Cream cheese? Jam? Butter? Peanut butter? There are multiple ways to top a bagel but only one flavor that really makes drool! I am a sucker for cinnamon raisin anything. Whether that is a muffin, bread, or bagel, I’ll never pass on this flavor combination. If you like a little texture, add some walnuts or pecans. They are sure to please after the labor of love that goes into making The Best Cinnamon Raisin Bagels with nuts.
The Method
When you look at the recipe you find find there are multiple steps and this process is not a quick one. I love homemade breads and rolls from scratch but the process can be lengthy. Nothing beats can replace a handmade bread, even bagels. For the most part, you are inactive for a good amount of time. This is when I get laundry, dusting, most house chores done while I wait for my dough to rise. Really, you are just waiting around for yeast to active throughout the entire process, if you want to challenge your multi-tasking skills you can start by making The Best Cinnamon Raisin Bagels with nuts!
All-Purpose Flour vs Bread Flour
For The Best Cinnamon Raisin Bagels with nuts, you will want to use all-purpose flour. I have yet to experiment with gluten free flour due to the protein differences in gluten free flour vs all-purpose flour for these bagel. One reason, there is a lot of knead here, so the dough is being worked a lot. I would assume they may turn out a bit tough but nothing a toaster cannot fix. I’ll work on this! Back to the all-purpose flour, bread flour lacks structure for this particular recipe even though some breads will use bread flour and some don’t like my Garlic Bread Rolls I make every year for the holidays. This will depend on what other ingredients you have working in your recipe.
The Sugar Bath
Why are adding them to boiling water? It is almost like you are flash frying them. This process helps soften the dough. I do about 45 seconds to 1 minute because I do like my bagels a bit chewier, if you like yours a bit tough then 30 seconds will do. I increase the cinnamon time to time and also use cranraisins. Really, this recipe is a blank slate for your own goodies. The cinnamon, raisins and nuts can all be omitted and you are left with a plain bagel. Jalapeno and cheese anyone? Everything bagel seasoning? You cannot go wrong with any combination! Enjoy!
Cinnamon Raisin Bagels
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons yeast
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups + 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/4 cup nuts, any, roughly chopped
- Splash of vegetable or canola oil
- 1 large egg white
Directions
- In standing mixer, add 1 1/2 cup Luke warm water. Sprinkle in one packet of yeast, allow to set uninterrupted in a warm spot for 5 minutes to activate the yeast and it softens.
- Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and vanilla on top of the yeast mixture. Sift in 2 cups of the divided flour, salt, and cinnamon.
- Mix on low with the dough hook attachment. Let it come into a dough then add raisins, nuts, and 1 1/2 cup flour. The dough will form into a ball and slap against the sides. If it is too wet, sprinkle in a little extra flour as necessary.
- Knead the dough on a flat surface for about 1 or 2 minutes folding the ball into itself.
- Light grease a glass bowl with oil, add your kneaded dough then cover with a cloth for about 1 hour to let the dough rise. It will double in size.
- Lightly flour a flat surface and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Punch the center of your dough and divide into two equal parts. Cut each dough ball into halves and then half again so you end up with 4 balls with one half and 4 balls with the second half for a total of 8. Form each one into a disc, allow to rest for 3 minutes.
- Fill a stock pot with 2/3 the way up water and bring to a boil. Add your remaining sugar. In a small bowl, mix together the egg white and 1 teaspoon water to make a wash. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Make a hole with your thumb in the center of each dough disc then gently work your way around to create a center. Rest dough again for 10 minutes.
- Ensure your baking sheets are ready and lay a cloth over a rack or something similar to remove excess water from bagels.
- Using tongs, add 2 bagels to the water and flip after 45 seconds, boil another 45 seconds. Remove from the pot and transfer to your cloth to remove excess water. Repeat until all bagels are done. Place dried bagels onto your prepared baking sheet.
- Brush on the egg wash, then bake 25 minutes rotating pans halfway. About 12 minutes.
- Remove, all to cool and enjoy! Store in a air tight container for up to 5 days or freeze for 2 months.