hot cross bagels
raisin-cinnamon bagels with an easter flourish
i’ve got a few hot cross bun recipes in the archive but this year called for something sillier
these are, in essence, cinnamon-raisin bagels with the cross piped on top
i’m certainly not claiming they were an original idea, but they are really fun to make
serve toasted with a generous quantity of butter
these are the same base recipe as previous, with thanks to king arthur flour for the cinnamon-swirl idea
yields four bagels
ingredients
120g raisins
hot black tea, to soak
300g strong bread flour
1 tsp salt
1/3 tsp instant yeast
6g brown sugar
12g honey (plus extra for boiling)
zest of one orange
140g water
5g cinnamon
1 tbsp water
crosses
35g plain flour
5g white sugar
about 30g water, as required
method
add the raisins (120g) and hot black tea (enough to cover) to a bowl and let soak
add the flour (300g), salt (1 tsp), yeast (1/3 tsp), brown sugar (6g), honey (12g), orange zest (from one orange) and lukewarm water (140g) to the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment fitted
knead for 10 minutes, until it forms a stiff, smooth dough
drain the plumped raisins and mix in to distribute the raisins evenly
cover and let rest for 10 minutes to let the gluten relax
in a small bowl, mix together the cinnamon (5g) and water (1tbsp) to form a thick paste
chop the dough roughly into golfball-sized pieces
drizzle in the cinnamon paste, and shake the bowl to coat each piece evenly in cinnamon mixture
press into one cohesive mass, then turn out onto a work surface
divide into quarters, then stack them into a pile and press down again to form a solid disc (this gets the cinnamon layers distributed)
divide into four balls, then cover and let rest again briefly
poke a hole through the middle of the bagel and gently stretch out evenly with your fingers until bagel-shaped (noting the hole will shrink as the bagels rise)
cover and let rise for 30 minutes
meanwhile preheat the oven to 200°C
when the bagels are nearing the 30 minute mark, bring a pot of water (about 2L) to the boil and stir in a spoon of honey
crosses
mix together the flour (35g) and sugar (5g)
add water a little at a time, mixing in between until the mixture is pipeable but not too runny
transfer to a piping or ziploc bag
assembly
pipe crosses on top of the bagels
reduce the pot to a gentle simmer, and boil each bagel for 1 minute total, flipping at halfway
transfer to a lined baking tray
bake for 20-22 minutes until golden
let cool completely before slicing