How to Make Colorful Rainbow Bagels!
October 12, 2020. Rainy and grey. Colorful Rainbow Bagels.
This was really a fun and spontaneous bake. It has been raining all weekend and I wanted to make something happy and colorful for this grey gloomy Monday. I remembered the latest round of Bread Week on the Great British Bake Off Show featured a rainbow bagel. After a brief search I found this recipe by Paul Hollywood, one of the judges. It seems like just the thing to brighten up the day.
I made New York style bagels and regular baked bagels before and the steps and preparation methods are not too different. If you have experience making bagels before this isn’t too difficult- the only change is preparing the dough and adding color to it before twisting them into rings of color.
The recipe overall requires patience and a bit of time for the dough to rise. If you are new to making bagels I have included lots of pictures and a short video clip to show how to shape the bagels. If not, you can skip straight to the recipe. Also, for ease of use, I included both the metric and American measurements so you can pick whichever one you are comfortable with.
Without futher delay, let’s bake!
Ingredients & Equipment
This recipe yield 6 large pouffy colorful rainbow bagels. You’ll need the follow items:
3 cups (375g) bread flour* (or high protein flour)
1 tsp (5g) active dry yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 cup (240ml) lukewarm water
Food Color Gel – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green and Blue
1 tsp Baking Soda (bicarbonate of soda)
Water for boiling bagels
In addition to the items above, you will need a Large Mixing Bowl if you plan to knead by hand, or a Stand Mixer with dough hook (optional). You will also need 5 small bowls for proofing the colored dough. One large pan or pot to boil bagels and finally a parchment-lined baking pan for baking.
*If you do not have bread flour, in a pinch, use the following: for every 1 cup of All Purpose Flour, add 1 teaspoon of Vital Wheat Gluten. Whisk to combine and it’s ready to go.
Making Colorful Rainbow Bagels
Making the Dough
Gather all the ingredients. If kneading by hand: Place the flour in a mixing bowl, add the yeast to one side and the sugar and salt to the other. Pour in three-quarters of the water and combine the mixture with your fingers. Gradually add the remaining water, working in all the flour until a rough dough is formed. Then, tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5–10 minutes, until the dough is soft and surface is smooth.
If using a stand mixer with dough hook: Place the flour, yeast, sugar and salt into the stand mixing bowl. Turn on the mixer and combine. Gradually add the water to the dry mixture until a rough dough is formed. Then increase the speed to low and knead the dough for 5–8 minutes, until the dough becomes a soft, smooth ball.
Coloring the Dough for Rainbow Bagels
Next, divide the dough into 5 equal pieces and cover with a damp tea towel.
Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, add a few drops of food coloring onto the dough, fold it up and around the color. Knead the dough to distribute the color evenly. Add more food coloring as needed and adjust until it reaches your desired hue. When done, place each piece of colored dough into a greased bowl and cover. Repeat with the remaining pieces, each using a different color until you have 5 brightly colored dough balls. Then, let the dough rest and rise for approx 1 hour, or until they have doubled in size.
Stacking and Making into Rainbow Dough
When ready, tip out the Red color dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to an approx 8″ x 6″ (20 x 12cm) rectangle. Set aside.
Repeat with the Orange color dough. When done, carefully place the Orange rectangle on top of the Red. Repeat with the Yellow, Green and Blue doughs, rolling each one out, shaping into rectangle, and placing on top of one another. You will have a stack of 5 layers of dough, Red at the bottom, then Orange, Yellow, Green and Blue.
Stacked 5 layers of dough
Next, lightly score and then cut the stacked dough into 6 equal sized slices, approx 8″x 1″ (20 x 2cm), slicing down through the layers so that each stacked strip has 5 layers of dough.
Shaping into Rainbow Bagels
To shape the bagels, lay one of the stacked dough strips on your work surface. Place the palm of your hands at each end of the dough strip. Simultaneously, gently move your right hand forward and your left hand backward to twist the dough into a rope about 10″ (26cm) long. Pinch the ends together to form a circle and gently roll at the joint to seal. Place shaped bagel on parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with all the strips.
Cover the dough and let the shaped bagel rest for 20 minutes, until the bagels are pouffy.
Shaped bagels After resting for 20 minutes
Boiling and Baking the Bagels
When waiting, preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6). Next, boil water in a large saucepan or pot. Add the baking soda and stir.
