I'm not sure how to spell it, but all I can say is Ei-yi-yi! This recipe had it's moments, but I'm happy to report that they're really good. This week's Baking with Julia recipe is bagels. I was driving last week and heard a public radio interview of the book helping us know what to make from scratch, and what to buy already made. About half way through this recipe, I thought I clearly knew the bagel answer. Buy them. When they came out of the oven, so pretty and delicious... it's a coin toss. It was worth the effort and fretting.
Our host this week is Heather, from Heather's Bytes. She'll have the recipe, and her tips and tricks at her blog.
When I was in college I had three roommates. We loved to cook - make that experiment. There were a lot of firsts. Quiche, soups, ethnic recipes, pretzels, breads...and bagels. I don't remember the bagels being bad, nor good. They must have been college student edible. It was fun to revisit bagels again. This time with a few more skills and baking experience.
The dough went to together easily. The rise was right on time, and into the fridge went the dough. So far so good. After the chill, I started with stock pot of water, added the baking soda/sugar and began shaping the bagels. The dough is sticky and tricky to get into the balls. I never did quite master the twirl, but I got them into the boiling water. As they boiled, they puffed and looked like squishy dumplings. As they were bubbling away, I was getting ready to tell you about my disaster. I'm happy to report that after I put them in the oven, the texture evened out, and the surface began to look like a bagel, a REAL bagel. The timing was perfect, and out of the oven they came. The inside texture was nice, and the taste was really good.
If you're a bagel lover and looking to try something fun, give the recipe a try. Top them with your favorite sesame, poppy or crunchy seed and enjoy!
