Whole Wheat Onion Bagels

I LOVE bagels and they love me back, just ask my waistline and it'll tell you how much. Bagels are so tasty and can be the basis for breakfast, lunch or a snack. But, in my quest for healthy foods bagels fell to the wayside. The white flour bagels that I know and love had too many calories and not enough fiber to be filling, hence the desire to eat just one more....again and again. I stumbled upon this recipe on the Grain Mill Wagon  and when I say how light, fluffy and delicious these whole wheat bagels looked I knew I had to try them.

I chose to make an onion version, since it is my favorite variety of bagel, but this recipe lends itself to sweet and savory varieties just as well. You could so blueberry, cinnamon raisin, everything or just leave them plain. For about 15 minutes of your actual time, the rest of the time they are either raising or baking, you can have 8 whole wheat, flavorful and delicious bagels. That's enough for breakfast every day of the week with a spare leftover! Or, you could use the bagel as the base to a sandwich for lunch. Or, you could just eat it as a snack. However you decide to use these, you will not be disappointed! You can find the original recipe, by the amazing Donna Miller here- Homemade Whole Wheat Bagels and I, as always, grind my flour fresh in my handy dandy WonderMill!

Whole Wheat Bagels

• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup sugar (whatever form you choose to bake with)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups freshly milled whole wheat flour (white whole wheat is what I used)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon yeast

Put all of the ingredients in the bread machine and turn on the dough setting. At the mixing beep, or the add-ins beep if your machine has it, add in anything you'd like. I added in dried onion flakes. After the dough cycle has ran, take the bagel dough out and divide into 8 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball and poke your finger through the middle, to make the center of the bagel. Put your thumb and forefinger through the hole, and while rolling the dough around and around, shape the bagel and stretch the center hole out a bit. Place on the counter to raise for 5 minutes. 

While the bagels are raising, stir together:

• 3 quarts water
• 3 Tablespoons honey
• 2 teaspoons salt (sea or kosher)

Put all of the above into a saucepan and heat to a boil. Drop each bagel into the water and let boil for 30 seconds on each side. Remove the bagels from the water with a slotted spoon and place on a cornmeal dusted cookie sheet. Repeat until all of the bagels are done. 

At this point, you can brush on an egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water) and sprinkle with toppings, if desired. Bake the bagels in a 375 degree oven for 18-22 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Let the bagels cool and place them in a zip top bag if you plan to leave them on the counter or in the fridge. If you want to freeze your bagels, slice them and then place them in a zip top bag before they go into the freezer. 

These are so good and they were so very, very easy. I'll be making them again soon and at least doubling the recipe so I can have a few in the freezer to feed my hungry family whenever they get the hankering for bagels.