New York Style Bagels

What makes a good bagel? I think its a hard question to answer because it depends where you live, what style you prefer and even then it’s just personal taste, surely? Yet across the internet the debate rages on about what makes the perfect bagel, arbritary rules for the perfect chew, how  shiny the crust should be and even what PH level water should be used. When I asked online there were still people telling me that it would be impossible to make great bagels at home, here in London, because I didn't have access to New York water. Now look, I love bagels and I love New York but I refuse to believe that to make great bagels I have to jump on a plane and fill up a bottle with a couple litres of water somewhere in Manhattan or Brooklyn. That also seems to discount any bagels from literally any other city in the world. I think Montreal might have something to say about that.

So what do I think makes a good bagel, what is my personal preference. The crust should have a bit of a shine, be chewy with an almost crisp texture when you bite into it and the interior should be denser than regular sliced bread but not so much so that its impossible to eat. I also think the dough should have the teensiest hint of sweetness. This to me feels like it is also the idea of a New York bagel, which would make sense as its the place I’ve tried the most bagels.

My method is fairly simple using a low hydration dough made with a relatively low amount of yeast, flavoured with a touch of barley malt syrup (you can use honey or brown sugar too but as malt is traditionally used and as I have it in the cupboard I use that). The sweetness level is low because I don’t want a sweet dough and I don’t want a really strong barley flavour but a hint makes the dough taste right, almost like it was the seasoning. I use cold water for the dough which is kneaded as normal and then immediately portioned and formed into bagels. Once shaped the bagels go into the fridge for about 10 hours. At this point I boil and then bake them. Simple.

The eagle eyed bakers among you will notice there is no traditional second rise and the reason for this is simple. I tested the recipe like a regular bread dough, letting the dough rise before knocking it back and forming in bagels before resting them in the fridge, but when the bagels were boiled they were prone to deflating, looking like sad deflated rubber rings. This happened even when I reduced the period spent in the fridge.  The fridge is used to develop flavour as the dough rests for a long time, maturing and developing more complex flavours. With my final recipe because the bagels go in cold they can stay in there for a relatively long time. If the dough proves at room temperature before being formed into bagels the dough will have warmed up too much, the yeast will be excited and hungry and the formed bagels will rise in the fridge a lot quicker. By starting the dough cold it takes a lot longer before the dough can over proof.

Do you need New York water to make great bagels? No. Do I want to go to New York and see if my recipe is nicer in the states? Absolutely, but for now Ill have to stick to making bagels with boring old London tap water.

New York Bagel Recipe
Makes 8

500g strong white bread flour
10g fine sea salt
4g dried fast action yeast
300ml cold water
2 tsp barley malt syrup
Toppings of choice (sesame seeds, poppy seeds, everything seasoning etc)

To Boil
30g barley malt syrup
1 tbsp baking soda

To make the bagel dough place the flour, yeast and salt into the bowl of an electric stand mixer and with the dough hook attached, mix briefly to combine. Add the barley malt sryup to a jug with the cold water and mix together until dissolved. Pour this mixture into the mixer and on low-medium speed mix to form a shaggy dough. On the same speed continue to knead the dough for about 15-18 minutes or until the dough passes the windowpane test. This dough is a relatively low hydration and stiff dough, so be careful using this on lower quality stand mixers, you dont want to burn out the motor. You can knead this by hand but it will be a workout, it’ll take about 30 minutes of constant kneading. 

Tip the dough out onto the worksurface and divide into equal sized pieces (I weigh the dough for accuracy but you can eyeball this if you prefer). Form each piece of dough into a tight ball and cover with a kitchen towel to prevent the dough from drying out. Working with one piece of dough at a time use a flour dipped finger to poke a hole in the middle of the dough ball and then we need to extend this to between 2-3 inches (depending on the finished look of the bagels you’re going for). My preferred method is to spin it around your finger to start off with, to get the hole started and then, with the bagel ring around the fingers of one hand, I light rub my hands together, gently stretching out the bagel. Rotate the dough around your hand so the ring stays the same thickness all around. When the hole is the desired size place on onto parchment lined baking sheets. The sheets needs to be either coated with a thin layer of cornmeal or lightly sprayed with oil. Wrap the baking sheets with a couple layers of clingfilm and place into the fridge for 10-12 hours.

