Lemon and Poppy Seed Bagels

It could just be me noticing this, but it seems that leftovers are coming to the forefront of recipe ideas. Whenever I turn on Nigel Slater's cookery programmes, he seems to be finding another wonderful way to use up the remaining ingredients from the night before. But what always seems to surprise me, is the unbelievable standard of his leftovers. When I think of leftovers, I picture a half filled jug of cream or, at best, some cold chicken. Yet Nigel was pulling out roast duck and all manner of extravagant items, to which I tutted and described the unlikelihood that such ingredients would just have been lying around. Today however, I had to eat my words. It came to my attention that smoked salmon was in my fridge, in need of eating, thus gaining the term 'leftover'. So I joined Nigel in the ranks of 'extravagant leftover owners' and I was unsure whether I felt ashamed or simply joyful at the prospect of smoked salmon. I soon decided on the latter.

So such a leftover requires a similarly celebratory accompaniment. Homemade bagels seemed the obvious choice, smoked salmon + bagel + cream cheese (yes, I had that too!) = certain happiness. But this didn't seem enough, I wanted to make the most of this rare occasion and take advantage of the smoke salmon availability! So I pondered over smoked salmon's buddies... chives, dill, lemon and settled on the latter - lemon. I've seen lemon and poppy seed cakes and muffins many a time, so it seemed like a fairly simple transfer to the world of bagels.

The lemon flavour isn't overpoweringly strong, but it just adds a subtle zestiness which works nicely with the salmon, but is mild enough to match with other things if these bagels just so happen to be your next leftovers.

Recipe adapted from the bagels recipe on Emma's wonderful blog Poires au Chocolat

Ingredients:
Makes 4
1tsp fast action/instant dried yeast
3/4tbsp caster sugar
190ml warm water (you may need a little less if mixing by hand, as it is harder to kneed it all in)
Juice and zest of half a lemon
Just over 1/2tsp salt (I added a little over a half to balance out the sharpness of the lemon)
275g strong bread flour

2tbsp poppy seeds

Method:

• Mix warm water and lemon juice together.
• Mix all other ingredients (except poppy seeds) and add the liquid bit by bit.
• Combine the mixture fully using a mixer or a wooden spoon.
• Knead for 8 - 10 minutes until smooth but still a little bit sticky (it will initially feel very sticky, but the mixture should gradually begin to incorporate the water). Use a dough hook or, if kneading by hand, knead it on a lightly floured surface.
• Lightly oil a bowl, place your dough in this bowl and leave in a warm place to rise for 1hr - 1 and 1/2hrs, until doubled in size.

Above: Before rise.

Below: After rise.

• Knock the dough back (gently knock the air out of it) and cut into 4 equal pieces.
• Shape each piece into a ball (I find this is easiest against an un-floured surface as the dough sticks a little, making it easier to roll it gently in circular movements with your hand)
• Using your finger, push a hole through the middle of the ball and gently widen it (you can use a rolling pin) so that the hole is about a third of the diameter of the whole bagel.
• Place on a lightly oiled surface/baking sheet and leave to rest for 10 minutes under a damp tea towel (to prevent a skin from forming - I think!). Meanwhile, set a large pan of water to come to the boil - you want a fairly rapid simmer. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees celsius (no fan)

• Depending on the size of your pan, place 1 - 2 bagels into the water and boil for 30 seconds on each size (they should puff up and the water should boil rapidly around them - if it does not, the water is not hot enough).
• Once out of the water, place onto a non-stick baking sheet and sprinkle the poppy seeds on top.

• Cook for 20 minutes in the oven until golden brown.
• Eat as they are or serve with smoked salmon and cream cheese (the subtle lemon flavour goes particularly well with the salmon).

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