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Strawberry Bagels – #TwelveLoaves

I don’t know why one of my most favorite breads isn’t baked more often here. Possibly because of the planning involved in making bagels. Now that strawberry bagels have been baked, this won’t be the last time they will be seen in my kitchen!

Because they are AMAZING!!

I have shared a couple bagel posts here already. I used the same dough I used in my whole wheat sea salt bagels last year. If you don’t want to use any whole wheat flour, just use all bread flour.

#TwelveLoaves theme was an easy decision to make. I know it may be us here in Florida that are enjoying fresh strawberries at every market. I also know that many of you are still suffering with horrible snowstorms and thought it was time to brighten up our baking a little!!

Look at all the incredible strawberry breads from our #TwelveLoaves bakers:

Read more at http://magnoliadays.com/2014/strawberry-almond-quick-bread/#9eZiKYvF2vfPSbBk.99
#TwelveLoaves March: Strawberries. February was a delicious month of Chocolate breads! We are ready for spring and chose Strawberries for our March theme! Choose a recipe featuring strawberries. (Your bread of choice could be accented with fresh or dried strawberries, strawberry preserves) Whatever you bake, (yeasted, quick bread, crackers, muffins, braids, flatbreads, etc) have fun and let’s have a delicious month of bread with STRAWBERRIES. Let’s get baking!

#TwelveLoaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Savoring Italy. 

As it is with baking any bread with yeast, bagels are a little time consuming to put together. But they are so worth the work and the time needed to create them in your own kitchen!

You work with the dough in two portions. After cutting the dough in half (after it has risen), you cover one portion with a towel and start working with the uncovered portion.

Because there were fresh berries in the dough, I had to be careful. I didn’t want exposed strawberries everywhere. I tried to maneuver my individual portions of dough so that the berries would be tucked into the dough.

I was a little braver this time with making the holes in the middle. I did stretch them out more than the last time I baked them. The last time I baked bagels, the holes almost closed up. So it’s OK to stretch it out more. It sort of closes up as it boils.

The adding the bagels to the simmering water is really quite simple. Just be careful not to burn yourself. If you’re unsure, don’t add more than 2 bagels (or even 1) at a time. It’s a super quick process. They are only in there for about 40 seconds total.  I used a slotted very wide spoon to remove the bagels one at a time and drained them before adding them to my parchment lined baking tray. I had I think 3 parchment lined trays waiting for my bagels.

After you brush them with the egg wash, they are ready to go into the oven! I can’t tell you how lovely it smells while they are baking. The flavor was incredible. It wasn’t overwhelming because I only used a 1/2 cup of chopped strawberries. As soon as they cooled a little, I sliced one open and I smeared on the cream cheese and sprinkled on some more strawberries.

I am normally not a fruit bagel fan, but these homemade strawberry bagels are now my favorite bagel!!

Happy beginning of MARCH to you! Thanks for stopping by…to the bakers that bake along with us every month, THANK YOU!

Strawberry Bagels

Ingredients
  1. 1 ½ c warm water (a little warmer than your body temperature- 110 degrees)
  2. 4 ½ t active dry yeast (or 2 packets)
  3. 3 T sugar
  4. 2 t salt
  5. 2 c bread flour
  6. 1 ½ – 2 c whole wheat flour
  7. 1/2 cup strawberries-cleaned,hulled and sliced in small pieces
  8. Egg wash: 1 egg white and 1T water
Instructions
  1. Dissolve sugar in water and add yeast. Let stand until the mixture bubbles, a few minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, sift together the bread flour, 1 ½ c of the whole wheat flour, and salt. Make a well in the center and add the yeast mixture. Stir to combine. (this time I used my mixer and the dough hook attachment until it was time to add the strawberries).
  3. Turn onto a lightly floured surface knead for about 5 minutes, adding extra whole wheat flour as needed. Gently knead in the strawberries.
  4. Place dough in a large, greased bowl. Cover and set in a warm place- let rise until doubled size, about an hour.
  5. Divide dough in half.
  6. Cover 1/2 of the dough with a towel. With the other half, divide dough into small pieces with a bench scraper/knife.
  7. Shape each piece into a ball and allow to relax for a few minutes.
  8. Flatten each round with the palm of your hand.
  9. With thumb press deep into the center of bagel and tear open a hole in the center with your fingers. Pull the hole open. Cover bagels with a kitchen towel and let rest for about 10 minutes.
  10. Repeat process with other part of dough.
  11. Preheat oven to 400.
  12. Bring about 2 quarts of water to a boil and add 1 T of sugar. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Put 2-3 bagels at a time in to the simmering water for about 30 seconds, turning once. Drain and place on parchment-lined baking sheets.
  13. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with toppings. Using a spatula or your fingers- flip bagels over and repeat with egg wash and toppings.
  14. Bake for 30-35 mins or until browned.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Johlene says

    March 4, 2014 at 6:04 am

    Love the idea of adding strawberries to bagels.. I´ve never made my own bagels before as I´ve been kinda afraid that I´ll mess it up but this recipe I´m going to give a try! Xx

    Reply

  3. movita beaucoup says

    March 4, 2014 at 6:32 am

    Bagels were one of my favourite things to bake at school last year. Most of us hadn't tried our hand at them before, and we were all amazed at how simple it is to make AWESOME bagels at home/for a bakery! These look marvellous…

    Reply

  13. Dionne Baldwin says

    March 4, 2014 at 12:57 pm

    Strawberries surely did brighten things up a bit! The beautiful strawberry posts are bringing back fond memories or spring and early summer. These bagels are beautiful! I really should make them more often. I could have these strawberry bagels every morning and not mind one bit. Thank you for baking these for us!

    Reply

  16. Lou says

    March 4, 2014 at 2:39 pm

    I always think of bagels as a savoury bread, so thank you so much for introducing the concept of sweet bagel Lora!
    I really like your idea, will ha to try it sooner or later 🙂
    Baci
    Lou

    Reply

  18. Holly says

    March 4, 2014 at 7:13 pm

    So nicely done! And with cream cheese spread on a strawberry-filled bagel, it would be heavenly! Can't wait to try this with strawberries or other fruits too.

    Reply

  23. Stacy says

    March 5, 2014 at 12:49 pm

    I love that you made bagels with strawberries, Lora! These go perfectly with cream cheese and extra strawberries. The perfect breakfast!

    Bagels are one of those things that I bake every once in a while because they haven't been available most places I've lived, but your beautiful strawberries ones have reminded me that I've never ever done a bagel post.

    Reply

  25. Nancy @ gottagetbaked says

    March 5, 2014 at 8:21 pm

    As much as I love eating bagels and baking bread, I have yet to make bagels myself. I don't know why, I'm just so intimidated! Yours look perfect, Lora. And I love that you used strawberries. The flavour must be incredible!

    Reply

  26. Lauren says

    March 6, 2014 at 2:59 pm

    I've made different kinds of bagels before, but not with strawberries…yet! Very jealous of your in-season strawberries in Florida btw!!

    Reply

  27. Laura Dembowski says

    March 6, 2014 at 8:43 pm

    It's been way too long since I've had a bagel. These look awesome! I am so over winter, but luckily I've been buying lots of strawberries, usually from Florida, at the store. They've helped me get through winter.

    Reply

  28. Renee says

    March 8, 2014 at 9:00 am

    I really do need to tackle making bagels this year. It's been on my to-do list for far too long. I hope I can make some as beautiful as yours. Lovely choice for this month's challenge.

    Reply

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