Black Sesame Sweet Potato Bagel

Wash and slice the sweet potato. Add just enough water to cover the surface, plus 1 tablespoon of sugar and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat until a chopstick can pierce it easily.

Let the cooked sweet potato cool, then blot off excess moisture with kitchen paper and set aside.

Put the bread flour, whole wheat flour, water, honey, salt, caster sugar, and dry yeast into a mixing bowl. Knead or mix until the dough comes together and the surface is slightly smooth, then stop.

Divide the dough into smaller portions and knead the toasted black sesame seeds into the dough.

Knead until evenly combined and the surface is smooth. Place in a proofing bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and rest in the refrigerator for 25 minutes.

Take out the rested dough and divide into four portions.

Shape each piece into a tight ball, cover with a damp cloth, and let rest for another 5 minutes.

While the dough is resting, dice the sweet potato and set aside.

Gently flatten each rested dough ball with the seam side facing up and roll it out into a rectangle.

Place the sweet potato pieces along the top edge of the dough. Leave some space at both ends without filling.

Roll up the dough.

Pinch the seam tightly to seal.

After shaping all the pieces, let them rest for 5 minutes.

Roll each piece into a rope. Flatten one end and wrap it around the other end to form a ring, pinching firmly where they meet. Cover with a damp cloth and proof at about 406C for 30 minutes. Just before the proofing is finished, preheat the oven to 2106C.

Prepare a pot of sugar water using 1 L of water and 50 g of sugar. Bring to a boil, then add the bagels and boil each side for 30 seconds.

Remove the bagels, place them on a baking tray, sprinkle with coarse sugar, and bake in the preheated oven at 2006C for 20 minutes.

Transfer the baked bagels to a cooling rack and let cool completely.