Pumpkin Rosemary Bagels

When I told my best friend I was making bagels today, she first asked if they were hard to make and then asked if they were fried. The answer to both is no, and I'll clear up this bagel mystery by saying they aren't too difficult to make, it's a fun process and if you've made bread and boiled water, you can make bagels.

Today was pumpkin cooking day with my friend Kelly, so naturally I needed to make a pumpkin bagel. I'm not one for sweet flavored bagels so I thought adding rosemary to the dough and sprinkling them with kosher salt would please me. And it did.

I based my recipe off this fine one at SweetSpatulas.com.

I did not have any wheat flour so I used only white and I really like the texture.

Ingredients:
4 cups white flour
4 tsp. yeast
1 cup warm (not hot!) water
1.5 tsp. salt
2 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary, extra for sprinkling on top if you like
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp. ground allspice
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 egg

Directions:
Combine the yeast, rosemary and two cups of flour in a large mixing bowl or the bowl to your KitchenAid mixer. In another mixing bowl combine the water, salt, sugar, pumpkin and spices. Add the wet to the dry and thoroughly combine. Slowly start incorporating the remaining flour. I switched to the KitchenAid hook and let the machine go for about 3 minutes.

Remove the dough and knead on a floured surface till you have an elastic, smooth ball. Place in a bowl and cover for 15 minutes.

Divide the dough into eight equal balls. Make them as round and smooth as you can and punch a hole in the center of each ball. Dust each hole with a little flour. Use your thumbs and fingers to shape the hole evenly so it's two inches in diameter. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Cover with a towel and let sit for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, turn on your broiler and set two big pots of water on the stove to boil.

Why boil bagels, you ask?

Well...according to thekitchn.com, boiling them is what gives them that signature crust and also helps with the classic chewiness.

Now you know! Let's continue with the bageling.

Place your bagels under the broiler for 1.5 minutes. You could turn them and broil the other side, but I didn't do that and they turned out fine. Next, place two or three bagels at a time into the boiling water. Let them boil on each side for one minute. While this is going on, whisk your egg in a bowl and set aside.

Using tongs, gently place your boiled bagels back on the cookie sheet. Brush with the egg and sprinkle with chopped rosemary and kosher salt.

When all the bagels are boiled, egged and sprinkled, bake them for 25 minutes or until the tops are nicely brown.

Let cool on a rack. Serve with cream cheese and revel in the fact that you just made bagels.