Tuesday, October 16, 2012

TWD:BWJ - Bagels!

So, hi.  It's been a while.  Two months, actually.  Wow.  And it's not that I haven't been baking, because I have.  It's that I haven't been posting.  I'm trying to get back into it.  Baby steps.

Anyway, bagels are one of the best foods on earth.  I am blessed and I live minutes away from fabulous bagels - and not the fast food variety (I'm looking at you Einstein Bros, Big Apple, and Panera)  I mean local, freshly made bagels from guys who learned at the knee of relatives.  And while I'm ranting, you won't find apple/cinnamon/walnut/hazelnut/chocolate/blueberry/strawberry etc at these places.  The only sweet is cinnamon raisin, and I can't even get myself to eat those.  I love a savory bagel with everything;  salt/poppy/sesame/onion/garlic/rye.  And now I'll get off my soapbox and show you some bagels.  

At their core, bagels are bread.  But there is a special step involved to make the outside chewy - they are boiled.  It's a quick process, and one that shouldn't be skipped.  This particular recipe also had an overnight rise.  I've made bagels in the past without that step and they were still delicious.



The still damp bagels are topped with a great blend of seeds and seasonings.



And then baked to chewy, golden brown perfection.



These were delicious.  Really good, especially when they were warm out of the oven.  I'm glad to have made them, but unless I get snowed in or something, I can't see myself making them on a regular basis.  
Heather is our host this week.  Go check out her bagels at Heather's Bytes.

**Edited to add - I get my "everything" mix at King Arthur Flour.

16 comments:

oneclevermom said...

They were some work, I agree. Not something I'll make on a regular basis but I am so excited to know I CAN make them! Yours look delicious. I am envious of your proximity to REAL bagels...

smarkies said...

Welcome back! You are lucky to live near some great bagel places. It was an interesting baking experiment to undertake.

Paula @ Vintage Kitchen said...

Your bagels look perfectly plump and golden! I´ll e-mail you the recipe for the sourdough bagels, it´s from Nancy Silverton

ferda said...

Welcome back! Your bagels look great..

Unknown said...

I didn't have many savory ingredients on hand buy I am looking forward to making some everything bagels for lunches. Yours look great.

Betsy said...

LOL! I'm a savory bagel fan too. I call those sweet ones "donut bagels". Your everything bagels look right up my alley. Nice job!

spike said...

If I had a good bagel place nearby (non chain) I'd definitely be stopping by there pretty often. Love a good everything bagel!

Elaine said...

Your bagels are beautiful. I also prefer mine savory. It's good to know that you can skip the overnight rise in the frig and still get great bagels.

Inge and Gillian said...

Savory bagels are the best. Yours look delicious.

loavesandstitches said...

Beautiful bagels! I used the everything mix, too, and loved it. You are lucky to be close to good bagels.

Tammy said...

Everything mix? Whouda thunk it?

I just finished baking this afternoon, so I'll post my results tomorrow. Thanks for the info.

Maggie said...

I am a huge sweet tooth so I would eat any of those varieties you mentioned but I have to say my favorite one I made was the sesame so I think you are justified in your savory bagel love. Yours look delicious and welcome back to blogland! :)

Cathleen | My Culinary Mission said...

Perfect shape, color, "everything'! I had fun making these. Will do again - hope to get them plump like yours. Beautiful.

Sweet and That's it said...

Sorry I’m late!
Let’s start this delicious „tour des blogs“ and see how the 85 bagels turned out.
I had great fun making and bathing and baking them and will remake them for sure (as they are so difficult to find in Switzerland! As I am addicted to home baking :-) )

Your bagels turned out beautifully. ..the "bagels-specialists" living close to you would be proud of you!

Cher Rockwell said...

They may have been work, but it was a fun process.
Your bagels look perfectly golden and chewy :-)

Anonymous said...

They look great!

I haven't tried this recipe yet... debating whether or not it's worth overnighting :-)