How to: Make vegan tri-colour bagels (or Hound Rounds)

Back in…January? November?…Sometime before now, I posted my basic bagel recipe. To my surprise, Wendy Matheson of Herding Cats in Hammond River made them and liked them!

So for Wendy and other vegan bagel enthusiasts, I give you another bagel recipe: Hound Rounds.

The name requires a little explanation.

Question: What colour are basset hounds/beagles?

Party time?

Answer: White, black, and tan (generally).

Question: What shape do basset hound/beagles assume when sleeping?

Our fearless leaders.

Answer: Round.

Question: What are basset hound/beagle crosses called?

Answer: Bagel hounds.

Pictured: A bagel.

Pictured: A bagel hound.

So when I adapted a tri-colour bread recipe (white, whole wheat, and pumpernickel doughs braided together) for bagels, the name seemed apt.

Anyway. Dissolve:

- 4 1/2 tsp yeast in
- 2 1/3 c warm water (110F – again, this is really important)

Mix in:

- 2 tbsp sugar or honey
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1/4 c vegetable oil or melted margarine

Gradually add and beat in well:

- 2 1/3 c white flour.

When the batter is very smooth (you can mix this all in an electric mixer, btw), divide into three bowls (about 1 1/4 c batter per bowl).  You are now going to make the three different doughs.

Whole wheat: Add

- 2 tbsp molasses
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed or wheat germ

and mix well.  Gradually mix in:

- 1 1/3 c whole wheat flour.

Knead until smooth and put aside.

Pumpernickel dough: Add

- 2 tbsp molasses
- 1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds (you can leave these out if you don’t have them or don’t like them, but they make it taste much more rye-like)
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder (won’t make it taste like chocolate, but give it a nice dark colour)

and mix well. Gradually beat in:

- 1 1/3 c rye flour.

Knead until smooth and put aside.

White dough: To your last bowl of dough, gradually beat in

- 1 1/3 c white flour. This will be the fluffiest of the doughs; try to work in as much flour as possible and knead well.

Let all doughs rise for 45 mins-1 hour, until the white dough has almost doubled. The pumpernickel will hardly rise at all. Just so you know.

After the first rise, divide each dough into 12 pieces and roll said pieces into ropes. Take one piece of each colour (white, whole wheat, pumpernickel), braid them together, and shape the braid into a circle, pinching the ends together.  Let rise for 25-30 minutes.

After the second rise, boil 3 or 4 at a time in:

- 8 c water with
- 1 tbsp sugar dissolved in it

for 3 or 4 minutes, turning them a few times.  Brush the boiled bagels with either a flour glaze made of:

- 1/4 c flour mixed with
- 1/4 c cold water, beaten well

or an egg glaze if you are an evil chicken-enslaver. (I kid!)

Pictured: An evil chicken-enslaver.

Top with any kind of seed you like or none at all. This time I used a combination of white and black sesame seeds just because I happened to have both.

Bake the boiled bagels in a 375F or 400F oven for 20 minutes, turning once if your oven is horribly uneven like mine, or until the bottoms are golden brown.  Oh, I forgot to mention the cornmeal crust. Before you put the bagels on the baking sheet, you can brush the sheet with oil then sprinkle cornmeal thickly on it.  I omitted this step today because I’m out of cornmeal. Makes a nice chewy bottom crust.

Cool the bagels on racks and build a series of barriers around them to keep your Bagel Hounds off.

Still life with bagels and Bagel Hound barrier

You can eat them when they’re only a bit warm.

Soundtrack for bagel making: Tank Riot, Episode 106: On Wisconson! Victor, Tor, and Sputnik have been fighting the good fight on the Capitol in Madison.  This bagel’s for you, guys.

TO VICTORY!

This recipe was adapted from two recipes in “Sunset Breads: Step-by-step Techniques”, published in 1991.  If you are the original author of this book and would like to be credited, please email kristin@kristinmh.com.