When I tested this recipe I tried a few different rest periods in the fridge and found 10-12 hours to be the sweet spot. A longer rest makes a lighter, more open, bagel and a shorter rest makes bagels that are a too dense, 10-12 hours gave me that characteristic texture I was looking for. 

When you are almost ready to bake preheat the oven to 200C(390F).

When the bagels are ready fill a large saucepan with water and add the barley malt syrup and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the baking soda and whisk to combine. Take one sheet of bagels out of the fridge and working in batches of 4 cook in the water for a minute per side. Use a large slotted spoon remove from the water, letting as much water drain off as possible, before coating in the topping of your choice, or leaving plain if you prefer. Place the bagels onto a parchment lined baking sheet and set aside until the sheet is full of bagels. 

When coating the bagels there is a couple ways you can do this. Firstly if you add the toppings when the bagels are fresh from the water nothing else is needed to make then stick, the surface of the bagels will be tacky enough. To add the toppings you can either place the different flavours in bowls and add the bagels tossing to coat, which makes a very generous coating. Because of the moisture present it can also make any leftover seeds wet, making them clump together, so this is best if you making a big batch of bagels. My preferred method is to place the bagels on a plate and sprinkle over the toppings, turning over to make sure both sides are coated. This method ensures you only use what you actually need and wastage is kept to a minimum.

Once all the bagels have been boiled bake them in the preheated oven for about 18-22 minutes or until the bagels are golden brown. The darker you take the bagels the firmer the crust will be so bare that in mind when you go to pull them from the oven. Remove the trays from the oven and carefully transfer the bagels to wire racks to cool completely.

Bagels are best served within a couple days but once cooled they freeze wonderfully so I often make a big batch and keep the freezer well stocked.

Everything Bagel Seasoning
2 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp white sesame seeds
1 tbsp black sesame seeds
1 tbsp garlic granules 
1 tbsp onion granules 
2 tsp flaked sea salt

Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix together, add to a jar and store until needed. Whilst this is great as a bagel seasoning you can add this to popcorn, sprinkle it over eggs, or just use it as a general seasoning.

Milk Chocolate Tahini Buche de Noel

This Post is Sponsored by Doves Farm Organic Flour

I can’t quite believe that 2019 and another decade is about to end. It has been a massively busy year and I have been working on a few exciting projects that I cannot wait to share with you in the new year. Can you also believe that next year marks 10 years since I first stepped foot in the Bake Off tent? Feels like it just happened. Feeling all the feels about that anniversary! But before I get stuck down memory lane I think we need one last recipe for the year, something very special for Christmas. 

For the final recipe in my Christmas baking series with Doves Farm Organic Flour I have created something very, very special. It uses one of the ingredients that was incredibly popular this year, something that I became a little bit of obsessed with, tahini. I have paired the sesame paste with chocolate to make a twist on a classic Christmas recipe, the Buche de Noel. The cake is a chocolate sponge using Doves Farm Organic Plain Flour and the filling is a milk chocolate and tahini whipped cream. To decorate, the cake is coated in a thin layer of milk chocolate ganache (which is there as an edible glue) and it is finally coated in little shards of sesame caramel, a great textural addition to a cake that is normally on the softer side. 

If you fancy something a little different for Christmas and you want to make this, I would suggest making the cream the day before and baking the cake and assembling on the day you want to serve. The cake needs to be rolled relatively soon after baking and once the cake is decorated the caramel will start pulling moisture out of the ganache and will eventually become sticky and weep.

Doves Farm Organic Plain White Flour is available at Ocado, Sainsburys, Tesco

Milk Chocolate Tahini Buche de Noel
Serves 8

Chocolate Sponge Cake
3 large eggs, separated
1/8 tsp cream of tartar
80g caster sugar, divided
50ml vegetable oil
50ml whole milk
30g Doves Farm Organic Plain White Flour
30g cocoa powder

Tahini Milk Chocolate Whipped Cream
300ml double cream
75g tahini
75g milk chocolate
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Milk Chocolate Ganache
75g milk chocolate, finely chopped
60ml double cream

Sesame Caramel Shards
150g caster sugar
1 tbsp sesame seeds (I use a mix of black and white)

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC Fan) and line the base a 9x13 baking tin with parchment paper. You can lightly grease the base of the pan to help the parchment stick but make sure the sides remain clean, we want the cake to cling to the sides of the tin as it bakes. 

