Floaters

Floaters
Originally uploaded by Sheepish.

Nope, I'm not talking about some dead body being found in a nearby river. I'm just continuing my photo essay of The Great Bagel adventure (which really wasn't all that much of an adventure, even if the end result sure seemed like Nirvana).

I know that some people are aware that bagels must be boiled before baking, and that turns them off from making them. They're just too complicate, or so many people think. If you're used to baking your own bread, they won't seem complicated at all, really (and, they're not that bad if you aren't used to bread baking).

You just make a sponge (a pancake batter consistency mixture). Let it rise for 2 hours or so. Then, you add more flour and knead like normal bread. You let that rise 20 minutes before making little balls. Let that rise 20 minutes and form your bagels. Then, I think you let them rise a bit again and they're ready for the boiling (I may have added an extra rising in there. I don't recall exactly).

So, back to the boiling. Complicated, right? Well, that's what I'd have my husband believe, so that I can take credit for true greatness. Really, though, it's just 1 minute per side. If you've got a large (but not very deep) pot/pan-thing like I do, you can fit four at a time. Then you sprinkle them with whatver you want and slip them in the oven for about 20 minutes (if I remember correctly).

Of course, you'd need a more exact recipe than that to do it, but I wanted to give you an idea of how it's done. The recipe I used is in The Bread Baker's Apprentice, which is an excellent book. I haven't been disappointed by anything in there. And, yes, these bagels did taste authentic.

Now for the photo of the finished goodies...