Bagels!

I've never had any interest in making bagels. It seemed like too much work. I thought, how could homemade ones possibly be better than bagels from a bona fide bagel shop?


Well, a couple of weeks ago, my coworker brought in some homemade bagel bites that were stuffed with chocolate. Sooo tasty. He convinced me it wasn't too much work and sent me the recipe. I was committed.

Last weekend, I made my first attempt. It ended up being a three day process, mostly due to my own poor planning. I would typically perform the next step late at night, only to realize later that the following step would take a few more hours to complete. That outta teach me to read the whole recipe carefully in advance. The bites/bagels (I made both) turned out to be delicously crisp and chewy on the outside but perhaps too airy and fluffy on the inside. It wasn't the texture you come to expect from a bagel.

This weekend, I decided to try again. This time, I used Peter Reinhart's bagel recipe which I found on Smitten Kitchen. Actually both recipes are quite similar. You start with a sponge of yeast, water, and bread flour. Then you proceed to make the dough. After vigorous kneading (you will save yourself sore arms with a KitchenAid) and rising, you make donut shapes and let them rise a little more. Then it's off to the fridge.


The next day, you boil the bagels for a couple minutes.


And then it's off to bake until golden (pic below is pre baking).


My second attempt was much better than the first. The insides of the bagel were much more substantial without sacrificing the crisp and chewy exterior. I did end up baking these too long due to some extenuating circumstances with an uncooperative baby, so they came out a bit too hard on the outside. Luckily, the inside was still soft and bready. Next time, I will make full sized bagels instead of the minis. There's no point making smaller portions if you end up inhaling five mini bagels. Not that I ended up eating five...er...Also, rather than baking the next day, I'd do everything in one go. Refrigerating overnight seemed to deflate the bagels slightly.

Next weekend shall be my third attempt at which point I hope to achieve the perfect bagel. Till next time!