When bagels are ready, add to the boiling water, depending on size of pot, 2 or 3 at a time. Do not overcrowd. Cook for 30 seconds on each side, until the bagels puff up and the shape sets. Using a slotted spoon, remove each bagel from the water, gently shake to remove water, and transfer back to the baking sheet.
Boil bagels for 30 seconds on each side Bagels will puff up in water
Immediately transfer to preheated oven and bake the bagels for approx 25 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Your colorful rainbow bagels are ready!
Absolutely delicious with pats of butter!
Notes:
Tip 1: Working with food coloring was messy, I would suggest using disposable gloves as well as line the workspace with plastic cling wrap to prevent staining on your hands and work surface.
Tip 2: When coloring the dough, it might be better to start with the lightest color and work your way to the darker colors. This will minimize the effect of accidental color transfer/mixing to the next piece of dough.
Ever wonder why we boil bagels? I was curious too. I found this short and helpful article on the science behind why we boil and then bake bagels => https://www.thekitchn.com/food-science-why-bagels-are-bo-86711
Do you remember the mnemonic for the rainbow colors? My husband said his was always “Roy G Biv”. My mom taught me: “Richard Of York Gains Battle In Vain” = Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet. It’s funny how I always recite that whenever I am recalling the sequence of colors in the rainbow. Do you have a favorite way to remember sequences of things?
Colorful Rainbow Bagels (Paul Hollywood’s Recipe)
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Stand Mixer with dough hook (optional)
- 5 small bowls for proofing dough
- Parchment lined baking pan
- Large pan or pot to boil bagels
Ingredients
- 3 Cups (375g) bread flour
- 1 tsp (5g) active dry yeast
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup (240ml) lukewarm water
- Food Color Gel – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green and Blue
- 1 tsp Baking Soda (bicarbonate of soda)
- Water for boiling bagels
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. If kneading by hand: Place the flour in a mixing bowl, add the yeast to one side and the sugar and salt to the other. Pour in three-quarters of the water and combine the mixture with your fingers. Gradually add the remaining water, working in all the flour until a rough dough is formed. Then, tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead for 5–10 minutes, until the dough is soft and surface is smooth.
- If using a stand mixer with dough hook: Place the flour, yeast, sugar and salt into the stand mixing bowl. Turn on the mixer to combine. Gradually add the water to the dry mixture until a rough dough is formed. Then increase the speed to low and knead for 5–8 minutes, until the dough becomes a soft, smooth ball.
- Next, divide the dough into 5 equal pieces and cover with a damp tea towel. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time add a few drops of food coloring onto the dough, fold it up and around the color. Knead the dough to distribute the color evenly. Add more food coloring as needed and adjust until it reaches the desired color. Place each piece of colored dough into a greased bowl and cover. Repeat with the remaining pieces, each using a different color until you have 5 brightly colored dough balls. Let the dough rest and rise for approx 1 hour, or until they have doubled in size.
- When ready, tip out the Red color dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the dough to an approx 8" x 6" (20 x 12cm) rectangle. Set aside. Repeat with the Orange color dough. When done, carefully place the Orange rectangle on top of the Red. Repeat with the Yellow, Green and Blue doughs, rolling each one out, shaping into rectangle, and placing on top of one another. You will have a stack of 5 layers of dough, red at the bottom, then orange, yellow, green and blue.
- Next, score and cut the stacked dough into 6 equal sized slices, approx 8"x 1" (20 x 2cm), slicing down through the layers so that each stacked strip has 5 layers of colored dough.
- To shape the bagels, lay one of the stacked dough strips on your work surface. Place the palm of your hands at each end of the dough. Simultaneously, gently move your right hand forward and your left hand backward to twist the dough into a rope about 10" (26cm) long. Pinch the ends together to form a circle and gently roll to seal the joint. Place shaped bagel on parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with all the strips.
- Cover the dough and let the shaped bagel rest for 20 minutes, until the bagels are pouffy. When waiting, preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C/180°C fan/Gas 6). Next, boil water in a large saucepan or pot. Add the baking soda and stir.
- When bagels are ready, add to the boiling water, depending on size of pot, 2 or 3 at a time. Do not overcrowd. Cook for 30 seconds on each side, until the bagels puff up and the shape sets. Using a slotted spoon, remove each bagel from the water, gently shake to remove water, and transfer back to the baking sheet.
- Immediately transfer to preheated oven and bake the bagels for approx 25 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Your colorful rainbow bagels are ready!
Notes
Recipe adapted from https://thegreatbritishbakeoff.co.uk/recipes/all/paul-hollywood-rainbow-bagels/
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