My parents moved to Amarillo after I was out of college and living on my own. Before that, and thanks to a mechanical issue on an airplane, the only things I knew about Amarillo were that the airport was tiny and that if you eat a 72-ounce steak in one hour at The Big Texan restaurant, it's free.
Well, Amarillo has a lot more going for it that a free steak. Namely, the people there are first-rate. Amarillo is also home to my favorite bagel place in the world, aptly named: The Bagel Place.
While I haven't been in countless years, the butterscotch bagel from The Bagel Place is something I've thought about many, many, many times. I finally got around to making a version at home.
Y'all know I am a chocolate girl through and through, but NOTHING compares to this butterscotch bagel. The chips get a little caramelized on the bottom of each bagel. They're sticky and delicious.
At The Bagel Place, they do sell a butterscotch cream cheese, but I always prefer them with vanilla bean cream cheese. (If you didn't get that recipe earlier this week, here it is.)
The big players in the recipe are bread flour, instant yeast, butterscotch chips, and non-diastatic malt powder. The malt powder is what makes bagels, um, bagel-y. You'll see. (I got mine from King Arthur Flour.)
I like to roughly chop the butterscotch chips, so the bagels have big chips, but also lots of tiny pieces throughout. Here's where you want to use the "good" butterscotch chips. I love Guittard.
The dough is stiff, so making it with a mixer is really a good way to go. It'll eventually wrap itself around the dough hook.
When the dough is almost finished kneading, you'll add in the chips.
Let the dough rise.
Divide into 8 pieces and form into balls. Let those rise.
Once they've risen a bit, shape them into bagels. I poke a hole in the center and then gently stretch.
They then take a dip in simmering water that has the malt powder and a little sugar added to it. The boiling gives the bagels their classic chew.
They'll poof up a bit in the water and look a little...gummy.
Bake them up! Oh! They're so golden and perfect! (Well, they're not perfect. They're "homemade perfect." After looking at them, Jack said, "do bagel shops have molds that they bake them in?" Ha. No, just experienced bagel makers.)
Eat them warm from the oven. You can just tear the bagels into pieces if you don't want to be bothered with toasting. OR, you can slice in half and toast.
Look, look, look at the little pockets of butterscotch!!! Ahhhhh!
Slathering with cream cheese, vanilla bean cream cheese, is mandatory. I'm serious. I'll know if you don't use the cream cheese. ;)
The bagels are best eaten right away or within 24 hours.
Butterscotch Bagels
{makes 8, adapted from King Arthur Flour plain bagel recipe, inspired by The Bagel Place}
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 cups bread flour
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
3/4 cup butterscotch chips, roughly chopped
for the water bath:
2 quarts water
2 tablespoons non-diastatic malt powder
1 tablespoon sugar
Stir the yeast, flour, salt, and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in the water. Use the dough hook to knead the dough on medium speed for about 10 minutes. The dough will wrap around the hook and be quite stiff. In the last minute of kneading, add in the chopped chips (and any small pieces from chopping as that will add flavor throughout).
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover loosely with an oiled piece of plastic wrap. Let rise for about 1 hour, or until the dough is about doubled.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces and form into balls. Cover with the oiled plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the water bath. Use a large pot, like a Dutch oven, and bring the water, malt powder, and sugar to a low boil.
Place oven racks on the top and bottom 1/3rd of the oven. Preheat oven to 425. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Poke a hole in the center of each ball of dough, then gently stretch the dough, moving it in a circular motion in your hands with your thumb in the middle. Place 4 bagels on each parchment sheet.
Gently place the bagels (probably 2 at a time, but as many as will comfortably fit) into the lightly boiling water. Cook for one minute, then use a wire skimmer to flip to the other side. Boil for 1 minute more. Place back on the prepared sheets.
Once all of the bagels have been boiled, place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Remove both sheets from the oven, flip the bagels over and rotate the sheets. Bake for another 10-12 minutes or until golden on both sides.
Remove to a wire rack. Serve warm. Once cooled, use a serrated knife to cut in half and toast. Slather with vanilla bean cream cheese. Store uneaten bagels in a brown paper bag on the counter. They're best when eaten within 24 hours of baking.
Are you swooning yet?
