The Bagel Woman Cometh...

As is typical of me, the craving demon hit me at some point last weekend, Saturday evening to be specific. I couldn't tell you what triggered it, but suddenly, I HAD to have bagels. It might have been residual craving left over from the Reuben episode a few weeks earlier. I don't know. It doesn't matter.

All you need to know is that I had to make bagels. So, let's make bagels shall we?

So, I hopped on over to Recipezaar, you know, where the worlds recipes are, to look for a bagel recipe.

There were alot on there, so I found a basic one and, since I don't ever follow recipes, I proceeded to make it my own. I wanted to make them whole grain, with a high fiber content, the ultimate goal being to make them as Weight Watchers friendly as possible! Those of you who follow 'the plan' will know what I am talking about- Anyhoo, these are delish and are only 2 points!


Basic Bagel Recipe:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 packages yeast
1 pinch of sugar (to activate the yeast)
1 pinch of salt
3 1/2 cups flour- I used 1 cup of spelt flour, 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour. I also added flax seeds and about half a cup of oatbran.
2 quarts water , to boil
1 egg white

My bemused husband could only shake his head when I pulled out the Kenmore Pro mixer at 8pm, but I think you know by now, it had to be done.

First, put the water and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and let the sugar dissolve. Add the yeast and let it stand til it gets frothy, like so:



Combine the flours and salt, dump it into the mixer and mix on low speed using the dough hook for about 10 minutes or so. Put it in a greased bowl, cover it and let it rise til it is doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 350!



Once the dough doubles, punch it down, turn it out onto a floured surface, and divide it into 12 equal balls, like so:



At this point, fill a pot up with water and put it on the stove to BOIL. Meanwhile, go back to your bagel balls, take each ball and punch a whole through its middle, so they look like this:



Cover them and let them rise a bit more. I was making everything bagels, so I got together what I wanted on the top. I used chopped fresh basil, sea salt, cracked pepper, rosemary, sesame seeds and some crushed red pepper:



Now for the fun part, dunking the bagels in scalding water! I think this is what makes them chewy, but I am no bagel expert.

At this point, the water should be boiling. Turn it off. Take the bagels 4 at a time (depending on how big your stock pot is) and drop them in the water. About 45 seconds on each side. Put them onto a baking sheet:



Now take the egg white and brush the tops of the bagels and dunk them in your toppings:



Slap them in the oven til they are golden brown, about 20 to 35 minutes, I can't say for sure cause I don't know how hot your oven runs. IF you want, you can flip them half way through.
Suddenly, you have BAGELS! Amazing, no??



I devoured 2 right then and there and they were DELISH.
I went to bed happy.

The next morning, a rare thing happened here in Norway, the sun came out!!! After months of darkness, I could feel my soul stirring in reaction to the rays of the sun. I knew the weather could change quickly, so with military precision, I orchestrated our first outdoor breakfast of the year. I was handing things to Christopher and shouting 'Go! Go! Go!'. Just kidding. I wasn't shouting that, but I really wanted to catch the sun while it was a-shinin'.

So, we set the table and the bagels performed so well! Here is what Christopher had for his sunny breakfast:




And here was mine:



So, we ate our bagels, soaking up the late winter sun, wrapped in scarves and coats, drank our hot coffee and enjoyed every minute of it!!

Now go make bagels!!!!