Jalapeño Bagels

I’m not going to give you a long story as to why I made these or tell you that these are a special recipe passed down from my grandma. Because it’s not. I just love jalapeño bagels and decided to start making them. I will tell you that this is the best jalapeño bagel I’ve ever had. So much so that I’ve come out of my 2+ year blog hiatus to share with you.

I do want to warn you, if you follow this recipe you will not he able to enjoy these amazing bagels until the next day. You do have to refrigerate overnight. The wait will be worth it. I promise you!

without further adieu…

Ingredients

Sponge:

1 teaspoon rapid yeast
4 cups bread flour
2½ cups room temperature water

Dough:

½ teaspoon rapid yeast
3¾ cups bread flour
2½ teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons diastatic malt powder
2 cups jalapeño peppers, minced

To Bake:

1 Tablespoon baking soda
Cornmeal for dusting

Instructions

Step 1: Make the sponge. Add the 1 tsp of instant yeast and 4 cups of flour to a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Add the 2 1/2 cups of water. Stir until well combined. Cover with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 2-hours.

Step 2: Make the dough. Add the additional 1/2 tsp of instant yeast to the sponge and stir. Scrap the ingredients into a second mixing bowl (fit for an electric mixer). Then add 3 cups of the flour, the salt, and the malt powder. Mix on low speed with the dough hook until the ingredients form a ball. Add the remaining ¾ cup flour to stiffen the dough.

Step 3: Transfer the dough to the counter and knead until all ingredients are well combined. There should be no loose flour. Set aside.

Step 4: Mince the jalapeños. Remove the membranes and seeds. You should have approximately 2 cups of minced jalapeños. I used 7 jalapeños total. Add the jalapeños to the dough and knead until well combined. The dough should be firm, but still pliable.

Tip: If the dough is dry add a few drops of water at a time until the dough is evenly hydrated. If the dough is sticky add more flour. The dough should be well combined into a large ball.

Step 5: Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.

Step 6: Line two sheet pans with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray. Place each of the pieces 2-inches apart on the sheet pan. Cover with a damp towel and allow them to rest for 20 minutes.

Step 7: Uncover the balls and add a hole in the center using your fingers. Stretch out the hole to about 2 inches in diameter. Mist the bagels with cooking spray and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

Step 8: When ready to bake (the next day), preheat the oven to 500° F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 1 tbsp of baking soda to the water.

Step 9: Gently drop 4 bagels into the boiling water. After 1 minute flip them over and boil for an additional minute. Repeat until all bagels have been boiled.

Step 10: Sprinkle the parchment-lined sheet pans with cornmeal and the add the bagels to the sheet pans. Space the bagels 2 inches a part. Place the sheet pans on the center rack. bake for 8 minutes. Turn the oven down to 450° F. Rotate the pans and bake for another 8 minutes.

I mean look at these! They were worth every ounce of effort put into making them.