[everything] rye bagels with molasses

It’s the freakin’ weekend.

When the weekend strikes everything in me begs for brunch. The hubs and I always have breakfast in bed with a creamy cup of coffee in hand on Saturdays and Sundays. While he loves eggs and hot sauce, my personal favorite breakfast staple is lox and bagels.

There is something about smoky salted salmon with an oniony seeded bagel, decadent cream cheese and briny capers. I finally decided to make my own bagels this weekend and am so glad that I did!

Because it is the weekend, I did not intend to get up at the butt crack of dawn to make the dough. Like any other dough, it takes a few hours to rise. Since there are no dairy products used in the mixture, I chose to make it the night before and let it rise on the counter overnight. That way, when I woke up, the dough was fluffy and ready to be shaped in bagel-sized balls.

I am so glad I did this for two reasons. One, I like to sleep in on the weekends and two when I wake up, I am hungry and do not want to wait several hours to feast. Can you relate? Also, if you feel so inclined, you can always make the bagels the night before and serve them the next day!

I originally set out to create an everything pumpernickel bagel, but could not find pumpernickel flour at the store. So I bought rye flour and added molasses for a caramel hue and sweet flavor.

Have you ever felt like there is too much going on in your life? Like you work all day, then have commitment after commitment when you get home.

The hubs and I have been renovating our guest bathroom for the past few weeks. This has consumed our time {and bank account}. I have also been freshening up the backyard so that it feels like an oasis for ourselves and guests. But it seems like one thing after another is becoming time consuming with our new house. The pool has a leak, the bathroom parts are getting pricey and the house is not cleaning itself.  On top of that, we both struggle with saying no to friends when they want to go out. So the times we should be home working on the house, we are elsewhere and nothing gets done.

When we are not with friends or at church, I have been visiting new restaurants and bars for my Connect Savannah food articles. While it is fun when I am there, I am exhausted after a long day of work.

So today, while I was raking leaves in our new yard, I had a moment of conviction.

I should be thankful for all these things that I have on my plate. For the yard of leaves to rake. The pool. The finances to afford a new home and renovations. The friends who want to spend time with me. The hobby that allows me to write about food. The full-time job that I absolutely love. The house to clean, dishes to put away and clothes to wash. Grateful that I am able to move, breathe, see, hear and smell.

We all have mountains that we want to climb and I am not saying that you should not try to do that. All I am saying is, we should find happiness in the climb and find beauty in the life that we were given. This life involves tasks to complete. When they are done, something else will always take its place.

Let’s look on the bright side of these things because complaining never did anything except slow us down!

ingredients

Bagel Dough

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 pack active dry yeast
• 3 Tbsp dark molasses
• 1.5 Tsp Salt
•  1 cup rye flour
•  2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tbl brown sugar

Poaching Liquid

• 3 qt Water
• 1 Tbsp Sugar

Toppings

• 1 egg white
• 1 tbsp water
• everything bagel seasoning
  • 3 tablespoons of each: sesame seeds, poppy seeds & dried minced onion
  • 1 tablespoon pretzel salt or coarse sea salt
• smoked salmon (lox or nova)
• cream cheese
• capers
• red onion, sliced
• lemon, sliced
• parsley or dill
• arugula or lettuce

directions

1. Mix warm water and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Let it stand for 5 minutes.
2. Add the final dough ingredients. Mix with dough hook for 10 minutes on low. Scrap the sides to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. If you do not have a stand mixer, use a sturdy spoon to combine the dough ingredients before turning it out onto a clean counter and kneading it for 15 minutes. Add flour if the dough is sticky.
3. Remove the dough from the stand mixer bowl and oil it (or another bowl). Put the dough back into the bowl and cover it with a clean, dry towel. Let dough rise in a warm place for 2 hours or overnight.
4. When dough is done rising, divide it into 6 equal parts. Roll each part into a ball and place on a floured surface (see picture below). Let dough balls rise for about 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
6. Poke your index finger through the center of each ball to create a hole.
7. Hold the bagel lightly with both index fingers horizontally, one through the top and the other through the bottom. Rotate your fingers around one another to stretch the hole to about 2 inches wide (see below).
8. Boil the poaching liquid ingredients in a large deep pot.
9. Place 3 bagels in the boiling water and let boil for 4 minutes. Flip bagels over and let boil on the other side for 2 minutes. Boil the other 3 bagels the same way.
10. Transfer the boiled bagels, with a slotted spoon, to a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.
11. Mix together the “everything bagel” seasoning and pour onto a flat plate.
12. Mix egg white and 1 tbsp water together. Brush on top of bagel. Press top of bagel onto the flat plate of “everything bagel” seasoning to transfer the seasoning to the bagel.
13. Bake the bagels for 30 minutes.
14. Assemble lox and bagel platter with other toppings and enjoy!