Having experimented with bagel recipes for a couple weeks, I’ve brought together the best suggestions, along with some hard learned lessons for making bagels. Separate from the recipe, I have also decided that the traditional shape is a legacy and not one I feel compelled to observe. Hence, I make "Bagel Flats".

My recipe and the directions below are more detailed than most I have authored. This is in part because I have found I need every step. After a few near misses, the keys are

1. the slow rise created by the small amount of yeast and high amount of flour
2. the generous use of oil on both the pan, brushed on the dough, and the parchment
3. applying the toppings and then flipping the dough "bottom side up" for the first 5 minutes of baking

So, without further ramblings, here is my recipe for Bagel Flats …

Base Ingredients

• 4 c bread flour (scoop and scrape measure method, not sifted)
• 10 oz water (warm)
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• 1 Tbs honey
• 1 egg

Additional Ingredients

• 1/2 c wheat germ
• 1/4 c flax meal
• 1 c spent grain (completely optional)

Prep & Cooking Ingredients

• 1/2 c oil (prefer peanut but canola will work)
• 12 c boiling water
• 2 Tbs sugar

Finishing Ingredients

• sunflower seeds (dry roasted will add a savory flavor vs. plain)
  other options include poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried onion flakes, etc.
• 4 Tbs corn meal

Directions

• in a large mixer with a dough hook, combine 8 ounces of the warm water, with the honey and yeast. Briefly stir with a spoon or spatula to dissolve the honey and mix in the yeast
• let sit for approximately 5 minutes
• add the egg, salt and the "additional ingredients" and start the dough hook on low (first or second setting)
• start to add the flour (it will take longer and longer to incorporate each subsequent cup) – from time to time, it may help to briefly change the mixer speed to release the dough from the hook and/or scrape the bowl
• as needed, drizzle in the remaining 2 ounces of water, a teaspoon at a time
• once all of the flour is added, continue to mix for 5 more minutes, varying the speed to fling the dough off the hook – this period is to kneed the dough and develop the gluten
• place the dough in a lightly oiled a bowl and cover with plastic wrap; place in a warm area until dough doubles in size
• turn the dough out on a large lightly floured board; punch down and start to form a rectangle 3/4 inch thick
• cut dough into 12 equal parts; 6 to 7 inches long – this should yield bars between 2-1/2 and 3 inches wide
• oil two cooking sheets and place bars with at least 1 inch space between
• brush the tops with oil
• cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area for 20 minutes
• prepare two baking sheets with parchment and brush oil on the parchment; preheat oven to 400 degrees
• in a large pot, bring 12 cups of water with 2 tablespoons of sugar to a boil
• boil the dough pieces, 3 at a time, for 2 minutes then turn them over and cook an addition 1 minute
• using a large slotted spatula or scoop, remove the dough and place on the oiled parchment
• sprinkle any "finishing ingredient" on one side, pat gently to seat, then flip the dough over and dust with corn meal
• place cooking sheets in oven for 5 minutes
• remove; flip dough over to reveal the topping; return to the over; bake and additional 20 minutes until golden in color
• when done baking, remove from pan and place on cooling racks and let sit until room temperature

This bread used the basic strait dough method I previously described. The recipe diverges from the herb bread by first omitting the 2 tablespoons of herbs and adding about 4-6 table spoons of sun dried tomatoes diced very fine with about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil (or in my case, I just threw those together in a food processor and pulsed until they were chopped enough). The baking time was very close to 40 minutes at 375 on a cast iron griddle pan.

Thanks to Nicole for the suggestion of drying all the extra grape tomatoes that were left over this season!

I tried the hip new “no kneed bread” method and I have to say “no thanks”. I have a heavy duty mixer with a dough hook so it’s not like I’d have to do all that laborious kneading of my parent’s generation so “why not” do the traditional bread making method ?

Making bread the traditional way yields consistent, delicious, and visually compelling results. More important to me is the fact you can see and feel the dough at enough stages to correct for little errors. In the end, you get a well deserved reward.

For my part, I watched Alton Brown and used his measures. However, I followed a line that falls somewhere between what he calls the “strait dough method” and making a “sponge”. In my kitchen, I’ve been growing – yes growing is the right term here – growing a starter using a little dry yeast, some flour, a teaspoon of cane sugar and water. I let if out doors uncovered on a warm day and was rewarded with a frothy yeasty container of “starter”. I hope, over time, that the starter will evolve into a sourdough starter.

Anyway, I start by putting all the ingredients in the mixing bowl and adding about 2-4 ounces of the starter. I compensate for the extra liquid as best I can but this is where the traditional method starts to shine. It’s very easy to see if the dough is a bit too wet or a bit two dry so "adjustments are easy. Odds are good, with my process, the dough will be a bit wet. I suggest adding flour in single tablespoon increments or even less. It won’t take much flour to go from too wet to too dry.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz bread flour (that’s a bit more than 3 cups)
• 8 oz water
• 2-4 oz of the starter
• 1 TBSP cane sugar
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1-2 tsp of a combination of thyme and/or rosemary (optional)
• 1 tsp oil (optional)

I combine all of the ingredients in the mixer with a dough hook using the lowest setting. If the dough is a little wet then I add a tablespoon or less of flour and let it mix some more. This entire stage is about 5 minutes long. I cover the mixing bowl with a towel for about 20 minutes.

Next, I use the mixer on medium speed with the dough hook to perform the necessary kneading. This takes about 10 minutes. As Alton Brown points out, if the dough hangs on tight to the dough hook, turn up the speed for a moment to fling the dough back out to the side of the bowl. Next, I take a nonstick pot with lid – big enough to take the dough and still allow it to double in size. I spray or rub a little vegetable oil on the bottom and side of the pot and drop the dough in. I push the dough down relatively even in the bottom so it’s easy to judge when the dough has doubled in size. The temperature in the house can be highly variable so I stick a large cast iron pan in bottom rack of my oven and turn on the heat low for about 1 minute then turn it off. This will hold enough warm air to let the dough rise in the oven. Alton uses warm water but the cast iron pan works for me and since the pot with the dough is covered, I have not experienced any drying out of the dough while it rises.

After about 2 hours, I check the dough and leave it longer if it has not reached about double its original size. Once it has risen enough, I take the pot out. Here is where the non-stick pot works great. I dust the top of the dough with a little flour and then “swish” the dough around until it releases from the sides of the pot and the flour starts to fall around the edges. then, a light flick, and I can get the dough to roll over enough to dust the other side. Now I use my knuckles and punch down the dough and fold it over on itself a couple times. I then remove the dough and roll the edges under to form a nice smooth top. It can now go onto a baking peel but I’ve been using old bread pans so the resulting loaf can be used easily for sandwiches. I elongate the dough ball and place it in the bread pan. It needs to sit in a warm place (like the oven trick again) for about an hour.

I bake a full sized loaf pan at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes. Most of my recent loaves have been done at 40 minutes. I follow Alton’s suggestion and stick a small digital probe thermometer in the bottom of the loaf to check if it’s done. Ideally, it should be about 200 degrees but below 212 degrees – as Alton points out, if it goes over 212 degrees it means all the moisture is gone and it will dry out.