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Married twenty-five years to my wonderful husband and best friend. We have 3 "home-grown" kids and 1 hand-picked by God from Africa. Our life is blessed. We are a close knit family with strong Christian beliefs. Come along with us on our journey…you might have a great laugh or two.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

The bagel making factory...

This morning I had to provide breakfast to the high school swim team.  Swimmers, people.  I don't know much about what other kids in other sports are like, but what I do know is that swimmers have ENORMOUS appetites.  Trust me, I have three swimmers...I know these things.

So yesterday I had to become the bagel making factory.  Bagel after bagel crossed my counter tops and child after child tried to swipe one.  Besides making a boatload of bagels (48 total), I also made 3 breakfast sausage/egg casseroles and 3 loaves of bread.  Needless to say, I did not leave the kitchen until late that evening.  Man oh man though, did my house ever smell so good.  Too bad my house wasn't for sale, I could have sold it in a heartbeat.

Bagels in the cooking process
 

Finished bagels...yum!


So in keeping with my "all things homemade" section, here's my favorite bagel recipe.  Enjoy!

Homemade Bagels (recipe from Williams Sonoma Breads)

Ingredients:
4 tsp. active dry yeast
2 T. sugar
2 cups warm water (105 - 115 degrees)
2 T. canola oil
1 T. salt
5 1/2 cups bread flour
2 T. vital wheat gluten
Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 T. baking soda
1 egg white beaten with 1 T. water until foamy


In a bowl, sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of the sugar over 1/2 cup of the warm water and stir to dissolve.  Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the remaining water, the oil, and the remaining sugar, the salt, 2 cups of the flour and the gluten.  Beat on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute.  Add the yeast mixture and 1 cup of the flour and beat for 1 minute.  Beat in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the bowl sides.

Switch to the dough hook.  Knead on low speed, adding flour 1 tablespoon at a time if the dough sticks, until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes.  Leave the dough in the mixing bowl and cover loosely with plastic wrap.  Let rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment (baking) paper and brush the paper with oil.  Turn the dough out onto a  lightly floured board and divide into 4 portions.  Divide each portion into 3 pieces.  Shape each piece of dough into a smooth, round ball and flatten with your palm.  Poke a floured finger through the middle of a ball.  Stretch the hole, rolling your finger around the inside of the hole, to make it about 1 inch in diameter.  Continue to roll your finger or thumb around inside the dough to enlarge the hole; it will shrink slightly when you stop.

Place on prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the bagels about 2 inches apart.  Spray the bagels with vegetable oil spray.  Cover with plastic and let rise at room temperature until puffy, 15 - 20 minutes. 

While the bagels are rising, prepare the water bath.  In a large wide pot, bring 4 - 6 quarts water to a boil over high heat.  Add the baking soda and reduce the heat to medium to maintain a gentle boil.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Using a skimmer, lower 3 or 4 bagels into the water.  They will drop to the bottom and then rise to the surface quickly.  As they come to the surface, turn each bagel and boil on the second side for 2 minutes.

Using the skimmer, transfer the bagels to a dry kitchen towel to drain for a moment, then return to the prepared baking sheets, placing them 1 inch apart.  When all the bagels are boiled, brush them with the egg white mixture and sprinkle with any desired topping(s).  Bake until golden brown, 16 - 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and transfer to racks to cool completely.

Makes 1 dozen large bagels.  (credit for recipe:  Williams Sonoma)

She loved being in my warm kitchen all day long...


1 comment:

  1. These bagels look great. I've been wanting to try making some myself. Thank you for posting this recipe!

    ReplyDelete