Bagels and Pretzel Buns!

It's Friday, the day before New Year's Eve. A balmy 55 degrees F. What a contrast from last Friday with -8F real temp and -36F windchill!

It seemed like a good day to bake something new! I've made soft pretzels before with egg wash and salt but I've never made pretzel buns. I found a great recipe that worked perfectly with the high-gluten flour I bought at our local Amish store. These buns make fantastic sandwiches: shaved steak, pulled pork, anything piled high!
While I had the baking soda water prepared anyway, I figured it would be a good time to try my hand at water bagels. I've never tried before...seemed intimidating and messy. I wanted to make whole wheat bagels and then made it more difficult by folding in dried cranberries and walnut pieces into the dough.
Anyway, I had two successes and the kitchen smells lovely!
I wasn't planning on making videos so you'll just see the end product. Here are my revised recipes if you inclined to bake something new yourself:

Soft Pretzel Buns--makes 10
Mix in bread machine (stiff dough, but not dry)
1 c. warm milk
3/4 c. warm water
2 T. softened butter
3-4 cups bread flour (add the lesser amount first)
2 tsp. yeast
3/4 tsp. salt
(I added 2 tsp. of dough conditioner--opt.)

form a smooth ball and let rise for 1-2 hours, until doubled. Don't deflate dough; Shape into 10 smooth balls and let them rest 20 minutes, covered with a damp cloth. In a wide saucepan, bring 3 qt. of water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add 3 T. baking soda. Carefully boil the dough balls, 4-5 at a time, 30-45 seconds per side. Remove with slotted spoon or spatula, shaking off excess water. Carefully make two slashes on top with a very sharp knife or razor, about 1/4 inch deep.
Bake on parchment (or silpat sheet) at 425 F for 20-22 minutes. They should be nice a dark on the outside.

Whole Wheat Bagels-
-same procedure as Pretzel Buns except you poke a hole through the middle of the dough ball and stretch it out to make a bagel shape. I added 2 T. of honey along with the baking soda in the simmering water--made the bagels darker. Haven't decided if I'd add that again next time or not. Bake 425 F for a little less time--depending on how thin the bagel circle is. 15-20 minutes

1 1/2 c. warm water
2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour--I used white wheat
1 to 1 1/2 c. bread flour
2 T. honey
2 tsp. salt
2 1/4 tsp. yeast
(I added 1 tsp. of baker's malt/diastatic malt powder--opt.)
I added walnuts and cranberries; you could instead top the bagels when wet with seeds (poppy, sesame, everything bagel)