Hybrid Bagel Dogs

The other day I really wanted to make some bread. I hadn't enough flour for a loaf so I got creative. The end result was a half bread, half bagel, hot dog sandwich! Not too bad.

I searched the internets for "pigs in a blanket", found a simple recipe as a template, then changed it completely. Here it is:

In a small bowl mix:
1 Cup warm water
1 Tbsp yeast
1/4 Cup sugar

Let this sit for 5 minutes while the yeast activates and dissolves. It gets all bubbly and aromatic.

In a mixing bowl add:
2 Cups all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup whoel wheat flour
1/2 of an egg (I know, it's weird. I used Ener-G egg replacer, though, so I just mixed up enough to make half of the suggestion for one egg)
1 tsp salt
1/8 Cup oil
1 Tbsp rubbed sage
1 tsp coarse Black pepper

Knead the dough for maybe 7 minutes until it is elastic, but not sticky. Then set the dough in a warm place, bowl covered with a towel and rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Note: A lot of times I will let the dough rise in a clean, lightly oiled bowl. The dough tends stick to the crusty floured sides of the mixing bowl when it's left in it to rise. Not necessary, but I prefer it.

Next! On a lightly floured surface (above, I used parchment paper) I rolled out the dough into a circle 12-18 inches in diameter. Then I cut it into 8 "pizza slices" and to rolled a sausage in each one. Because I didnt want to go to the store I only had two whole sausages to work with so I cut them in half and then half again, lengthwise. I would suggest just buying enough sausages or hot dogs to use a whole one in each roll. Mine sausage pieces got a little lost in all the dough, as you can see.

Roll a sausage in each slice, from the wide part to the pointy part. Once rolled I set the bagel dogs on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal and let them relax a little while the oven pre-heated to 350 F. Cook for 15-20 minutes, until golden! Some of the dogs got the vegan cheddar cheese treatment. The jury is still out on weather that was a good idea or not...

Some thoughts: These are like a re-envisioned hot dog, but I think I got carried away with it. The sage and pepper tasted nice but didn't go so well with the ketchup and mustard I wanted use as dippings. Next time, I'll tone it down by using regular veggie dogs and an unseasoned dough.