Flamboyant Gourmets: Sun Dried Tomato Bagels

Finally, the moment you all have breathlessly been waiting for….I think I have it. I found a recipe online for Sun Dried Tomato bagels and used this as my base, but the ingredient amounts left me with flat, wrinkly bagels but incredibly flavorful.

Boiling time is negotiable. I usually boil a couple of minutes on each side. Other bagel recipes have you boiling for 7 minutes on each side. I don’t want to do that.

Sundried Tomatoes can be hard to find. I found them packed in oil at Wal-Mart (they are next to the mushrooms in the canned tomato aisle) and they are usually out of them. I found bagged Sun dried tomatoes at Kroger.

My family loves these,with my insatiable son eating 4 in a day sometimes. My directions will be with a Kitchen Aid Mixer so modify as needed…. So, without further ado…Flambo!!

Sun Dried Tomato Bagels
(makes 16 bagels)
oven 375 degrees

7-8 cups unbleached flour
4 tsp yeast
1 Tbl sugar
1/4-ish cup warm water
3 tsp dried basil
2 tsp California-style Garlic Powder
2 tsp Sea salt
2 TBL sugar
2 cups vegetable juice (I use V-8)
2/3 cup snipped sun-dried tomatoes

Proof the yeast in a small bowl, with 1 Tbl sugar and 1/4 cup-ish water.

Place 6 cups of the flour into the mixing bowl. Add basil, garlic powder, salt and sugar. Heat the vegetable juice to lukewarm temperature (I nuke it). Add proofed yeast and vegetable juice. Turn on the mixer and let it knead, adding another cup of flour after a couple minutes.

Meanwhile, I snip my tomatoes during the kneading process and add when I have enough. This will make the dough more wet, so you will need to add about 1/2 cup more flour. Continue kneading and adding flour until the dough is smooth. You don’t want a wet dough, as bagels will not be strong enough to hold their shape after boiling..

Remove dough from bowl and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Grease 2 baking pans. (even if they are baking stones)

Cut dough into 16 sections. Shape each piece into a smooth ball, then poke your finger through the middle to made a hole. If you like, swirl it around your finger a couple of times to make the hole bigger. Place on greased pans and allow to rise for 30 minutes. After the first 20 minutes, start a large pot of water to boil so it will be ready by the end of the 30 minutes. I have learned no not allow them to rise much longer than that 30 minutes.

Drop 3-4 bagels into the boiling water, top down, then flip after a few seconds to get the bottom started. After a few more seconds flip again, to top-side down again and allow to boil about 2 minutes (more or less) Flip the bagel top side up and allow to boil a couple of more minutes. I have learned that boiling completes the rising process and they will not rise any more than this. It took me two tries to keep my bagels from falling, needing more flour—a stiffer dough. Then a couple more times to keep them from being horribly wrinkled—rising too long. (They will be a little wrinkly from boiling—we’re just trying to keep them from falling flat)

With a slotted spoon or skimmer, remove bagels from water, allowing to drain. Return to greased pan and add the next batch of bagels to the water.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 35 minutes, checking for a nice slightly browned red-orange-y color. Remove bagels from pans and cool on wire racks. Best when eaten warm. The texture will be chewy. Freeze them the day you bake them and defrost as desired.