Candy Cane Bagels

Preparation

In the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine water, yeast and honey. Stir to combine, then let it sit until foamy, about 10-15 minutes. Once foamy, gradually add in salt, 2 cups of all-purpose flour and 2 cups of bread flour with the mixer on low speed. After 5 minutes or so of mixing, if the dough is still sticky, add the remaining bread flour and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour and mix until combined. Remove the dough from the bowl (it should be thick and stiffer than most yeast breads) and knead a few times with your hands, forming it into a ball. Add the remaining all-purpose flour if the dough is still sticky.

Brush 2 large bowls with oil. Divide the dough in half and place half the dough inside one bowl, turning to coat. Cover. Return the other half of the dough to the mixer and add the red food coloring. Kneed the dough until the red is mixed throughout and there are no streaks. Place it in the second greased bowl and cover. Allow both bowls of dough to rise in a warm place until they are double in size, about 1 hour.

Once doubled, punch down both sections of dough and place them on your counter, using a little more flour if needed to prevent them from sticking. Divide each dough into 14-15 pieces that are about 1.3 ounces each. A kitchen scale is very helpful here. Roll both the red and white sections of dough into ropes (about 8 inches long per section). Take one white and one red rope and twist around each other. Shape the twist into a candy cane shape and place on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining ropes. Do not over crowd you pans. The bagels will rise and you do not want them to be touching. So use another oiled sheet pan if needed. Cover the pan(s) and let the dough rise for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, fill a large pot with water and add brown sugar, letting it come to a boil.

Preheat oven to 500 F. Grease another baking sheet to place the bagels on once they are boiled.

Once the pot of water is boiling, add 2 bagels at a time. Let them cook for 2 minutes on one side, then using the end of a wooden spoon, flip the bagel and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove bagels one at a time and place on the greased baking sheet. Repeat. You may need to reshape the bagels back into a candy cane shape after boiling. Once all the bagels are finished, brush each bagel with the melted butter and then sprinkle with salt. Place tray(s) in the oven and bake for 5 minutes at 500 F and then turn the oven down to 400 F and bake for another 20-30 minutes.

Then remove them from the oven. Let bagels cool completely before serving, then toast or eat as desired.