It’s DIY month around here — we do this every April, and this is our third annual DIY month! We love to encourage you to do things yourself, in your home. All month long we’ll be sharing projects, recipes, remedies, crafts, and more with you.
Does this not sound absolutely fabulous?
The other week, we had a super busy couple of days. While I was at an evening meeting, I picked up some bagels for the next morning’s breakfast. The kids were thrilled to have bagels, but my 4-year-old said, “Wait, they’re blueberry? I wanted vanilla….”
It got me thinking.
There are no vanilla bagels commercially available. At least none that I have seen. But why not? Thankfully, cooking at home means I can do whatever I want, so I decided that vanilla bean bagels were a perfect idea. They would be soaked whole wheat flour, rich with vanilla and only lightly sweet. They would be perfect.
And they are. Crispy/chewy on outside, and soft on the inside. They smell deliciously floral and just…wonderful. We like to serve them with grass-fed Kerrygold butter, or with our homemade soaked pecan butter. They are a great, healthy breakfast. And they freeze and toast beautifully, so don’t be afraid to make a big batch.
Soaked Vanilla Bean Bagels
Ingredients:
- 4 1/2 c. freshly ground white whole wheat flour (or sifted pre-ground flour)
- 1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste OR 2 vanilla beans, soaked and scraped
- 2 tbsp. butter, softened
- 1/3 c. organic sugar
- 2 c. filtered water
- 3 tsp. sea salt
- 3 tsp. yeast
- Water for boiling
- 3 – 4 tbsp. honey
Directions:
First, grind the flour. If you are using pre-ground flour, sift it first, then measure it. Freshly ground flour is lighter and looser than flour in a bag, and you don’t want too much.
If using whole vanilla beans, split them down the middle and soak in water for 30 to 60 minutes. Then, scrape all the tiny seeds out of the middle (the “caviar”) and add them to the flour. Use the soaking water as part of the water for this recipe, too.
Mix together the flour, vanilla paste (or caviar), butter, sugar, and water until a fairly stiff dough forms. Cover this and allow it to sit overnight, or at least 12 hours.
After the soaking time, add the sea salt and yeast. Knead these into the dough for about 10 minutes, until thoroughly incorporated. Then, cover the dough and let it rise for about 2 hours, until doubled.
Punch the dough down and separate it into 12 – 15 small balls. Shape these into bagels by gently creating a hole in the center. Allow the bagels to rise for another hour.
Once the bagels rise, get a large pot of water boiling, and add the honey. Preheat the oven to 400.
Very gently, scoop the bagels up and add them to the water (I use a spatula for this so I don’t deflate them). Boil only 2 or 3 at a time — don’t crowd them — for about 3 – 4 minutes.
Remove the boiled bagels and place them on a cookie sheet. Once all the bagels are boiled, bake them for 20 – 25 minutes, until golden brown. If you like, you can use an egg wash on them prior to baking, and sprinkle them with sugar or poppy seeds, but I didn’t.
Once baked, enjoy immediately, or allow to cool and freeze for later.
Soaked Vanilla Bean Bagels
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cup freshly ground white whole wheat flour (or sifted pre-ground flour)
- 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste OR 2 vanilla beans, soaked and scraped
- 2 tbsp butter, softened
- 1/3 cup organic sugar
- 2 cup filtered water
- 3 tsp sea salt
- 3 tsp yeast
- Water for boiling
- 3-4 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Grind the flour. If you are using pre-ground flour, sift it first, then measure it.
- If using whole vanilla beans, split them down the middle and soak in water for 30 to 60 minutes. Scrape all the tiny seeds out of the middle and add them to the flour.
- Mix together the flour, vanilla paste, butter, sugar, and water until a fairly stiff dough forms.
- Cover this and allow it to sit overnight, or at least 12 hours
- After the soaking time, add the sea salt and yeast.
- Knead these into the dough for about 10 minutes, until thoroughly incorporated.
- Cover the dough and let it rise for about 2 hours, until doubled.
- Punch the dough down and separate it into 12 - 15 small balls. Shape these into bagels by gently creating a hole in the center. Allow the bagels to rise for another hour.
- Once the bagels rise, get a large pot of water boiling, and add the honey.
- Preheat the oven to 400.
- Very gently, scoop the bagels up and add them to the water. Boil only 2 or 3 at a time -- don't crowd them -- for about 3 - 4 minutes.
- Remove the boiled bagels and place them on a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until golden brown.
