Chai Spiced Whole Wheat Bagels

One more bagel recipe! And this one might just be my new favorite! I love Chai tea, the warm spices, creamy milk and the necessary dollop of whipped cream. Add a dusting of ground cardamon and you are looking at my favorite fall beverage. Move over hot chocolate! Chai tea has my heart. With my favorite Autumn beverage as inspiration the Chai Spiced Whole Wheat Bagel was born.

Similar to my Cranberry-Lemon & Ginger Whole Wheat Bagels this recipe uses the same base as my Whole Wheat Bagels. If you're in the mood for all three varieties, try whiping up a batch of my Whole Wheat Bagels and add your mix-ins and spices to the dough before boiling and baking the bagels.

Serve warm from the oven or toasted with butter, cream cheese and or a little jam.

Chai Spiced Whole Wheat Bagels
Yield: 12-16 Bagels

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon honey or brown sugar
1 3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast
4 cups plus 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour (approximately)
1 tablespoon vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
7 cloves, ground
1/4 teaspoon cardamon

10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda

In the bowl of a stand mixture combine the water, honey and salt. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let mixture set for five minutes. Stir. With dough hook attached, add 3 cups of flour, gluten and melted butter. While mixing on low, add the remaining flour in 1/2 cup increments until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides of the mixer. Increase speed to medium and mix for five minutes. Dough will be slightly stiff but still smooth and pliable.

Lightly oil a large bowl and let dough rise for 1 hour or until almost doubled in size (cover the bowl with plastic wrap while rising).

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Fill a large pot with 10 cups of water and bring to a boil.

Combine the cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg, ground cloves and cardamon in a small dish.

Turn dough out onto a counter and knead in the sugar and spice mix . Knead for about 1 minute. Don't worry about completely mixing the spices into the dough. Dough will look marbled. Separate dough into 12- 16 pieces (depending on the size you like your bagels) and roll into smooth balls. Cover dough with plastic wrap as you prepare the bagels. Once you have rolled the dough into balls, gently poke a hole in the middle of each ball and stretch until a 1-inch in diameter hole forms. Place on a lightly oiled parchment lined baking sheet.

Add baking soda to the boiling water and drop 4-5 bagels at a time into the water, boil for 30 seconds and then remove to a drying rack. Once all the bagels have been boiled, place on prepared baking sheets and bake for 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Let rest on cooling racks for at least 30 minutes before freezing.