Boredom-busting baking
My husband and I are in “that” age group, so we have stayed home since March 14 trying to avoid the coronavirus. Since I love to cook and bake, I’ve been spending a lot of time experimenting in the kitchen. My most recent undertaking was bagels. The kneading builds your muscles and may count as a work-out! Give them a try. They are delicious!
1. Mix together 3 ½ C bread flour and 1 ½ teaspoon salt and then make a well in the center of this mixture.
2. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons yeast and 1 ½ Tablespoon sugar over ½ C warm water and let stand 5 minutes, then stir.
3. Pour ⅓ C warm water into the well in flour/salt mixture and then add yeast mixture. Mix until a moist, firm dough forms (may need up to ¼ C more warm water) and then knead until a smooth and elastic dough forms— about 10 minutes. (You can use a stand-up mixer if it is a strong one— this is a dense dough and can be very hard on a mixer’s motor.)
4. Place dough ball in an oiled bowl. Cover with a wet towel and place in a warm spot until the dough ball doubles— about 1 hour. (Make a warm place by heating the oven to 175 degrees. Turn off the oven before adding bagels and use a wooden spoon to block the oven door slightly.)
5. Punch down the dough and form into 8 balls.
6. Stick a finger through the balls making bagel shapes by stretching the ring. (I should have rolled the dough into better balls for more beautiful bagels, but that is not a taste issue.)
7. Place bagels in boiling water for 1 -2 minutes per side (longer time makes chewy bagel).
8. After boiling, brush with egg wash (1 egg + 1 T water) and sprinkle toppings on bagels.
9. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.
10. Cool on a wire rack.
[Credit is given to sophisticatedgourmet.com for this recipe.]
