Pumpkin Bagels

It's fall, and time for some recipes to match the season! Of course, that means I get to use one of my all-time favorite ingredients: pumpkin! I began to look into this particular recipe, the pumpkin bagel, because my husband could not find a pumpkin bagel at Dunkin Donuts. I had never made a bagel, and I tend to hesitate before attempting a yeast bread recipe (the doughnuts I made seemed to take forever), but it seemed like a perfect fall recipe and would make my husband happy, so I gave it a go with a recipe found here.

And you know what? It was delicious...and super easy!!! I hope you give these a try!

First, as stated on the website, you will need the following:

Dough:

• 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons warm water (100-110 degrees)
• 3 1/4 tsp instant yeast
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 3/4 tsp allspice
• 3 cups bread flour

To cook:

• 3 quarts water
• 2 Tbs sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon (I used pumpkin pie spice)
• 1 egg, for egg wash

First, combine all the dough ingredients in a large bowl, with the exception of the bread flour. You will want to use instant yeast if you can find it--I did not, and it took my dough a bit longer to rise. When these ingredients are well integrated, add the bread flour a little at a time, mixing until it is just incorporated (you never want to over-mix a dough). I did this by hand, but you could also use a stand mixer if you have one--just use the dough hook attachment.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 10-12 minutes. The dough will start out a bit dry, but will come together by the end of the kneading process. Place kneaded dough in a greased bowl, turning once to make sure all sides of the dough are greased, and let sit for an hour.

Once the dough has sat for an hour, punch it down in the bowl and then divide it into 8 equal pieces. Use your hands to shape each piece into a bagel shape (roll it into a ball, create a hole in the middle with your fingers, then flatten the dough). Place bagels on a greased baking sheet for another 45 minutes to an hour to allow them to expand in size.

Finally, it is time to cook the bagels! First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees and bring a large saucepan full of water and 1 tablespoon of sugar to a boil. Drop in two to three bagels at a time and boil the bagels on each side for 1-2 minutes. Remove from water and set on a greased cookie sheet. Once they have all been boiled, brush the tops of each bagel with egg wash and sprinkle sugar and either cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice over the top. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

And voila! You have homemade pumpkin bagels--add a little cream cheese mixed with cinnamon, and you have a delicious breakfast that practically screams fall. Enjoy!