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Cinnamon-Raisin Bagels

Cinnamon-Raisin Bagels

Active time: 40 min
Total time: 780 min
Serves: 12
Enjoy warm cinnamon-raisin bagels straight from your oven. Since most of the work is done the day before, it doesn't take much time in the morning to poach, bake, and serve homemade bagels.

Chef's notes

*If using malt syrup, the conversion is 1 g of malt syrup for every 0.8 g of malt powder. In the case of this recipe, replace the 6 g malt powder with 7.5 g malt syrup. Add the syrup to the recipe at the time when you would add the malt powder. If you don't like cinnamon-raisin, replace with any spice, herb, zest, nut, or dried fruit. Try cranberry-walnut with orange zest, blueberry, or make your own "everything" bagel with multiple seeds and seasonings. If you like poppy seeds or sesame seeds on your bagel, sprinkle them on right after poaching, so the seeds stick while they bake.

Make mini-bagels by dividing the dough into smaller portions. Keep in mind that the baking time will need to be adjusted slightly.

Make sure to use high-gluten bread flour to develop a chewy bagel or try substituting 25% of the flour with whole wheat or other flours for a more nutrition.

Storing and reheating: Bagels are best right out of the oven, but you can enjoy them over a few days. Allow them to cool completely. Wrap them in a paper bag and seal in a plastic bag and refrigerate. To reheat, brush the surface lightly with cold water and warm in a moderate oven, or place under the broiler to toast. Alternatively, you can slice them in half, place in a plastic freezer bag and freeze. Remove them from the freezer and let thaw in the bag. Spread on bit of butter and place them under the broiler to toast.

Steps

1

Making the Dough

Making the Dough

Ingredients

  • 2 lb bread flour
  • 5 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp table salt
  • 2 g active dry yeast
  • 6 g non-diastatic malt powder*
  • 560 ml lukewarm water
  • 2/3 cup raisins
  • extra flour (for dusting a towel-lined baking sheet)
To make the dough, mix the flour, cinnamon, and salt until well combined. Dump onto the counter top and make a well in the center. Dissolve the yeast and malt powder in the water and pour into the middle of the well. Bring together the wet and dry ingredients, and knead for at least 5 minutes, until the dough is very smooth. Refrain from adding additional flour. This dough will feel quite firm. Once the dough is very smooth, knead in the raisins until well combined.
2

Shaping the Bagels

Shaping the Bagels
Using a scale, divide the dough into 12 equal portions (approximately 130 grams each) and form each piece into a round ball. It is important to make each bagel the same size so they bake evenly. Shape the bagels and place, seam-side down on a towel-lined a baking sheet that has been dusted with flour. Make sure to leave spaces in between them so they have room to rise and don't stick to each other. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night, to develop flavor and relax the gluten.
3

Boiling and Baking the Bagels

Boiling and Baking the Bagels

Ingredients

  • 5 qt cold water
  • 60 g non-diastatic malt powder (or malt syrup)
To begin, first preheat your oven to 500º degrees Fahrenheit and take the bagels out of the fridge. In a large pot, bring the water and malt to a simmer. Drop 2-3 bagels into in the simmering water. Once they float to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon and momentarily set on a kitchen towel or paper towel to absorb the excess water. The bagels are less likely to stick to the sheet pan if you remove the excess water from the bottom. Transfer immediately to a perforated baking sheet to dry. By poaching bagels before baking, the simmering water activates the yeast and gives the baked surface a beautiful sheen. The malt also helps to develop color. After a couple of minutes, the bagel's surface will be tacky. Place the baking tray into the oven and splash a couple of tablespoons of water on the side of the oven to create some steam. Close the door immediately and bake for 12-15 minutes, rotating for even color after about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the bagels to a cooling rack. Serve with cream cheese and enjoy!

