Wild Saffron Bagels

Wild Saffron Biscuits
Yellow Bagels from the island of Astypalaia, Greece. Ιs an Aegean island with 1,334 inhabitants. These homemade Bagels are made with saffron, yogurt, honey and condiments, fluffy and rusky. With these ingredients we make a gentle oily dough and form it into perfectly round bagels or small biscuits. They turn golden and delicious. Eaten pleasantly, accompanying a variety of cheeses and as snacks at all hours.
Try them!

work: 30′ time: 3h:00′ medium:

Wild Saffron Biscuits

Ingredients (∼50 pieces)

  • 130g (4.6 oz) milk
  • 1 tsp safron/ crocus
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 tsp turmeric (optional)
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 300g (10.6 oz) flour
  • 1½ tsp yeast, dry
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 100g (3.5 oz) yogurt
  • 1 egg
  • 50g (1.8 oz) butter, room temperature
  • 2 tbsp olive oild
In a coffee pot simmer the milk along with star anise, saffron and turmeric. Stir until the milk to get yellow. Add the honey and remove from heat. Leave aside to cool.
In a deep bowl, sift the flour and add the yeast, salt, pepper, nutmeg and allspice. Mix the dry ingredients.
In another medium bowl, mix the yogurt, egg and softened butter. Beat with mixer to homogenize, to make a creamy mixture.
In the yogurt mixture add the milk mixture, after removing the star anise. This new mixture then pour it in the bowl with the flour. Add the oil.
Mix in the beginning with a spatula because the mix is quite watery.
Then you'll need to knead gently by hand for 10 minutes until the dough is elastic and will not stick in hand.
You may need to add a little more flour. Depends upon the dryness and the type of flour but also the density of the liquid ingredients.
Cover with a towel or put the bowl in a large nylon bag and place it in a warm place for 2 hours, until the dough rise and double in volume.
When ready hand out the dough into two balls of the same weight. Split one of them again in two and make two thin sticks. Place them on greaseproof paper on the baking pan.
With the other ball make 16 balls and then make 16 bagels. Place them on greaseproof paper on the baking pan.
Preheat the oven at 190°C (374°F, Gas 5). Place the pans in the oven and bake for 20'.
The bagels should be ready. Remove them from the oven and check to have brown the underside. Let cool.
For the rusks, cut the baguette obliquely by one centimeter, space out the pieces in the pan and put it back in the oven after we reduce the temperature to 100°C (212°F, Gas 0.17), for other 10'.
Take them out onto a rack to cool for 10'-15' and ready.
Wild Saffron Biscuits Wild Saffron Biscuits The wild crocus (uncultivated) grows on the northern slopes of the island Astypalaia and women gather it each autumn by hand. On the island make this rusks, the yellow rusks, with cream cheese, local cheese from goat milk. Essential component is the "sigkathouro" the local butter that comes in the cheese-making. Wild Saffron Biscuits


Author Zambia G. Sifaki