Bagels bagels bagels!!

Bagels! Yes I love them. I really do. But I haven’t made them in a while. Maybe it’s because of the many steps involved. But once you start it’s actually not that bad and I do enjoy it. And with bagels you can really enjoy experimenting, playing around with the dough and fillings and toppings.

This time I made simple ones for sandwiches. Whole meal bagels with LSA powder (Linseeds, Sunflower seeds, Almonds). I was going to put some linseeds on top but I completely forgot. I do this sometimes, completely forgetting to sprinkle the toppings.  After boiling the bagels, you need to be quick to put them in the oven. So after boiling them, all I am thinking about is putting them in the oven… quite literally! You could also say I am simply forgetful. 🙂

This time I made sandwiches with some prosciutto, avocado and carrot salad. The carrot salad gives you crunchiness and freshness and cheering colour to your sandwiches.

Also, I made chocolate bagels with cranberries! These are mini size so I could have two  for snacks. Maybe I should have rolled the chocolate chips inside, instead of mixing it with the dough. I was worried when I was boiling them that the chocolate might stick out and melt, but it was ok. The cranberries worked better than I expected. I love a bit of sourness in sweets. For these, I used the apple yeast which I blogged about in the previous post! It did a great job. I am not sure I could taste the apple though.

<Bagels with LSA>

210g of High grade/ Strong flour

30g of Whole meal flour

10g of LSA (linseeds, Sunflower seeds, Almond powder)

3g of Salt

8g of Honey

80g of  wild yeast starter   [30%]

50g of lukewarm water and 80g of soy milk  [52%]

Method :

• Mix all the ingredients and knead well until it’s smooth.
• Let the dough rise in a warm place until it nearly doubles. (You can skip this process if you wish to get firm bagels, I sometime skip this when I eat bagels straight from the oven)
• Divide the dough in four (mini-size six) and rest them for 20 min under cover.
• Shape the dough into bagel shapes. Let them rise in a warm place for 1.5 hours. Make sure they are covered to prevent them from drying up.
• Preheat the oven at 190℃.
• Boil 2L of water in a wide pan or frying pan with a teaspoon of sugar or honey. (once boiling, turn the fire down to medium heat, and bring the water down to a simmer)
• Boil the bagels upside down for 30 seconds then turn them over, for another 30 seconds.
• Quickly place them on the baking sheets and put them in the oven. (When you have topping, sprinkle on top)  Bake it for 18 min at 190℃.

<Chocolate and Cranberries bagels>

240g of High grade/ Strong flour

10g of unsweetened cocoa powder

15g of brown suger

50g of lukewarm water and 80g of soy milk  [52%]

80g of  wild yeast starter   [30%]

Method : the same as the bagels with LSA

This post is submitted to YeastSpotting.

Apple power

Introducing my new wild yeast. It’s apple yeast! This one smells soooo nice. It’s just like apple cider.

The method is simple and easy, the same as the raisins (or prunes) yeast.  One  chopped up apple, skin on and core and seeds everything, and some water and a teaspoon of honey. (Do not use Manuka honey – the anti-bacterial properties of it prevent fermentation. You can also use sugar if you prefer.) AND if you have already made liquid yeast like me (previous raisins one), add a tea spoon of that. It will develop faster! So I make new liquid just before I finishing off the previous one.

I am making starter with this apple yeast at the moment and it’s looking good! Can’t wait to bake some goodies with this yeast.  😀

Mini baguette sandwich for mini people.

I made these mini baguettes for my mesdemoselles’ school lunch. They love baguettes, especially my older one. I added a little bit of butter in the dough to make it a bit softer for them, but I didn’t find much difference to be honest. Maybe I didn’t add enough? I think my normal baguette recipe is better after all.

This time I made “Tandoori chicken with roast peppers sandwich”. This filling is great with hard (not soft) bread.

I like using a couple of different coloured capsicums, it’s so cheerful and delicious  for the eyes.

Tandoori chicken and roasted peppers sandwich

some baguettes (recipe is here!) for sandwiches

some green salad

for the tandoori chicken

4 chicken thigh fillets

2 tbsp of unsweetened natural yoghurt

1 or 2 tsp of curry powder

1 or 2 tsp of tomato paste (tomato sause)

1/2 tsp of salt

some cumin powder

some coriander powder

some cardamon powder

some chili powder or flakes (I didn’t use this as we have little people)

1 tsp of lemon juice

1 tsp of grated garlic

1 tsp of grated ginger

Method: Stab the chicken thigh fillets a few times with a fork. Put all the marinade ingredients together and marinate the chicken for a few hours. Grill the chicken until it’s cooked through.

for the roast peppers

1 capsicum or 1/2 of two different coloured capsicums (sliced)

1 tbsp of olive oil and some salt and pepper to taste

Method : Heat olive oil in a pan, add capsicum and saute them for a couple of minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.