Monday, November 1st: Bagels

I'll admit, I have been trying out some of these recipes for a few weeks now so the first few posts here will hopefully all go over well. Today, I decided to go with bagels, a batch of Cinnamon Raisin and a batch of Asiago Cheese. At first I was intimidated by the idea of making bagels, but if you can make a simple loaf of bread and boil water, then you can make bagels my friend.
Out of respect for Peter Reinhart (and copyright laws), I obviously won't be posting the details of the recipe, but you should seriously consider picking up Peter's books Artisan Breads Everyday or The Bread Baker's Apprentice, both of which are excellent sources of knowledge and tips for making some amazingly awesome breads. I liked the opening of The Bread Baker's Apprentice a bit more, but Artisan Breads Everyday really gets down to brass tacks and give simple to follow directions and explains some basic skills needed for making artisan quality breads in a way that most anyone can understand.
Another great thing about Artisan Breads Everyday is that most of the recipes use slow fermentation or cold fermentation, so almost all the recipes I have made so far have a been a two day process. For me, this has been great because I get all the mixing a prep done on day one, and then on day two I have the fun of waking up early and proofing the dough and then enjoying the great smells and satisfaction that comes from fresh baked breads and pastries.
So today's post is about bagels and how easy they are. Besides the simple ingredients of flour, salt, and yeast, bagels include either honey or malt syrup. I have been using honey and they have turned out great for me. And the simplicity of hydrating the yeast with the salt and honey and then just adding to the flour makes the whole process a breeze.

Side note: anytime I have ever heard of KitchenAid mixers being brought up in conversation, I never hear people say, "Oh, I like my mixer," or "It's okay." They always say, "I LOVE my KitchenAid mixer, I absolutely LOVE it." Seriously, that exact quote like every time. So I finally broke down and bought one and used it for the first time tonight. And holy crap, I LOVE my KitchenAid mixer.

Back to the bagels. Shaping is easily the best part. Reinhart describes two methods, one method is to poke a hole in each divided piece of dough and the other method is to roll out the divided pieces of dough and then wrap them around your hand. Of the two, I have found that the second method produces a bagel with a smooth crust and perfect shape. After shaping, the bagels go in the fridge for up to two days to enjoy the cold fermentation process.
Come back on Wednesday to see day two of bagel making which is when we get to have some real fun and poach them!