Look at my wonderful bagels! :) I made these last night.
I tried to post these pictures last night and it wouldn't work, which was really darn annoying! Anyway, at least it worked now.
They are mostly white, but slightly whole wheat (because I ran out of white flour!), and half of them have an "everything" topping (poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and garlic flakes- I am missing course salt, unfortunately) and half are just plain.
I have to thank Joel's friend Kez for sending me the recipe. I love bagels, and I know I always thought they were impossible to make. A friend commented on the fact that I made them by saying, "Mara, I so totally cannot believe that you MADE bagels. Seriously. For me it's like, "Some people are lucky enough to have a bagel tree in their yard..." I can't imagine baking them." I definitely used to share her sentiments. It's one of those silly things, but I never thought bagels were something you could make at home. :) Ha ha. So, I am thankful to him for exposing me to what it takes to make a bagel- not that hard actually! :) Now, I just need to figure out how to get that really shiny, rounded finish on them- maybe that has to do with not having been able to make pure white flour ones, but I don't think so. There is something I can change that will produce a prettier end product- you can count on me to try to figure it out. :)
Now to end on a cute note...
I received an email from a colleague last night. Attached was this picture- taken at the beach last weekend.
Her text said, "Here is the picture of you and (my child). You look so ready to have children."
How right she is!
Now, Joel and I and three other couples from our school are off on a 9 day road trip around Angola starting Friday, so don't expect any new posts for another week. Yeah, that's right- I'm not going to be on the computer for more than a week! Yikes! :) I'll be back with loads of pictures I'm sure when we return. :)
6 comments:
OK, so I haven't seen a real bagel in someting like 10 years - I need the recipe, PLEASE!
Ditto. KB is over her drooling about your photos and bugging me, "get that recipe!"
Have a great road trip, and I'll be waiting for that recipe when you get back. ;)
making bagels is awesome. Plus they're great for teething babies! I have a bagel recipe too, I'll share if you like. Mine came out looking a bit different from yours. I think the shine might be an egg wash, but maybe not.
Have a fantastic trip! Nine days in Angola, ouside of Luanda. Sounds like a real mind-expander. Will look forward to your tales upon your return!
Boiled Bagels (Makes about 18)
Ingredients
1.2kg White Flour
1 Litre cool water
4 Teaspoons Salt
1 Tablespoon Honey
3 Tablespoons dry yeast
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil (or Vegetable oil if preferred)
50 Grams Gluten Flour
3 Tablespoons Bread Improver
-The last two ingredient above are not absolutely necessary, so no matter
if you can't get them. I frequently make bake without them.
Method
Put flour, gluten flour, bread improver and yeast into a large bowl, mix very well and make a well in the mix to receive the liquid.
Put salt, honey and oil into a jug with just enough water to dissolve ingredients (150ml), then add cool water to make up 1 Litre. Mix liquid well and pour into the flour mixture.
Stir mixture until all the liquid has been incorporated into the flour. You may have to add more water or flour, but do it very gradually, so as not to add too much. Make sure you stir it very well before adding anything, to ensure the flour has absorbed all the liquid. When mixed, turn dough out onto floured surface and kneed for 15 minutes until the bread is smooth and elastic - when you press your thumb into the ball, it should bounce back a little.
Clean the bowl you mixed the dough in and oil the inside surface. Put the dough in the bowl, turning the dough over so that the dough is lightly covered in oil. Cover with wet tea towel (the moisture helps) and allow the dough to double in size (1-2 hours).
When dough has doubled in size, punch it down and kneed briefly for about one minute (not longer!) Divide the dough into pieces (should be about 110-130 grams each), and shape each piece into a tight ball and let rest for 15 minutes. Using your pointy finger, create a hole in the centre of each ball, put your other hand's finger through the same hole and stretch the dough until it looks like a big doughnut (i find smaller holes are easier to eat - and remember, once you've created a hole, the dough should rebound a bit and make the hole smaller - anyway, it's no trouble to start again if you get it wrong the first time!). Turn the oven on to 200 degrees Celsius.
Once each ball is now a doughnut shape, leave them sit for at least 20 minutes to rise. This will give you time to bring some water to the boil in a shallow pan. Prepare your baking trays with oil. A slotted spoon is handy to remove the dough from the water. Gently lift the dough balls 2-4 at a time, depending on the size of your pan, and cook each side for 45 second to 1 minute (important not to over boil them). Remove them from the water and place them on your baking tray. Glaze the bagels with egg or milk and sprinkle with poppy seeds if so desired.
Bake in the oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 23-35 minutes turning tray half way through to maintain even distribution of heat.
by the way, i've never worked out how to get the shiny clean skin on them. i suspect bakery's are able to get it because they don't actually boil the dough anymore, they just steam it.
Thanks for posting the recipe Kez. I actually sent it to the two ladies who requested it...but now anyone who wants it can have it! :)
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