Hippopotamousse: Seriously Tasty Onion Bagels

Hello! Before I get to the post I want to apologize for being MIA over the last how many is it now.. nine days? Eeeesh crikey how rubbish of me. Anyhooo I am very sorry. Exams and whatnot got in the way then my mum came down for a very lovely two days (I have her stamp of approval on these onion bagels!) and since I still don't have a working camera and Hannah is at college I have to juggle shoots around her schedule too. Crazy. In other news, I think this is my first savoury post?! Look at me branching out!

I love the New York Bagel Company's onion bagels, however as a student food is budgeted and I can only really buy them when they are on offer booo. Last time I was in Tesco looking at them a thought that I am very surprised I haven't had before dawned on me.. I can make them myself! I scoured site after site after site looking for a bagel recipe that would create the same intense onion flavour you get in the New York Bagel Company's bagels and eventually found this recipe which I adapted, and I am being really cheeky here, to make better :P

I upped the onion quantity to a whole onion (I used half a red onion and half a white onion) and used a combination of white granulated sugar and soft light brown sugar. I also replaced 25% of the flour with wholemeal for a healthier, more filling bagel. Feel free to up the wholemeal content to 50% if that's what you like.

I also altered the directions to fit in better with the busy schedule I had that day and despite skipping a step they still turned out exactly how a bagel should be, chewy and flavoursome with crusts that get far too hot when you stick your bagel in the toaster (has anyone else found that?)!!

Many recipes I looked at during my research didn't mention the poaching step but I have found this to be KEY in making these bagels chewy on the outside just like the New York Bagel Co. Just one minute on either side does the job nicely.

This recipe makes a dozen bagels, feel free to half, double, do whatever you like, you can even freeze some for quick go-to week day lunches.

The directions below are for baking with a stand mixer however, it is just as easy to do it by hand - I was feeling particularly lazy that day!

Ingredients

340 g strong white plain flour
112 g wholemeal flour
1.5 tsp table salt
1 x 7 g sachet of dried fast action yeast
1/2 tbsp white granulated sugar
1/2 tbsp soft light brown sugar
2 tbsp sunflower oil
280 ml warm water
25 g unsalted butter to fry the onions
1/2 large red onion
1/2 large white onion

2 tbsp white granulated sugar for poaching
2 tbsp milk for washing pre-bake

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a frying pan on a low heat and fry the finely diced onions until they become very soft and translucent - be patient here they really do taste nicer when cooked on a low heat for a long time rather than a 5 minute heat burst at dial mark 6! Take them off the heat and leave to cool until they are finger temperature. (Yeast is denatured at high temperatures (>50 degrees C).)

2. In the large bowl of a stand mixer pour in the two different types of flours and whiz for a few seconds to combine them evenly.
3. Add the salt, yeast, sugars, oil, water and cooked onions to the mixing bowl and using the dough hook knead the mixture for 6 - 8 minutes. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave the dough to stand for 1.5 hours until the ball has more than doubled in size. At this stage it is OK if your onions aren't very well incorporated. I also found that I didn't need to grease the bowl I let my dough stand in because the oil in the mixture provided enough lubricant to remove the dough just fine.
4. Once the dough has doubled lightly flour your work surface, knock the dough back and knead it gently until the onions are well stuck and distributed evenly in the dough.
5. Split the dough into 12 equal portions, roll them into balls and using the end of a wooden spoon of your finger punch a hole through the middle and stretch it (the dough is strong but be careful) so it has a diameter of about 3 inches.
6. Place the bagels on a lined baking tray (I used two trays, six bagels on each), cover with clingfilm and leave to prove for another half an hour until the have double in size. Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees C (220 if your oven isn't fan assisted).

7. Fill a large pan with water and put on medium heat until the water reaches a gentle simmer.
8. Poach the bagels three at a time (if you can fit them in your pan!) for one minute on each side, remove them with a slotted fish slice to drain off any excess water and put them back on the lined baking tray. Brush the tops of the bagels with milk.