, and/or smoke beef slices, on top of a little bit mustard Dijon spread.