Bagels
These Jerusalem Bagels are no ordinary bagels, these beasts are bagels on steroids! I only really started making regular bagels a year ago and I do love them. (Although I still only rarely make them.) They remind me of growing up. Eating them on a Sunday morning with smoked salmon and cream cheese, or egg and onion. These Jerusalem bagels are really only a bagel in the broadest sense of the word. As in, they have a hole in the middle and they’re a traditional Jewish bake but really it’s quite a simple bread dough and it doesn’t get the ‘boil before bake’ that the traditional bagel gets so they don’t have that chewy texture. However, they are a delightful bread and they do make for a great ‘egg in the hole’ breakfast dish – more of that later!
The Pocket Baking Book
The original recipe for these Jerusalem Bagels comes from the amazing new book, The Pocket Baking Book from the gorgeous Trevennon Dakota over at Hamlets Bakery. Trevennon is one of those wonderful humans who I befriended over social media during the past Pandemic year. I’m sure lots of us have similar stories of connecting virally with complete strangers. Sometimes these people seem to connect with us more easily than we do our already existing friends or even family.
I guess because there’s no pre-existing baggage. Or we have something in common that drives us. It’s been like that with Trevennon. We both have a passion for baking although he actually got his shit together and wrote and self-published a book. Go and buy it. You won’t regret it.
- 300ml tepid water
- 10g fast-action dried yeast
- 500g strong white bread flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons sea salt flakes
- 50g olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder and sea salt, then add the water, yeast, olive oil and honey and mix until fully combined.
Knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. I use my smeg stand mixer with a dough hook but it can be done by hand on an oiled work surface. Place it into an oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm and set aside for it to rise until doubled in size – roughly 45 mins to an hour.
After it’s doubled in size, knock it back by punching it, then tip it onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 equal balls.
Roll the balls into sausage shapes approximately 60cm-80cm long. Pinch the two ends of the ‘sausage’ together to create a rough oval shape and place all the bagels on 2 baking sheets. Cover them over and let them prove for a further 20 mins whilst you preheat your oven to 180C (fan.)
Once the bagels have proved and your oven is up to temp, brush the top of each bagel with a mix of 1 tablespoon honey and 1 teaspoon water and sprinkle them with sesame seeds.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, turning the baking sheets halfway. Allow to cool slightly.
To make the ‘egg in the hole’ simply heat a little olive oil and butter in a frying pan, place a bagel in the hot fat and then crack one or two eggs into the middle of the hole. Fry gently until the eggs is to your liking.
Eat and of course, enjoy!
