What is Whole Wheat Bagel?
Bagels are a yeast leavened bread made from wheat dough and formed into a fat ring shape. They look much like a doughnut and are slightly larger. Their texture is like a chewy bread with a mild taste and a light brown or tan color. The flavor is nutty, mild and slightly salty. They are eaten as is, or sliced and served with a spread or toppings.
Ingredients
Whole wheat flour is made by grinding the wheat kernels until they form a powdery flour. Unlike all purpose flour which only uses part of the kernel, this flour has a greater flavor due to using the whole kernel. The flour is a pale tan color and tastes mild, nutty and sometimes gently sweet. It is used in baked goods, especially bread and can be found in many other food products.
Water is a substance and chemical compound made up of hydrogen and oxygen. It is clear, fluid, flavorless and odorless. Water is a necessity in nearly every aspect of life, including cooking, baking and hydrating the human body. Water can be served as a cold beverage, or at any temperature comfortable to the mouth and skin.
Sugar comes from sugar cane and sugar beets. The sugar is extracted from the juice of both plants and refined into the granulated substance known as sugar. Sucrose, the sweet substance of sugar is a combination of glucose and fructose. White sugar is composed of tiny white, dry granules. The flavor is sweet and neutral. Brown sugar is brown and has more moisture, with a richer flavor that hints at molasses. Sugar is used in both sweet and savory foods.
Honey is made by the honey bee. The bees collect flower nectar and then deposit it into the honeycombs in the beehive. Once inside the honeycomb, the nectar breaks down into simple sugars. Evaporation via the fanning of the bees wings and the shape of the honeycomb helps excess liquid to evaporate, creating the sweet syrup that is used around the world. Honey is an amber color that can vary from pale yellow to dark brown. The texture is of an extra thick syrup. All honey is sweet, but the flavor can change considerably from floral to herbal and even nutty, depending on the flowers that the bees collected honey from. Honey is used in both sweet and savory dishes, as well as in tea as a sweetener.
Vital wheat gluten is a protein found in wheat grains. It looks like regular flour and has a white or cream color, with a fine texture. This flour is made by soaking and then removing all but the gluten proteins in the flour. It can be used in some baked goods to improve the elasticity and is most commonly used to make seitan, a vegetarian meat imitation.
Yeast is a single celled organism used in food and beverage production. It both naturally occurs and is added in to certain foods such as breads, beer and wine. Specific kinds of yeast are used to add depth of flavor to savory foods. Yeast is usually sold as tiny beige granules. It leavens bread, ferments beer and imparts a satisfying umami flavor.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