Make the filling in advance as it needs at least 4 hours to chill before whipping. Place the cream, tahini, chocolate, salt and vanilla into a small saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring regularly, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour the cream into a small bowl, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least four hours until cold. I generally make this day before I want to serve the cake, so there is less work on the day.

To make the cake place the egg yolks into one bowl and the egg whites and cream of tartar into another. Add half of the sugar to the yolks and using an electric mixer whisk for 3-4 minutes or until pale and creamy. Add in the oil and the milk and whisk briefly to combine. Add the flour and cocoa powder and mix to form a smooth batter. Set this bowl aside for the moment. Using an electric mixer (cleaned after making the cocoa batter) whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy then slowly sprinkle in the sugar, a tablespoon at a time whisking until the whites hold medium peaks. The final meringue wants to be stiff but still flexible, if the mixture becomes over whisked and dry it will be hard to fold into the cocoa mixture without losing volume.  

Add the meringue to the cocoa batter in three additions, gently folding until streak free. Once fully combined pour into the prepared tin, gently levelling out. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until the cake springs back to a light touch. Use a rounded blade knife to cut the cake away from the sides of the tin then immediately invert the cake onto a sheet of parchment. Whilst the cake is still warm gently peel the parchment from what is now the top of the cake.

For the filling remove the cream mixture from the fridge and in a large bowl whisk briefly until holding soft peaks. Spread the filling over the cake leaving the short edge near you clean. Carefully roll up the cake and then refrigerate for a couple hours before serving.

For the ganache filling place the cream and chocolate into a small saucepan and place over low heat and stir constantly until melted and smooth. Pour into a small bowl and set in the fridge aside until thickened but still spreadable. Spread the ganache over the outside of the cake, leaving the exposed ends clean, setting aside for the moment. 

To make the caramel shards place the sugar into a medium sized saucepan and cook over medium heat until the sugar has melted and caramelised turning the colour of an old rusty penny. Immediately pour the sugar onto a parchment lined baking tray and tilt the tray to spread into a thin layer. Before the sugar sets sprinkle over the sesame seeds. Set aside for 30 minutes before breaking up into small pieces and sticking to the cake. 

The cake is best served on the day it is made.

Rye Flour Mincemeat Braid

This Post is Sponsored by Doves Farm Organic Flour

Christmas means mince pies and Christmas cake right? Whilst I love both of those recipes I also enjoy putting exciting twists ontraditional options by addinga little…something extra.

Puff pastry always sounds like a scary recipe, something we avoid, something to be bought and not made. Why would you make it when you can buy it? As much as I think shop-bought puff pastry is a valuable tool, in my opinion, it doesn’t always have the best flavour or texture. This homemade version is a rough puff, a cheat’s puff pastry, a quick version that is worth skipping the supermarket for. There are a couple of different ways of making rough puff and for today’s recipe I have gone with the easiest version. The resulting pastry puffs like traditional puff pastry but even if you screw it up a little you’ll end up with a flaky pastry which is equally good for this recipe, so don’t sweat it, I’ve got you. To make the pastry more than simply a vessel for the filling I am using a blend of Doves Farm Organic Wholemeal Rye Flour and Plain Flour. I would use 100% rye flour for other bakes but it doesn’t have the same amount of gluten as other flours, which can mean it’s trickier to use to make puff pastry. It also tends to absorb more water and can become brittle and trickier to roll out when used solely on its own. For this rough puff I found a 50/50 blend gave a nice texture and a vastly improved flavour compared to regular puff pastry made solely with plain white flour. The rye adds a real warmth and depth of flavour that works brilliantly in this recipe and pairs beautifully with the spices in the mincemeat.

