In the meantime, I've been making bagels. Now, where I live there are some great bagel shops. This is something, however, that I've always wanted to learn to make. They are easy to make with only one added step from bread. You make a stiff dough, let it rise, form it into balls, let it rest, shape them, boil them, top them, and bake them. Wait. Boil them? Yup. Bagels are boiled. The short boil helps set the crust so it's thicker and a bit chewier. I also use non-diastatic malt powder in my bagels. It adds to the bagel taste and helps brown the outside.
A few weeks ago I made the bagels with The Girl. Today I made a new batch with my niece. We learned that, while a KitchenAid stand mixer is a formidable utensil, it will overheat some if you try to mix a double batch of bagel dough. Lesson learned.
Post boil, pre bake, topped with seed mix.
We topped some of the bagels with seed mix, some with salt, and left some plain. I only have the final few photos. Next go round of baking I'll take more pictures so you can see the beginning of the process. Here in Chicago it's pretty snowy with more coming down. Glad I have warm bagels for dinner. And maybe again for breakfast.
Ready for a schmear of cream cheese!
Here is the recipe. You should give it a try!
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/bagels-recipe
