wow, it’s been awhile since i’ve posted. i’ve let the entire summer pass without posting once. it wasn’t because i was too busy, but because it’s been difficult to muster up words to write for this blog. i don’t often have trouble writing when it comes to essays for school, but food blogging leaves me staring at the keyboard, wondering what i can write about cupcakes. it’s difficult for me to come up with something to say, but at the same time, i don’t want to give up on blogging. i do not want to simply bake and cook without keeping track of  my failures, improvements, and best recipes. even though school began this week and i have a busy year ahead of me, i want to put more time into this blog, learning and improving along the way.

so here i am, with my first recipe for months. i made these bagels quite a few times since it was on my list of things to complete over the summer to bake bagels every day for 2 weeks. i didn’t quite complete that goal, but i came pretty close with about 10 days. i made a different kind each morning, from sesame to bacon to sun-dried tomato to sweet potato. but i would say out of all of them, i remember this as the one i liked the best. these are just plain bagels, but with cream cheese, lox and onions, they were completely worth waking up before the sun to rise to make.

 

Bagels (makes 9)
Ingredients
  • 2 tsp dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 TB sugar
  • 1 1/4 warm water
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 3 1/2 cups bread flour
  • 1 TB baking soda
  • cream cheese
  • lox (optional)
  • red onion (optional)
Directions
  1. in a large bowl, stir together yeast, sugar, and water. set aside for 10 minutes, or until foamy.
  2. add salt then 2-3 cups of flour. stir to combine. gradually add remaining flour. the dough will be slightly firmer than other kinds of bread dough.
  3. knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5-10 minutes.
  4. place kneaded dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for an hour, or until doubled.
  5. oven should be preheated at about this time to 425 degrees F.
  6. shape bagels by punch air out of dough and divide dough into 9 pieces. shape each piece into a smooth, round ball and poke a hole into the center using your finger. stretch out hole until bagel is of desired shape.
  7. let rise for 10-20 minutes.
  8. bring a large pot of water to boil.
  9. place baking soda in boiling water. the water will foam violently, but will subside in a few seconds.
  10. place bagels in boiling water. boil each side for a minute each, or longer for a chewier bagel.
  11. place each boiled bagel on a greased or parchment lined pan.
  12. bake bagels for 15-20 minutes.
  13. serve bagels with cream cheese, lox and red onion.
About these ads