chewy spiced sweet potato bagels
Man oh man am I HYPED that I didn’t fuck up a bagel recipe!
Alright my dudes, this recipe excites me. I’ve tried many a bagel over the past couple years and, up until now, the results have sucked. I’ll blame a combination of Florida’s humidity and my own ineptitude for the constant failures.
Last year, for instance, I attempted a pumpkin bagel twice, and gave up eventually because I used so much bread flour and so much pumpkin puree that I didn’t want to see either for a good month – after which we reached the expiry of pumpkin’s relevance, so I didn’t bother with a third trial. Sometimes I think shelving certain concepts works to my advantage until I’m truly in the best mindset I can find in order to exhibit the patience for the inevitable goofs.
So here we are, 2023, and I’ve got these gorgeous puffs to show you.
Pumpkin bagels are commonplace in many a store, but have you tried a sweet potato bagel? Probably not. The flavor profile is very similar, but a bit heartier, and feels a bit like a pleasant surprise in these beauties. Like most breads, these do take a little more time and love, but homemade bagels are worth the effort.
Now I’m craving a toasty bagel. Might have one for dinner. No regrets.
Dough, doe
A few notes about bagel dough:
For one, the dough is a lean dough, meaning it uses no fats like oil or butter. Very akin to your basic bread dough or a baguette, so it’s quite simple in and of itself and uses pantry ingredients you likely have around. Plus a few fun additions because we’re sweet potato-ifying it.
For two, and this links with the above point: bagel dough is heavier than bread dough, so if it feels stiffer and more like a projectile weapon than a baked good, that’s expected. So long as it isn’t sticky, or ripping at the seams, you’re good to go.
Begin by proofing your yeast in sugar and warm water. Water’s too hot, the yeast will die, so make sure you can comfortably stick a finger into the water and not feel the impulse to quickly remove it.
Then, whisk in your sweet potato puree. If you make your own, use that, otherwise find a good-quality canned brand like this one. I should note that pumpkin or butternut squash purees work perfectly fine in this recipe if you prefer either.
Add in flour and spices: cinnamon, ginger, clove, and salt. Knead the dough either with a bread hook or your hands until it comes together into a tacky but cohesive ball.
Grease your bowl with oil, flip the dough around to coat, then cover and let it rise. The rise shouldn’t be so intense that you get that aesthetically pleasing balloon of airy dough. If that happens, you probably fucked up. Woe is you. If the dough is too poofy, the finished bagel will be wrinkly and flat.
Bath Time!
Punch down your bagel dough and divide in half. Then, divide each half into 4 balls, so you have 8 bagels.
More experienced folk can use the rope method for shaking the bagel, but I go the layman’s route and poke a hole in the center of each ball with my thumb. Then, stretch the bagel until the hole is about 1 inch in diameter. Set onto a parchment lined baking sheet; once those babies are all shaped, cover and let rise about 10 minutes.
Now, bagel recipes vary in what type of water bath is preferred over another. Many use brown sugar, honey, or malt syrup, while some use baking soda, some use both, and some use neither. The differences are basically in the exterior texture of the bagels. Sugars will caramelize on the surface more, while baking soda gives it a more pretzel-like finish. Doing an unadorned bagel won’t add much by way of texture.
As we all know how much I love pretzels, I opt for the baking soda method.
Boil your water and drop in a bit of baking soda. The boil should not be as intense as a rolly polly boily you like when cooking pasta; think of it more like a simmer. Bubbles on the surface, but small bubbles, not big boys.
Carefully set two bagels in at a time (or 1 if you only have a small pot) and heat for 30 seconds per side. Remove with a slotted spoon and set on the baking sheets. Repeat with all your bagels. They will be wrinkly and look slightly deflated after the trip in the water, but that’s alright – baking will reactivate what remains of the yeast and they will pop back to life.
Pop them in the oven at 450 for about 12-15 minutes. The result: beautiful, chewy, fat little dudes!
Eat them however you wish. Toasted with some cream cheese and lox, or peanut butter and banana, are my favorite methods. You can make sandwiches, slather them in butter, or eat them straight up if you’re marathon training and can’t tolerate any elaborate toppings. They’re just sweet enough, with a hint of spice, and a delightfully chewy texture.
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Beast of the yeast (dough):
Pumpkin Sage Butter Brioche Dinner Rolls
Everything Parmesan Pumpkin Beer Pretzels with Creamy Honey Mustard
chewy spiced sweet potato bagels
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 3 – 3 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1/2 cup sweet potato puree
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tbsp baking soda
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the water, brown sugar, and yeast. Let sit 5-10 minutes until the yeast bubbles and becomes foamy.
- Whisk in the sweet potato puree. Using the dough hook attachment on your mixer, add in 3 cups of the flour, the cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt. Knead until a soft, tacky, but firm dough forms, about 5-10 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time, as needed, if the dough is too sticky.
- If kneading by hand, turn the ball of dough onto a floured surface and knead 10-15 minutes, adding flour as needed until the desired texture is reached.
- Grease a clean bowl and toss in the dough ball, flipping to coat both sides lightly with oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free area until doubled, about an hour.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment.
- Punch down the dough and divide in half, then divide each half into four roughly equal-sized balls. You will have 8 balls, then. That's a lot of balls. Roll into a neat little sphere and poke a thumb into the center, then stretch the ball into a doughnut shape with the center hole around 1 inch in diameter. Lay onto the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough balls. Cover and let rest 10 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of water to a simmer. Stir in the baking soda. Drop 2 bagels into the water and simmer for 30 seconds. With a slotted spoon, flip and simmer 30 more seconds. Remove the bagels from the water and set on the baking sheets. Repeat with remaining bagels.
- Dab any excess moisture off the bagels and the parchment. Bake for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden and puffy. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
