peter reinhart’s 100% whole wheat 4-ingredient bagels

This recipe, via New York Times Cooking, is relatively straightforward to make, having only 4 ingredients: whole wheat flour, salt, yeast, and honey water. But so much is variable about baking and baking bagels in particular so that each stage– fermentation, shaping, and rising–comes with its own unique challenges. I definitely need to work on my shaping and on how to get the toppings to stick to the bagels. I liked the end product: it was crusty fresh from the oven, chewy, yet soft inside. It wasn’t salty, unlike the King Arthur Flour whole wheat bagel recipe that included one whole tablespoon of salt. This one has only 1 1/4 teaspoons. So here is my experience with this recipe–which I’m going to keep working on.

Peter Reinhart’s Whole Wheat Bagels:

Yield: 8 bagels

510g/4 1/4-cups whole wheat flour

1 1/4-teaspoons fine sea salt

1 1/4-teaspoons instant yeast

408ml/1 2/3-cups plus 1 1/2 teaspoons lukewarm water (110˚F)

1 tablespoon barley malt, agave syrup, or honey

2 tablespoons baking soda, malt syrup, or honey for boiling bagels in water

Cornmeal or semolina flour for baking trays

Large egg white mixed with 1 teaspoon water for the egg wash

2-4 tablespoons optional toppings: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion flakes, everything seasoning, garlic flakes, sea salt, etc.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine flour and salt. Add yeast and stir, 30 seconds. In a bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the lukewarm water with the barley malt, honey, or agave syrup until dissolved.

Add the liquid to the flour mixture, mixing on low speed 1 minute. The mixture will be wet, sticky, and will not look like it will come together. Switch to the dough hook and knead for 2 minutes until the dough looks like a gnarly ball. It will be sticky–when you touch the dough some will come away on your finger. Reinhart says you can now add “a few tablespoons” of flour.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly oiled work surface and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of bread flour over the top of the dough. Knead it in. If the dough is still sticky after the flour is incorporated, add another tablespoon of flour and knead it in. For me, this process took 3 tablespoons. If you aren’t sure the gluten is well-developed, perform the windowpane test. Pull off a walnut sized piece of dough and stretch it as thin as it will go without breaking. If it breaks, the dough requires additional kneading. Don’t add more flour unless the dough is extremely sticky, and only after letting it rest 5-10 minutes. Resting will hydrate the flour.

Pinch and pull the edges towards the center to shape the dough into a ball. Oil the mixing bowl with a teaspoon of canola oil. Place the dough in the bowl with the smooth top down, then turn it over to oil the bottom. Cover the bowl with a damp lint free towel and let proof at room temperature until it increases 1 1/2 times in size. This took 1 hour for me. But it can take up to 2 hours–check the dough’s progress every half hour.

Line a baking tray with parchment and lightly oil it. Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface and divide it into 8 equal pieces by weight. For me, this was 118g per piece. This will make 4-inch bagels. If you want slightly smaller bagels, divide the dough into 10 equal pieces by weight.

Roll each piece into a smooth ball, cupping the dough beneath your hand and rolling it on the countertop. There are two methods to make a bagel hole: rolling the dough into ropes or punching a hole in the middle of the ball. I haven’t had much success with the rope method as they always fall apart during the boiling stage. So I use both thumbs to punch a hole in the center of the dough ball and use my hands to smooth and shape it into a ring. The hole should be about 2 inches wide. Place the bagel on the oiled parchment. Repeat. Brush the bagel tops with canola oil. Cover the bagels with a dry lint free cloth and let rise in a warm spot, 30-60 minutes, until puffy. Prepare another baking tray lined with oiled parchment or a silicone baking mat. If using a mat, no need to oil it. Sprinkle with cornmeal or semolina. Heat oven 425˚F/218˚C.

Fill a large pot with 4-6 inches of water and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons baking soda, malt syrup, or honey. When the water is boiling boil the bagels two at a time, 30 seconds per side. Remove the bagels with a spider to the prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with beaten egg white thinned with 1 teaspoon of water. Sprinkle desired topping over bagel at once. Place bagels 1 inch apart on the tray.

Bake bagels 12 minutes then rotate the pan and continue baking 8-12 minutes more. Remove bagels from oven and let cool in the pan before slicing and eating.

asian pear frangipane tart

I like how the arrangement of the pear quarters becomes a frangipani flower! Lightly sprinkled with demerara sugar for a tiny hint of sweetness, the pears themselves have a neutral taste except for a light crispiness when raw, so they tend to take on the flavor of whatever they are baked with–in this case vanilla with notes of almond. They are firm in texture even when cooked. I’ve used Asian pears in Chinese tonic soups when they lose their crunch but retain a firm-to-the-tooth quality while absorbing the herbs in which they have been steeped. For this recipe, Bartlett pears can be used, as can apples either green or red, or Chinese jujubes.

