As much as I enjoy a good bagel (and the Cleveland area happens to blessed with a mecca for outstanding bagels in Bialy’s of University Heights), nothing else I eat can lay in my belly and leave me in a state of total lethargy like one of those round treats of crusty and chewy satisfaction. Consequently, it is a rare occasion (and one that will allow sufficient nap time afterwards) that finds me eating one.

Continually on a quest to move away from refined and nutritionally empty foods, I’ve been directing my cooking and baking towards using alternative flours and grains that contain a healthier nutritional profile.

Spelt flour charmed me with its lightly sweet, malted and nutty flavor and with the added benefits of being low in gluten and having more nutrition than all-purpose white or bread flours. I suspected correctly that spelt would be the ideal candidate with which to interpret my favorite style of bagel,the Montreal bagel. The Montreal bagel is unique. The bagels are wood-fired and not as plumply raised as a stateside bagel, and a bite through the heavily seeded outer crust (usually sesame or poppy) reveals a mildly sweet interior of cake-like crumb which transcends from good to sublime when toasted. A trip to Montreal’s justly famed St. Viateur bakery held me captive while I hungrily watched bagel after flame-licked bagel emerge from the depths of blazing wood-fired ovens. After the first delicious warm bite, I knew that I had found “my” bagel.

Marcy Goldman’s A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking has a recipe for Montreal Bagels that I’ve been using in conjunction with my own modifications for years. That recipe combined with some research on the baking properties of spelt led me to develop this version of a Montreal-style bagel using white unbleached, unbromated spelt flour. I am proud to say that my resulting bagels are a similarly delicious replication (albeit a wee bit flatter) of the original version with the bonus of being nutritionally superior and infinitely easier on digestion.

Spelt Flour Montreal-Style Bagels
Yield: 12 bagels

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
5 tbs. unrefined cane sugar
1 1/2 tbs. canola oil
1 pkg. dry yeast
1 tbs. beaten egg (I suspect you can use Ener-g egg substitute for a vegan bagel)
1 tbs. barley malt syrup
5-6 cups unbleached, unbromated organic white spelt flour
1 tsp. fine sea salt
1 cup raw sesame seeds, flax or poppyseeds
6 qts. water
1/3 cup barley malt or honey

In a large bowl stir together 3/4 cup warm water, sugar, oil, yeast, egg and malt until yeast dissolves. Stir in salt and slowly stir in 2 1/2 cups flour to make a soft batter. Do not overwork. Cover and let proof in a warm spot for 6-8 hours.

The sponge should now look puffed and bubbly. Gently whisk in the remaining 3/4 cup warm water, and slowly fold in the remaining 2 1/2 cups flour. Turn out and knead dough on a floured board, adding more spelt flour as necessary until dough is smooth and firmly supple. Try not to overwork or knead more than 4 minutes. Cover dough with an inverted bowl and allow to rest 10 minutes.

Line 2 baking sheets with well-floured parchment or un-floured silpats (my first choice). Divide dough into 12 pieces. Roll each into 10″ ropes. Curve each rope around your hand, pressing together to make a round bagel shape. Use a few drops of water to moisten and seal the ends if necessary. (Note: these should have a fairly large hole in the middle). Let bagels rise on the prepared baking sheets, around 30-40 minutes.

Bring the 6 qts. of water and barley malt or honey to a boil in large pot. Preheat the oven to 425. Place the sesame, flax or poppy seeds in a shallow dish or pie plate. Have a large kitchen towel spread out near the pot.

Boil the bagels, three at a time for 2 minutes, delicately turning once with a wide skimmer, to form a skin on each side. Remove bagels as they finish with the skimmer and let drain a moment on kitchen towels. Turn each bagel in the seeds and place on baking sheets.

Place bagels in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes, flipping each after 10 minutes. Allow to cool before eating.

Note: I like this style of bagel best served (carefully!) sliced in half and toasted, spread just with good butter and a preserve. The toasting coaxes out the best of the sweet nutty flavor and texture. If any bagels are left after two days, keep stored in the freezer and thaw before slicing and toasting.

Please feel free to share any and all tips on baking with spelt flour as I am always looking to learn something new!