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.