Asian Pear Frangipane Tart

(Makes one 10-inch tart or one 8-inch plus 4 tartlets

1 cup/120g ground almonds

1/2-cup/100g sugar, divided

1/4-cup/34g all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons/85g cold unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla (or 1/2-teaspoon vanilla powder added to dry ingredients)

1/2-teaspoon almond extract

1 baked tart shell (pâte brisée recipe follows)

2-3 firm ripe Asian pears

1/4-cup apricot preserves, heated and strained

Pâte Brisée

200g all-purpose flour

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon sugar

100g unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

1/2-cup cold water

Make the tart shell. Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender. Mix in the cold water one tablespoon at a time, or just enough to make a dough ball. For me, this was 3 tablespoons. Gather the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate 30 minutes until firm but malleable.

Remove the dough and unwrap it onto a sheet of parchment about 12-inches square. Cover with the plastic. Roll out the dough into a 1/4-inch thick disk about 11-inches in diameter. Peel off the parchment and place the dough in the tart pan. Peel off the plastic. Press the dough into the base and sides of the pan. If spots are thin or if there are tears, patch it with extra dough. Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork. Freeze the pastry shell 20 minutes. While it is freezing heat the oven to 400˚F/200˚C.

While the pastry shell is chilling, peel, quarter and core the pears. Trim off the ends. I use a melon-baller to scoop out the centers. Make 1/8-inch vertical cuts in each quarter, being careful not to cut all the way through. If you do accidentally, don’t worry, just fit them into the tart. Set pears aside.

Place the tart pan on a baking sheet and put them in the center of the oven. Bake at 400/200 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350˚F/175˚C and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Do not turn off the oven.

Make the frangipane. Add 50g sugar and all the flour to ground almonds in a medium bowl, stirring to combine. If using powdered vanilla, add it now. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the remaining 50g sugar using a handheld mixer, beating on high speed until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract, if using, and almond extract. Reduce speed to low and mix in the almond mixture until just combined.

By now, the tart shell is cool enough. Spread the frangipane in the shell(s), smoothing the top with an offset spatula. Arrange the cut quarters on top, nestling them into the frangipane. About 5-6 quarters will fill a 10-inch tart. Bake in 350˚F/175˚C oven until the frangipane is puffed and golden, 30-40 minutes. Rotate the pan 180˚ halfway through baking. Cool tart completely in the pan on a wire rack. Serve with whipped cream, ice cream, or a tart lemon or orange sorbet.

banh cuon: rice crepes with ground pork and vegetables

Pronounced “baan goon” these savory rice crepes are light and delicious, the perfect light supper. It does take time to prep: one hour to hydrate the rice flour and to marinate the ground pork. But it should not be a deterrent. The filling has the earthy flavor of wood ear mushrooms, onion, oyster sauce, and garlic; plus the crunch of jicama. I didn’t have jicama so I substituted Chinese Jujubes. Topped with Vietnamese pork sausage, fresh bean sprouts and herbs like cilantro, the crepes are then drizzled with nuoc cham, a Vietnamese spicy-sour sauce that’s slightly funky due to its base of nam pla or fish sauce. I’ve halved the recipe because the original yields up to 6 servings. Though halved, I got 12-14 crepes (a couple were trial and error) enough for us and some to share with the next door neighbors.

Banh Cuon (adapted from NY Times Cooking)

Time: 1 hour to cook; 1 hour to marinate

Yield: 12-14 crepes

Batter

1 cup white rice flour

1/2-cup potato starch

1/2-cup tapioca starch

1/4-teaspoon fine salt

1 1/2-tablespoons rice bran oil

2 cups water

Filling

1/2-tablespoon fish sauce (nam pla)

1/2-tablespoon oyster sauce

1/2-teaspoon sugar

1/2-teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4-teaspoon fine salt

250g ground pork

2 tablespoons rice bran oil

1 onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

20g wood ear mushrooms, preferably fresh, trimmed and minced (If using dried, soften in warm water)

250g jicama, peeled and diced (substitute: jujube, potato, or daikon radish)

Garnish

bean sprouts

fried shallots

chopped cilantro or basil chiffonade

Vietnamese pork sausage, coarsely chopped (cha lua)

Nuoc cham, recipe follows

Make the batter: in blender, combine the rice flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, salt, oil, and 2 cups water, until well-blended. Let mixture sit at room temperature for 1 hour to hydrate. The batter can also be made ahead 8-12 hours ahead. If made overnight, keep it covered in the refrigerator.

