Sourdough Bagels From Scratch

These round little baked goods have a special place in my heart, and not because I love New York bagels or have strong opinions about what a bagel “should" be. Instead, it’s because they are a token from my high school years, when I would get home from class and set to work mixing flour, salt, water and yeast. My dad loved (and still loves) telling people that this was how his teenage daughter chose to spend her free time. I haven't outgrown the phase, apparently—only matured it, taking the last year to research and test a sourdough version. These naturally leavened bagels are my new go-to, with a chewy crust, great rise, and complex flavor.

Sourdough Bagels from Scratch

Published February 9, 2021 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 12   |    Active Time: 2 hours active cooking time; 25 total hours (including rising)

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Ingredients:

For the Levain:

500g bread flour

500g warm water

250g ripe sourdough starter (100% hydration) (For me, this is typically my entire jar of starter — that’s good, you will put some back in the jar after the first ferment. I’ve found this is a great way to reinvigorate my starter, too!)

For the Dough:

1000g levain (above)

360-480g bread flour

6g diastatic malt powder (optional, provides improved rise and golden crust)

17g salt

3g instant dry yeast

For Cooking & Topping:

Large stock pot of water

2 tablespoons honey (optional, gives bagels golden crust)

1 cup of toppings, such as: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, everything bagel topping, shredded cheese, cinnamon sugar, etc.

Directions:

1. This recipe includes a suggested baking schedule to help you plan, but you can adjust the schedule to fit your calendar. Feed your starter the night (or ~8hours) before making the levain.
2. 8 am: Make levain by combining bread flour, warm water and 250g of ripe starter in the bowl of stand mixer. Cover, and set in a warm place to ferment, 8 hours (if it’s a very warm day, cut this to 6 hours).
3. 4 pm: Move 250g of the levain back into your starter jar, leaving 1000g of active levain in the mixing bowl. Add 360g flour, malt powder, salt, and yeast to bowl. Place the dough hook attachment on your stand mixer, and mix until roughly combined. Turn mixer to speed 3 and knead, adding the additional 120g of flour in batches. The dough should be tough, smooth an elastic. If you notice the dough tearing, add a few small drops of water and stop adding flour. Knead for an additional 5-7 minutes.
4. 4:15 pm: Line a baking sheet with parchment. Divide the dough in 12 equal sized pieces, about 120-130g each. Shape each piece into a ball, and place on baking sheet. Cover with a damp towel and set in a warm place for 20 minutes.
5. 4:40 pm: Shape the bagels: working one at a time, use your thumb to poke a hole through the middle of each roll, and gently stretch to form a bagel shape. (Tip: once the initial hole is formed, I like to spin the loop around my finger and let gravitational pull do the stretching.) As the bagels rise and bake, the dough will puff, shrinking the hole in the middle, so make the hole a tad bigger than you want it to be in the finished product. Place shaped bagels back on baking sheet. Cover again with a damp towel, and rise for 20 minutes.
6. 5:05 pm: The bagels should be puffy. Test their rise by dropping one in a bowl of water: it should float. If it does not, allow to rise longer. Cover entire tray of bagels loosely with a plastic bag (or two), and place in fridge overnight (or up to 36 hours - the longer you wait the more sour they will taste).
7. 8 am (the next day): Prepare to cook bagels: Preheat oven to 475°F. As oven heats, bring a stock pot of water to a boil. Add honey. Prepare your toppings, by placing each topping in a wide bowl or on a plate that you can easily dip a bagel into.
8. 8:05 am: Boil bagels: Remove bagels from fridge. Gently lower 3 bagels into pot. Cook for 30 seconds, then flip, and cook for 30 seconds on second side (Tip: I set a stopwatch next to the stove so I can watch the clock). Using a slotted spoon, remove bagels from water, allowing excess water to drain back into the pot. Dip top of bagel into bowl of toppings, then set, topping-side up, on the sheet pan. Repeat until all bagels are boiled. Note: Boiling will slow with the addition of the cold bagels — keep the water warm enough to maintain a gentle boil.
9. 8:15 am: Bake bagels: Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown on all sides.
10. 8:35 am: Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool at least 10 minutes before slicing.
11. Serve to taste with butter, cream cheese, lox, capers, etc. Bagels are best fresh, but will last the week if stored well: Allow bagels to cool completely before storing. Once cooled, wrap tightly in plastic or place in an airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 7 days.

Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

It may seem funny to start the new year with a recipe for chocolate cake, but when you wake up thinking about making a chocolate cake — dreaming of a rich, fudge-y crumb — well, it’s a good sign you should get baking. Besides, I’ve never been one for resolutions.

This chocolate cake is rich, with a deep chocolate flavor. As far as cakes go, it’s not too sweet, which is perfect for me (if you prefer a sweeter cake, increase the granulated cane sugar to 1 cup). Good for a celebration or just any old day! Eat plain or with a dollop of whipped cream.

Happy 2021!

Dark Chocolate Sour Cream Cake

Published January 4, 2020 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 9   |    Active Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar (Option to increase this to 1 cup if you prefer a sweeter cake)

1 large egg

3/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup strongly brewed coffee

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (Raw cocoa powder is more acidic so will change how this cake bakes. IT will still be delicious, but for the fluffiest cake, I recommend Dutch-processes. Try Droste cocoa powder -- my go-to!)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal table salt

Optional: Small handful semi-sweet chocolate chips

For serving: Whipped cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare a 9x4 (standard) loaf pan by greasing with butter and dusting lightly with flour. Tap off any access flour.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer), cream together the butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the egg, sour cream, coffee, and vanilla and continue to beat for about 3 minutes.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and sift (or whisk) to incorporate. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix -- a few little clumps may remain and that's ok!
4. Using a spatula, spread the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Optional: Sprinkle a small handful of chocolate chips over top.
5. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes before removing the cake from the pan, then continue to cool for 10-15 more minutes.
6. Slice and serve with whipped cream.

Soft & Chewy Flourless Ginger Tahini Cookies

In January, well after holiday season was over, a client sent a big box of Tate's Cookies to the office, where they filled the kitchen counter for half a week. It was the worst (but also the best) kind of way to kick off January. I had been wanted to make a gingery version of these tahini chocolate chip cookies for some time -- I even had made a batch over the holidays that didn't quite work out. Despite it being peak resolution season, that counter full of cookies was just the push I needed to dive back into recipe development. 

The dream: a chewy, rich, flourless ginger cookie with chunks of crystallized ginger. 

I knew that tahini would be the perfect base, but my first attempt used far too much molasses and the cookies were WAY too soft. I learned, on that attempt, that coconut sugar really imparts enough molasses-y flavor anyhow, as it's unrefined so still carries all of the minerals that are stripped from refined sugars when molasses is made. 

Tips for making these chewy tahini ginger cookies: 

• STIR THAT TAHINI. This is in all caps because it's no joke. Tahini separates fast and if your tahini is all oil or all solids you're batter won't work. Last time I published a tahini cookie recipe someone asked about how to best stir tahini, which is a really good question because it's not the easiest to stir. But don't worry! Just scrape the entire jar into a blender, and let it rip. OR, carefully put your immersion blender into your tahini container (this is what I do, but also can foresee what a mess this might make in the wrong circumstances) 

• Let them cool. Really! I too like hot-out-of-the-oven cookies, but these cookies need a minute to set up. More like 5-10. They'll still be warm, and they'll stay soft for a week at room temperature. BUT, if you try to pick one up while it's still piping hot it will just collapse and melt in your hand (if you can even get it into your hand). 

Ok, "mom" warnings over. Now, the recipe! 

Soft & Chewy Flourless Ginger Tahini Cookies

Published February 21, 2019 by Caitlin Sherwood

Yields: 16   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

1 cup coconut sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/16 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup tahini (stirred very well - try blending it with your blender if it is separated)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 egg

1-1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger grated on a microplane

Optional: 1/3 cup ginger chips or finely chopped crystallized ginger

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine coconut sugar, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, and ground cloves. Whisk briefly.
3. Add tahini, vanilla, egg, and fresh ginger to bowl, and use a spatula to stir until a stiff, sticky batter forms.
4. Optional: place bowl of batter in the fridge for 10 minutes to allow dough to stiffen a bit more.
5. Using your hands, roll dough into spheres by the heaping tablespoonful. Place spheres at least 2 inches apart of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and flatted slightly with your fingers.
6. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until cookies have spread and are golden. Cookies will still be quite soft when you remove them from the oven. Allow them to cool at least 10 minutes before attempting to move them to a cooling wrack or a plate.