Yes, it’s Christmas so I am still using mincemeat. This puff pastry braid is filled with a simple pastry cream and topped with mincemeat. Those of you that find mincemeat too sweet or rich - this is for you. The custard mellows out the flavour a little and gives a wonderful vanilla tone to the dish, but still keeps all those Christmas spices we love, just in a slightly more subtle way. Whilst I will make mince pies each and every year this braid may be my new favourite way of using mincemeat.

For the decoration of the puff pastry braid I kept it simple, using a liberal sprinkling of demerara sugar to add a little sparkle. If you want something more you could also add flaked almonds which would work brilliantly with the filling (you could also add a few drops of almond extract to the custard if you are an especially big almond fan). Whilst this is a dessert it reminds me a little of a Danish pastry, so I won’t stop you if you fancy serving this for breakfast over the Christmas period, just save me a slice if you do.

Doves Farm Organic Plain White Flour and Wholemeal Rye Flour is available at Ocado, Sainsburys, Tesco

Wholemeal Rye Flour Rough Puff Pastry
115g Doves Farm Organic Plain Flour
115g Doves Farm Organic Wholemeal Rye Flour
200g unsalted butter, diced and chilled
1/2 tsp salt
100-120ml ice cold water

Mincemeat and Custard Filling
250ml whole milk
1 large egg
2 large egg yolks
100g caster sugar
25g cornflour
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
150g mincemeat

To make the pastry place the plain flour, rye flour and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a couple times to combine. Add the butter and pulse until broken up a little but there are still large chunks of butter showing. Tip the flour mixture into a large bowl and drizzle in the water a couple tablespoons at a time, stirring with a butter knife. When enough water has been added for the mixture to start clumping together use your hands to briefly bring together as a uniform dough. Press into a flat rectangle, wrap with clingfilm, and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

As this is a cheat’s puff pastry the lamination has no additional butter but this folding does help to increase the layering in the finished dough. On a lightly floured worksurface roll out into a rectangle that is roughly 15cm by 45cm. With the short side of the rectangle facing you fold the dough in thirds, like you are folding a business letter. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Repeat this rolling and folding twice more before refrigerating the dough a final 20 minutes (or overnight) before using.

To make the custard place the milk into a medium sized saucepan and bring just to a simmer. Meanwhile place the egg, yolks, sugar, cornflour and vanilla into a large bowl and whisk together until smooth and pale. When the milk is at temperature pour over the egg mixture, whilst whisking to prevent it from curdling the eggs. Pour this custard back into the pan and over medium/high heat whisk constantly until the custard has thickened and is bubbling. Scrape the finished custard into a clean bowl. Press a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the custard and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before using.

Preheat the oven to 190C (170C fan) and lime a baking tray with parchment paper.

To assemble roll out the pastry until just bigger than a 35cm x 30cm rectangle, trimming to size. Place the pastry in front of you, horizontally, so one of the longer sides is facing you. Use a knife to score the dough into thirds vertically (see step by step video for reference). With the two outer thirds make 1 inch wide cuts, on a slight diagonal to make strips, removing the corner strips.

Spread the custard filling over the central third of the pastry, leaving the top and bottom flaps of pastry clear. Dot the mincemeat on top of the custard. Fold the top and bottom flaps of pastry up and over the filling and then taking alternate strips, from side to side, braid the pastry strips over the filling. Brush the finished pastry with a beaten egg and sprinkle liberally with demerara sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until the pastry is a deep golden brown.

Remove and allow to cool fully before serving. Best served within a day or two.

Gingerbread Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Sugared Cranberries

This post is sponsored by Doves Farm Organic Flour

The weather has well and truly changed and winter is without a doubt here, stepping outside the warmth of my kitchen is something I’d rather avoid at the moment, I’d much rather be inside baking, no change there then. For the second recipe in my Christmas baking series with Doves Farm Organic Flour I’ve gone with something we all know and love, gingerbread, using Doves Farm Self Raising Flour. 