Make the filling. In a large bowl, mix together the fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, black pepper, and salt to the pork. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Over medium heat, to a large skillet or wok, add 1 tablespoon rice bran oil. When it is hot, add the onion and cook until softened and translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds until fragrant. Add wood ear mushrooms and cook 3 minutes, if fresh, 5 minutes if dried. If more oil is needed, add the remaining tablespoon. Add the jicama, cooking until softened 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Move the vegetables to one side and add the pork, cook, stirring often to break up the large pieces of meat. The meat should no longer be pink, 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Lightly oil a 10-inch skillet (it should have a lid), wiping off the excess with a paper towel. Don’t over-oil it or the crepe will not spread out and stick to the sides of the pan. Stir the batter with a fork or spatula as the rice flour will have separated, until smooth and well-combined again. Heat the skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, pour in 1/4-cup of batter and swirl it around to distribute it evenly. Cover with the lid and let it steam for 30-45 seconds until t he batter is cooked through and the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the skillet.

When the crepe is cooked, gently pull it away from the pan and put it in a large plate. Scoop 2 tablespoons of filling and place it in a line, horizontally, in the middle of the pancake. Roll up the pancake. Transfer it to a serving platte. Repeat.

Before serving, garnish with bean sprouts, fried shallots, cilantro or basil, and the sausage. Serve with nuoc cham to sprinkle according to taste.

Nuoc Cham (pronounced nuk juhm), adapted from Joedy Tran

1 cup fish sauce

2 1/2- cups filtered water

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice with pulp

1 tablespoon white vinegar

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 tablespoon chili garlic paste

Chopped fresh chili, to taste

In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Store, covered, in the refrigerator. Save it for other uses; as a dipping sauce for fresh summer rolls, fried spring rolls, fried fish, vermicelli noodle bowls, etc.

perfect snow skin moon cakes: snow skin moon cakes with cake truffle fillings

For this year’s moon cakes I made a really tasty basic snow skin recipe that I adapted from a recipe by Kristina Cho from her book Mooncakes and Milk Bread. These snow skins are just the way I like mochi: chewy, soft, smooth, and lightly sweet. This year, as in the past, I filled the moon cakes with cake truffle fillings (vanilla, banana cake, chocolate, and rum cake) which I find to be less fussy than the traditional pastry cream/bean paste fillings. They are truly THE perfect snow skin moon cakes!

Moon Cakes

Yield: 6 moon cakes

Special equipment: 50g moon cake mold with interchangeable plates

6 Cake truffles (any flavor), make ahead into 25g truffle balls, chilled

For the Dough:

90g glutinous rice flour plus 40g for toasting

30g wheat starch

50g sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla powder

113g milk

12g canola oil

1-3 teaspoons pure vegetable or fruit food powder (any flavor), or to taste (For chocolate, use cocoa powder)

Toast 40g of glutinous rice flour in a dry skillet, stirring occasionally, until a nutty aroma arises from the flour and it becomes a pale golden color. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. You will use this toasted flour to brush the moon cakes so they do not stick to the plate or the mold. Don’t be tempted to swap it for wheat flour or to skip toasting. It will taste raw.

In a medium non-stick saucepan, whisk to combine 90g glutinous rice flour, wheat starch, sugar, and vanilla powder. Add milk and oil. Heat mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly with a spatula until the liquid is absorbed and the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the pot. Remove from heat.

Transfer the dough to a clean work surface. You may wish to wear gloves for this as the dough can be quite sticky. Do NOT use flour to knead the dough. Let the dough cool slightly then knead until soft, smooth, and malleable. If desired, add 1-3 teaspoons of the food powder to the dough and knead in the color. Use more or less powder to adjust the color. If you wish, you can use a few drops of gel food color instead of food powder. Pinch and fold into a ball of dough.

Make the moon cakes. Pinch off 25g of dough. Dust the work surface lightly with the toasted glutinous rice flour. Roll the dough between your hands to make a ball. Press the center with your thumbs to make a well in the center wide enough to fit a truffle ball. Place the cake truffle ball in the center. Pull up the sides to completely encase the truffle ball. Pinch the seam closed. Place the moon cake seam side down on the floured surface. Using a pastry brush, brush the moon cake generously with more flour. Gently roll the moon cake between your hands to make a nugget so that it is slightly taller and narrower. Cover the moon cake with the mold. It should fit easily and the mold should rest on the work surface. Press down and hold it steady for 10 seconds. Lift off the mold. The moon cake should fall out onto the work surface. Brush off any excess flour then put the finished moon cake on a plate. Repeat the process to use up all the dough.

Variation:

To make multi-hued moon cakes, divide the dough ball in half, one-half plain, the other half colored. Knead each dough and pinch and fold it into a ball. Pinch off about 14g from one ball of dough, 11g from the other. It doesn’t have to be this weight distribution just as long as the total weight is 25g. Press each color together and roll into a single ball. Don’t knead, just roll so that you can still see each color.