Cranberry Orange Marmalade Bagels

There is a store in Asheville called Amazing Savings that I Lovelovelove.

It is, as the name implies, amazing.

And also full of savings.

Most everything they carry is similar to what you’d find in, say, Whole Foods or a health-food store only they sell it at grocery store ‘discontinued item’ prices.

I guess you could say it’s like the ‘Big Lots’ of organic/healthy food.

You never know what you’ll find there, but it’s always a steal.

And because getting a good deal is more exciting to me than, well, anything, whenever I go there I often end up buying things that weren’t exactly on the grocery list.

Like twelve pounds of flax seed (for 50 cents a pound!)

And 6 large bags of Terra sweet potato chips (for 66 cents each!).

And a jar of orange marmalade that, upon closer inspection after I got it home, turned out to be sugar-free, which made me never want to eat it.

Instead it languished in the back of the pantry for two years.  Okay, maybe three.

When it became time to either use it up or throw it out, of course I opted for use it up.

But it tasted horrible on a piece of toast.  The texture was odd and the flavor was overly-fakely sweet.

Added to bagel dough with some craisins, however, and it was just right.

One caveat I will add, however, is that the marmalade makes the dough extra sticky and you’ll have to add additional flour (up to 2/3 cup) to get the right consistency, so it helps if you’ve made regular bagels before and know what you’re looking for (somewhat rubbery; easily forms a ball).

The extra flour, in turn, means that you will end up with very large bagels.  I would tell you to try to make 10 bagels instead of the usual eight, but I haven’t figured out how to do that myself (so, you divide the dough in half, and then in half again, and then…).  If you are good at dividing things into thirds, you could divide the dough into thirds, and then thirds again.  I have never been good at dividing things into thirds, so for me this recipe will continue to make 8 very large bagels.  I’m okay with that, because you’re supposed to eat a big breakfast anyway, right?

In bowl of bread machine, add water, then 3 cups flour and all other ingredients.  Turn to dough setting and let mix.  Gradually add another cup of flour as ingredients are mixed.  Add up to 2/3 cup more flour until dough is no longer sticky. [Alternately, add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix together, then knead for 10-15 minutes].  Knead in bread machine for 10 minutes (from start to finish).  Dough should be smooth, round, and hold its shape.  If it is sticky add more flour.

Put dough into a greased bowl, cover, and let rise 1-1 ½ hours or until doubled.

Divide dough into eight equal(ish) (or ten if you can manage it) pieces and let rest, covered, approximately ½ hour until slightly puffy.

Prepare water bath: In large, wide pot, add 2 Tablespoons brown sugar, 1 Tablespoon white sugar, and 8 cups of water and bring to a boil.

Preheat the oven to 425° F, with a baking stone on the lower rack.

Meanwhile, using your finger or a bagel cutter (whatever the hell that is), poke a hole in the center of each dough ball, then stretch the bagel out until the hole is approximately 1.5 inches across.

Place bagels (I can usually get 4 in the pot at a time) into the boiling-water bath.  Boil for 2 minutes, then flip over and boil for 1 minute more.  Remove from the water (I use a chopstick for this) and add the others.

After all bagels have been removed from the boiling water bath, transfer them to the oven, placing them directly on the baking stone.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until as golden brown as you’d like.