Gingerbread is a mainstay of my family baking history and over the years I have made a few different versions. This version is one of the easiest but also one of the most festive. The cake is a simple wet to dry method and takes just minutes to make. To serve the cake I’ve opted for a classic cream cheese frosting, the tang and creaminess really pairs well with the gingerbread. If you want to layer in a little more flavour you can add a couple tablespoons of the syrup from a jar of candied ginger. Whilst these two elements would be more than enough I have also added a little festive cheer in the form of some lightly candied cranberries. The cranberries look great on top of the cake but also give a nice sweet-sour pop of flavour that balances out the sweetness in the cake. 

For the flavouring of the cake I have stuck with traditional spices, the stuff you would add to a classic gingerbread, but if you want you can play around with more intense spices like cloves or nutmeg, or more floral sweet spices like cardamom and fennel. Whatever spices you use remember that as with most gingerbread made using golden syrup the cake will keep incredibly well and without its frosting will keep for at least 4 days and will definitely be better with a day’s rest before serving - the flavour deepens and the cake gets a little stickier. 

Doves Farm Organic Self Raising Flour is available from Sainsburys, Ocado and Tesco

Gingerbread Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Sugared Cranberries
Serves 10

Sugared Cranberries
200g fresh cranberries
250g caster sugar
150g water

Quick Ginger Layer Cake
250g Doves Farm Organic Self Raising Flour
1 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp baking soda
200g golden syrup
125g light brown sugar
125g unsalted butter, diced
250ml whole milk
2 large eggs

Cream Cheese Frosting
75g unsalted butter, room temperature
125g cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
400g icing sugar
Pinch of salt

A few hours before you bake the cake prepare the sugared cranberries. This is a form of candying but unlike something like orange peel, we don’t want to simmer the cranberries in a sugar syrup as it break the more delicate cranberries down. Instead we simply soak the berries in the syrup, off the heat. To make, sort through the berries and remove any cranberries that feel soft. Place 150g of the sugar and the water into a small saucepan and over medium heat cook until the sugar has dissolved then simmer for about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the cranberries and set aside for at least an hour to soak. If you’re making these in advance you can leave these to soak overnight (they’ll take on more sugar as the mixture sits). Use a slotted spoon to remove the cranberries from the syrup and set them on a wire rack to cool for an hour. Meanwhile spread the remaining sugar onto a small baking tray. Once the berries have dried for an hour tip them onto the sugar and toss to coat. Remove from the sugar and set aside until needed. The cranberries are not fully candied so don’t last as long as truly candied fruit but they’ll keep for a couple days before the sugar starts to turn syrupy and sticky, just keep them in a sealed container away from heat and direct light.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (160ºC Fan) and lightly grease two 8 inch round cake tins and line the bases with parchment paper. 

Mix together the flour, spices, baking soda and set aside for the moment. In a large saucepan place the golden syrup, brown sugar and butter and over medium heat cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth and combined. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the milk. Add the eggs to the syrup mixture and whisk until smooth, then pour into the bowl with the dry goods. Whisk the batter until smooth and no lumps remain but no longer, you don’t want to overmix the batter as the cake will end up a little tough. 

Divide the batter evenly between the two tins and spread into even layers. Bake in the preheated oven for about 20-25 minutes or until the cakes are just starting to come away from the sides of the tin and they spring back to a light touch. Remove the cakes from the oven and set on a wire rack, leaving for 10 minutes to cool before turning out onto from the tins onto the wire rack to cool completely. 

To make the frosting place the butter into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until soft and creamy. Add the cream cheese and vanilla, beating just until combined, we don’t want to mix too long as the cream cheese will become wet and loose if beaten for too long (this is the reason the cream cheese must be at room temperature before starting). Add the salt and then the icing sugar in two additions and beat until light and fluffy, just a couple minutes.

To decorate place the first cake layer on a plate or cake stand and top with a layer of the frosting. Top with the second cake layer and spread the remaining frosting over the tops and sides of the cake. Finish with a sprinkling of the sugared cranberries and serve.

Note: the recipe for the sugared cranberries makes more than you need but I like to make a large batch as they’re great to have on hand as a sweet nibble if your having a Christmas party or you just want a little festive snack. You’ll also be left with most of the syrup you made and whilst it wont have much flavour from the cranberries it can be kept and used in cocktails where a simple syrup is required.