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further adventures: bagels!
Feb. 21st, 2021 12:14 pmLike so many other people, I have upped my bread-baking game during this pandemic. Yesterday, though, was a new high: we made bagels! They looked right and most importantly, possessed the taste and texture of bagels! And they were, shockingly, not that difficult although that may have been because we had a family production line involved for the boiling - egg wash - toppings part of the process.
Normally my method for recipe assimilation involves looking something up online, bookmarking it, trying it a few times, and then handwriting it onto a sheet in my recipe binder (by which time I've often worked out my own substitutions and variations, anyway). This time I think I'm going to go ahead and write this one down today; I've also checked out whether my bulk flour supplier can supply malt syrup; we used dark brown sugar in the dough and honey in the boiling water this time, and it was fine.
Bagels! from Sally's Baking Addiction, but do note that the metric and imperial measurements don't add up at all. I'm always a bit amused when bread recipes call for a specific amount of flour, because it's so variable based on temperature and humidity. I used about 4 3/4 cups to get a stiff dough, which is what the recipe said I should have. I think less would have yielded bagels that were too bready.
So this morning we had bagels and lox for brunch! And my family will not need to put up with my complaints about English bagel availability problems ever again!
For future reference, I also have had success with two sourdough discard recipes:
Sourdough discard flatbread: This makes a soft flatbread that is most like a gyros wrap but works for most of our flatbread-related needs. It is definitely not like a pita, if that's what you want. Next time I'll add some rye flour because I am working through an 8-kilo bag of it.
Sourdough discard pizza: So far we've only made this once but it tasted great, and the recipe wins out for sheer convenience -- you make it in the food processor and then it sits in the fridge for a couple days until you decide you want pizza. Hey presto! I separated it into three balls instead of two and there was plenty.
I think it's time for a sourdough section in the that binder...
Normally my method for recipe assimilation involves looking something up online, bookmarking it, trying it a few times, and then handwriting it onto a sheet in my recipe binder (by which time I've often worked out my own substitutions and variations, anyway). This time I think I'm going to go ahead and write this one down today; I've also checked out whether my bulk flour supplier can supply malt syrup; we used dark brown sugar in the dough and honey in the boiling water this time, and it was fine.
Bagels! from Sally's Baking Addiction, but do note that the metric and imperial measurements don't add up at all. I'm always a bit amused when bread recipes call for a specific amount of flour, because it's so variable based on temperature and humidity. I used about 4 3/4 cups to get a stiff dough, which is what the recipe said I should have. I think less would have yielded bagels that were too bready.
So this morning we had bagels and lox for brunch! And my family will not need to put up with my complaints about English bagel availability problems ever again!
For future reference, I also have had success with two sourdough discard recipes:
Sourdough discard flatbread: This makes a soft flatbread that is most like a gyros wrap but works for most of our flatbread-related needs. It is definitely not like a pita, if that's what you want. Next time I'll add some rye flour because I am working through an 8-kilo bag of it.
Sourdough discard pizza: So far we've only made this once but it tasted great, and the recipe wins out for sheer convenience -- you make it in the food processor and then it sits in the fridge for a couple days until you decide you want pizza. Hey presto! I separated it into three balls instead of two and there was plenty.
I think it's time for a sourdough section in the that binder...
