When Graham and I got married one of the gifts we received was a Kitchen Aid Mixer. I was super excited about the mixer, but Graham had been a little hesitant to put it on our registry in the first place. I think his main concern was that this monstrous machine might end up going unused and just take up valuable kitchen space. I tried to explain all of the wonderful things that mixers can do and how he would benefit from all of the yummy stuff I would make. Driven by his sweet tooth, Graham finally agreed that we should put it on the registry and keep it if we got one. However, I had to promise that I would use the mixer at least once a month.
To date, I have made good on my promise and have actually far exceeded the once-a-month quota. I’ve used the mixer to make a number of tempting treats, but given a little bit of concern about their effect on our waistlines, I decided we needed to start making some healthier recipes. As a result, I’ve been making a lot of bread with the mixer. Though not all of the bread recipes I’ve made can be considered healthy, they are a step up from cookies and pastries!
The most recent “bread” recipe that I made with the mixer was for cinnamon raisin bagels. Never having made bagels before, I have to say I was quite proud of how they turned out. I was reassured of my success when Graham, after his first bite said, “Wow, these are like real bagels!”
The recipe for these bagels is from Peter Reinhart’s, The Bread Baker’s Apprentice. Reinhart goes step by step through the process of making the bagels and I would highly recommend checking out the book if you are interested in making bagels or any other homemade bread.
I’ve been working my way through the recipes in this book and while some of them can take a while to make, the mixer takes out some of the grunt work. Here are some pictures of the breads that I have made so far. Hopefully they will entice you into making your own…
Tasty Easy Healthy Green Recipe Ratings:
| Recipe Report Card | Notes About Recipe Ratings |
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Tasty Rating Four Chefs (Delicious!) |
Toasted with butter, these bagels were a truly tasty breakfast treat. |
|
Easy Rating
Two Easy Chairs (A Long March…) |
It takes two days to make these bagels. Most of the time is not hands-on time, but there are quite a few steps (mixing, raising, shaping, boiling, and baking). |
|
Healthy Rating
Two Apples (Surgeon General’s Warning!) |
I used refined flour for these bagels, but they don’t have added fat and are lower in sugar. |
|
Green Rating
Four Leaves (Mother Earth Approved) |
The ingredients that made up the bulk of this recipe were organic. I guess it is possible to buy organic yeast, but I haven’t come across it in my local grocery store yet. |
Any chance you’ll share the recipe? These look so good, and I’ve always wanted to try making bagels!