21 Comments

  • Brent D
    Brent D •
    Can't seem to find malt powder or malt syrup in any of my local grocery stores. Is there an online source you would recommend to purchase from or a different substitution for this ingredient. I am very eager to try these bagels! Thanks.
    Reply
  • Dawn T
    Dawn T •
    Many folks to seem to have consistent and good results with Amazon. I did a quick search and found some available through there http://www.amazon.com/Barley-Malt-Powder-1-lb/dp/B00015UC8O - Cheers!
    Reply
  • Ian P
    Ian P •
    King Arthur Flour in the US ...suggust you sign up for the free catalog if you bake much.
    Reply
  • Brent D
    Brent D •
    Thanks for the suggestions. One more question- when given the choice to buy diastatic or non-diastatic malt powder, which do you recommend to use for making bagels?
    Reply
  • Ian P
    Ian P •
    If you don't need a lifetime supply of the stuff you might try a beer making supply store.
    Reply
  • Kimberley S
    Kimberley S • Rouxbe Staff •
    We use non-diastatic malt powder for this recipe, which gives the bagels nice flavor and color. It is also easier to find and a bit easier to work with. Here is a good link describing the difference between diastatic and non-diastatic malt powder. Cheers!
    Reply
  • Kristi M
    Kristi M •
    I'm kinda a science nerd, so I was wondering what the importance of the malt powder was to the bagel. I have seen other recipes that don't use it. Since I will have to order it to make the bagels, I was just wondering.
    Reply
  • Dawn T
    Dawn T •
    Malt powder imparts flavor and a natural sweetness to baked goods. It also tends to make baked goods bake up browner and shinier. However, as mentioned in the recipe, if you cannot find it, you could use maple syrup instead. Hope that helps. Cheers!
    Reply
  • Alex B
    Alex B •
    I have made bagels before with honey instead of malt powder, as suggested by Peter Reinhart, and they came out delicious.
    Reply
  • Ken R
    Ken R • Rouxbe Staff •
    Hi Alex- Nice to hear that Peter Reinhart's suggestion was useful. I have huge admiration for his books. He's one of the best teachers out there, and a really nice guy. Enjoy!
    Reply
  • Liliane A
    Liliane A •
    To make just a plain bagel can I leave out the cinnamon and raisin and proceed with the rest of the recipe then maybe top some with sesame or poppy seeds?
    Reply
  • Liliane A
    Liliane A •
    Will you be creating a video lesson on bagel making?
    Reply
  • Ken R
    Ken R • Rouxbe Staff •
    Hi Liliane- For plain bagels, just omit the raisins and cinnamon. We can add your request to our list of video prospects -thanks for letting us you that you'd be interested. ~Ken
    Reply
  • Liliane A
    Liliane A •
    Thank you Ken. Looking forward to it!
    Reply
  • Liliane A
    Liliane A •
    According to text recipie 2 lbs of flour will yield 12 bagels. Is this correct? At the onset this seems to be a lot of flour . Therefore I just want to be sure. Also what can I substitute for a perforated pan?
    Reply
  • Ken R
    Ken R • Rouxbe Staff •
    Hi Liliane- That sounds about right in terms of weight. Instead of a perforated pan, use a regular sheet pan but prop it to tilt a bit so excess water run off and the bagel does not sit in liquid (it will get gummy/sticky). A cooling rack is not good as the grates are too far apart to easily slide the (now sticky) par-cooked bagel off. I hope this helps~ Ken
    Reply
  • Leigh S
    Leigh S •
    2nd paragraph of Step 2: Shaping the Bagels -- tells us to, place the bagels seam-side down on a "towel-lined a baking sheet" that has been dusted with flour. The typo in the highlighted section of that instruction makes it unclear what we are supposed to do. Is it really telling us to use a towel-lined baking sheet? or should that have said a baking sheet covered with parchment? or are we to use a baking sheet that has been dusted with flour and then cover the dough with a towel? The latter makes more sense but it is certainly not what the instruction says.
    Reply
  • Ken R
    Ken R • Rouxbe Staff •
    Hi Leigh - Let me jump in and explain the idea here. The bagels are indeed placed atop of a floured towel. This technique is sometime referred to as using a "couche" - a baking production term that describes the cloth used to help shape or proof dough to more easily transfer to a baking or cooking surface — in this case, to the hot water after proofing without making them too oddly shaped. Thanks Leigh, Ken.
    Reply
  • Zoie H
    Zoie H •
    "Shape the bagels" left me hangin' here! I had to go to several different sources to figure out how to shape a bagel that involved a seam, like in this recipe.
    Reply
  • Zoie H
    Zoie H •
    "Shape the bagels" left me hangin' here! I had to go to several different sources to figure out how to shape a bagel that involved a seam, like in this recipe.
    Reply
  • Zoie H
    Zoie H •
    "Shape the bagels" left me hangin' here! I had to go to several different sources to figure out how to shape a bagel that involved a seam, like in this recipe.
    Reply

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