bread baking challenge # 3 BAGEL

Baking bagels.... I never though it is a big deal to make bagel. Take a bread dough, divide, in whatever, make a hole in it and bake.... I hear some saying to boil the bagels, before you bake, NONSENSE!!!

O boy! how wrong I was! Last night, I start reading Peter Reinhart's recipe and I was amazed how many steps! how many details! I hope there are going to be very good bagels, because I am very picky about my bagel, how chewer, how crunchy.... LETS SEE THIS RECIPE AND THIS CHALLENGE.

First of all I bought the MALT. In the Baker's book it is written to go to the health store, and I went, and this is what I found... perfect MALT BARLEY!

I start making the sponge: flour, yeast and scolded water. After 2 hours, it was raised and bubbly!

I added more flour, salt, more yeast, malt, as the recipe needed.

I mixed with the dough hook for 6 minutes, and 3 more until the dough is stiff and smooth in the same time.

I divide the dough in 12 parts, to have 12 big bagels! I flat the dough and I measured the long line for 12inches and short line for 9 inches, so I can have equal size of bagels:

I made small balls into my palm and I left them to rest for 20 minutes, covered with a wrap.

After that I shape them as bagels, making a hole in the muddle, as the book teach us.

They are resting again for 20 minutes and I try the water method.

Poor tap water in a bowl, drop the bagel in it and if it flow, the bagels are ready to be refrigerated until tomorrow morning.

If they sunk, I have to rise a little more at room temp.

My bagel was nicely flooding, though my surprise, so I put them in refrigerator until tomorrow morning, when I am going to bake..

Next day, I take it out of refrigerator, and boil them in water with baking soda, one minute, one side, one minute, another side

Once I boiled them, I spread them with poppy seeds, caraway seeds, ms. dash, or leave them plain, on a parchment paper, ready to bake.

Baked at 500F, 5 minutes and 10 more minutes at 450F.

First of all I was disappointed when I took them out of oven, they were not so plump, raised as I expected ( you can see my bagel/on top/ and the bagel I bought from the bakery...)

But when I tasted, it is amazing wonderful good taste, it is chewer, crunchy, soft, a very good taste.

I am very pleased as they come out. My husband, Radu, it is very happy too (this is very important to me, he is always, my first to taste, my faithful critic).

So, immediately as the bagels are cold, I made our FAVORITE SANDWICH OF ALL, fresh bagel, butter and smoked salmon! Nothing is as good as this!!!!

NOTE:

 I just learn about easy, quick recipe: in 2 hours you have 8 bagels, very good taste.... from John D Lee who makes bagels as a profession, for many years.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Homemade_bagel_recipe_Make_great_nadrolled_water_bagels__its_as_easy_as_baking_a_loaf_of_bread

Homemade bagel recipe

Ingredients:

4 cups bread flour

1 Tbs sugar/malt, if you have

1 1/2 tsps salt

1 Tbs vegetable oil

2 tsps instant yeast

1-1/4- 1-1/2 cups of warm water.

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

2. Cut the dough into 8 equal sized balls, and let rest for 10-20 minutes.

3. Make 8 bagels and let them drop without crowding them, in hot, boiling water, 2 minutes, each side.

4. Take them out a let dry for a minute and then place them on your oiled baking tray.

Pre heat your oven to 500F.

5. Bake them for 5 minutes, lower the oven temp for 450F, turn the tray, and bake for 10 minutes.

6. Flip them on the tray and bake for 10 more minutes.

 7. Let them cool for10 minutes.

Very good bagels, tasty and crunchy outside.