Wholegrain Bagels

I love whole grains, and blending flours with seeds is fun too. I am a dough head! There's not much you can do wrong with dough, it's not an exact science. It's a forgiving one! Just dive in and PLAY! No matter what, these will taste great and smell great! We buy 50 pounds of flour every month from JAR Bakers Supply in Lincoln RI. It's only 14 bucks for 50 pounds! We get the medium grind whole wheat flour. It's so fresh and good. If you think 50 pounds of flour is too much for your household needs, consider asking a few neighbors to share the bag. You'll be glad you did.

1-2 teaspoons or 1 package of Fleishmann's active dry yeast
1 golf ball sized blob of sourdough starter (optional)
2 c warm water (wrist temperature)
2 tsp sugar or honey to feed the yeasties!
3 1/2-4 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or more to taste)
You can always add more flour, rolled oats, wheat bran, and cornmeal. You can also add sesame, poppy, and flax seeds and even grind them up together and add them. Try raisins or sunflower seeds too.

Dissolve a package of yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5-10 minutes. It might get foamy. Then add sugar or honey, stirring well. Stir in 2 cups of the whole wheat flour (or the flour blend) and 1-1/2 teaspoons salt; mix well. Add starter blob if you have it. Gradually stir in the rest of the flour to make a dough. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead 5 to 10 minutes, turning and dusting with more flour as needed. Place dough in a bowl, cover with towel and let rise in a warm place 1-2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Punch dough down, and cut dough into 12 equal pieces. I use a bagel/donut cutter because I love kitchen tools. Otherwise roll each blob of dough into a smooth ball and punch a hole in the center of each ball. If you have an apple-corer that works well for making a hole too.

Bring about 2 quarts of water with a teaspoon of salt to boil in a big pot or Dutch oven. Boil bagels about 3 minutes on each side. Use a slotted spoon or slotted spatula for scooping out the boiled bagels. Place bagels on your lightly greased baking sheet, or directly on your hot baking stone. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 1 dozen. Eat some warm! Let the others cool on a rack. The flavors will "land" and they will taste fabulous the next day toasted, buttered, and sprinkled with cinnamon and honey. I also like them just plain. They taste like soft pretzels. I break them apart and dip them in kosher salt. They are a great travel food and they freeze well too. Enjoy and share with those you love.